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Sunday Night Football Picks: Tampa Bay Buccaneers vs Chicago Bears Best Bets

by Ryan Cobbett - 11/4/2026

Sunday Night Football picks Tampa Bay Buccaneers vs Chicago Bears Caleb Williams

This week’s Sunday Night Football tilt features the Tampa Bay Buccaneers and the Chicago Bears. Both teams come into this one riding winning streaks, as the Buccaneers have won their last two contests and the Bears have won their last three. Tampa Bay travels to Soldier Field to take on Chicago a week after beating the Atlanta Falcons without completing a pass. Chicago returns home after a quick road trip to Seattle. The Bears have picked up big wins over the Falcons, Seahawks, and the New England Patriots across their past three games. The big storyline here is going to be the quarterback play. Tampa Bay won’t win another game where the quarterback is ineffective. They will need Baker Mayfield to be ready to go and hope the thumb injury is truly in the past. On the other hand, Chicago needs Caleb Williams to stay super consistent as he has since returning to the field.

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Sunday Night Football Tampa Bay Buccaneers vs Chicago Bears Game Odds:

Tampa Bay Buccaneers: +6/ Moneyline: +240

Chicago Bears: -6/ Moneyline: -298

Over/Under: 47.5

Sunday Night Football Tampa Bay Buccaneers Game Preview

The Tampa Bay Buccaneers are coming off an incredibly interesting win. They beat the Falcons 16-0 in a mess. They did not complete a pass offensively. Mayfield finished the game 0/3. The offense came from the strong ground game. Tampa Bay tallied 324 rushing yards, and they averaged 5.8 YPC. Bucky Irving rushed for 170 yards on 27 carries while Kenneth Gainwell totaled 140 yards on 25 carries. They also benefitted from the four interceptions thrown by Michael Penix Jr. The Buccaneers defense did its part. They held the Falcons to just eight first downs and just 224 total yards of offense. Alex Anzalone picked off Penix twice while Zyon McCullom and Jacob Parrish also recorded interceptions. Overall, Tampa Bay has struggled on offense. They have totaled just 300 YPG and 22.3 PPG. Defensively, Tampa Bay ranks third in the NFL in yards allowed (285.9 YPG) and fifth in points allowed (18.9 PPG).

If Tampa Bay wants to keep their winning streak alive, they need to establish the run game once again and let Mayfield ease into this one. Irving was elite last week, and the Tampa Bay ground game has really been working lately. The Bears do feature the fourth best rushing defense in the league, but the two back system, as well as a good game from Baker, will even things out. They also need to control and reign in Williams. Williams has been incredible since his injury, and the Tampa Bay defense needs to force turnovers and limit his success in this one. This will be a good matchup, and whoever wins will do the little things right.

Tampa Bay Buccaneers 3 Keys to Victory

  1. Get Irving Going
  2. Contain and Limit Williams
  3. Do the Little Things Right

Tampa Bay Buccaneers Injuries

WR Emeka Egbuka – Questionable

LB Yaya Diaby – Out

CB Josh Hayes – IR

Sunday Night Football Chicago Bears Game Preview

The Chicago Bears have looked like one of the best teams in the league over the past three weeks. They are coming off a huge 17-point road win over the defending Super Bowl Champs, in a game where they totally bullied the Seahawks. Chicago outgained Seattle by 111 yards and has possession of the ball for over 35 minutes. The secondary limited Sam Darnold in this one and forced him into an interception. Williams threw for nearly 250 yards on 24 completions while D’Andre Swift punched it into the end zone three times, and he finished with 79 total yards on offense. So far this season the Bears have been a top offensive team. They rank third in the league with 387.3 YPG and they are averaging 26.8. Defensively, they have allowed 305.8 YPG and held opponents to just 20 PPG.

If the Bears want to push the winning streak to four games and keep pace in the division they will need to force Mayfield to beat them in the air. Chicago matches up well here as the Buccaneers like to run the ball and the Bears rush defense is elite. Now they are adding Jeffery Simmons in the mix as well. They need to keep Tampa Bay in passing situations and force Mayfield to make plays. Offensively, they need to continue to stay balanced and let Williams do his thing while also letting Swift and the ground game get their work. Chicago matches up very well here.

Chicago Bears 3 Keys to Victory

  1. Shut Down the Run
  2. Stay Balanced Offensively
  3. Make Mayfield be Elite

Chicago Bears Injuries

RB Kyle Monangai – Questionable

DT Kentavius Street – Questionable

DE Grady Jarrett – Questionable

CB Malik Muhammad II – Questionable

S Coby Bryant – IR

TE Cole Kmet - IR

Sunday Night Football Game Predictions

 I like the under 47.5 in this one with two elite defenses and two teams who like to run the ball. I also like the Bears to win and cover here. It will be a great game, but the Bears offense will prove to be too much for Tampa Bay to keep up with. I expect this game to be a solid three-quarter game with the Bears pulling away late. If Williams can take care of the ball and not give Tampa Bay any extra chances or short field situations, Chicago’s got this in the bag.

My Pick: Chicago Bears, -6 / Under 47.5

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