Tampa Bay Buccaneers 36, Chicago Bears 10
Here are the top-graded players and biggest storylines from Tampa Bay’s 36-10 win over Chicago in Week 10:
Quarterback grade: Jameis Winston, 87.9
Big day for Winston leads Buccaneers to blowout victory
Jameis Winston continued his up-and-down sophomore season with an “up” game on Sunday afternoon. He was extremely efficient when the Bears sat back in coverage and gave him time to throw, completing 20-of-24 passes for 247 yards and two touchdowns when he wasn’t pressured. Of his 29 aimed passes, Winston was accurate on all but four of them. It didn’t seem to matter where Winston was looking, he was making all the throws in this one.
Top offensive grades:
TE Cameron Brate, 93.5
QB Jameis Winston, 87.9
RG Ali Marpet, 80.7
WR Mike Evans, 78.3
WR Freddie Martino, 71.1
Buccaneers get big day out of TE Brate, with star WR Evans having a quiet afternoon
Mike Evans still did damage, catching all four targets he saw for 66 yards, including the ridiculous 39-yard Madden-like scramble and throw by Winston, but he wasn’t his usual dominant self. Instead it was tight end/slot receiver Cameron Brate who stole the show on Sunday. He caught all seven passes thrown his way for 84 yards and a touchdown. All seven of his catches went for first downs (or touchdowns), and he also drew three penalties while running routes.
Top defensive grades:
CB Brent Grimes, 86.6
LB Lavonte David, 84.6
ED William Gholston, 84.2
ED Robert Ayers, 80.4
S Bradley McDougald, 80.3
Full defensive team effort completely shuts down Bears offense
So many things went right for the Buccaneers defense in this one. They got a big game from Brent Grimes, who allowed just three catches on four targets for only 25 yards and had a big interception. They had a pass rush going strong, recording five sacks, three hits and 10 hurries as a unit. They struggled a bit against the run, but one positive from there is that they only missed three tackles total in the run game. They didn’t miss any tackles in the passing game.
Quarterback grade: Jay Cutler, 30.0
Cutler plays one of the worst games of his career in big loss
Bears QB Jay Cutler struggled making even the most routine throws on Sunday, missing far too often for the Bears to overcome. If you take away the mostly fluky Hail Mary touchdown, Cutler was just 15-of-29 for 132 yards and two interceptions. He was very ineffective when under pressure (which he was on 40 percent of his dropbacks), completing just 44.4 percent of his passes for 72 yards. He also had a couple of fumbles on the day.
Top offensive grades:
LG Josh Sitton, 75.7
LT Charles Leno Jr., 73.4
WR Alshon Jeffery, 69.7
WR Cameron Meredith, 64.6
WR Eddie Royal, 59.2
Very little positives to take away from Bears offensive unit
Cutler wasn’t good, but neither were many of his offensive counterparts. The Bears got a decent game from left guard Josh Sitton, who was solid in both run- and pass-blocking. But guys like Alshon Jeffery didn’t step up as much as the Bears would have liked them to. Jeffery caught just four passes on eight targets for 47 yards. Eddie Royal had just one catch for 24 yards. RB Jordan Howard (54.3) had a good day rushing the ball, gaining 100 yards on just 15 carries, but he also had a costly fumble.
Top defensive grades:
LB Danny Trevathan, 86.6
ED Leonard Floyd, 85.1
LB Jerrell Freeman, 82.2
DI Eddie Goldman, 81.8
ED Pernell McPhee, 81.5
Front seven’s successful day should not be overlooked for Bears
While the Bears had real trouble in the secondary, they should be very encouraged by the play of their front seven. The pass rush was led by rookie Leonard Floyd, who recorded a sack, a hit and three hurries. The entire unit combined for four sacks, three hits and 10 hurries. The run defense was led by Jerrell Freeman, who made seven solo runs stops on 31 run snaps. Overall they held the Buccaneers to just 80 yards on 31 carries (2.6 YPA) and didn’t miss any tackles against the run.
PFF Game-Ball Winner: Buccaneers TE Cameron Brate
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