Bears at Buccaneers: Preview, prediction, odds and pick

The Tampa Bay Buccaneers will host the Chicago Bears on Sunday afternoon in Week. 2. Here is a game preview, the betting odds and a final score prediction.

Football is back. One of the games you won’t want to miss on Sunday will be a matchup between NFC teams in the Chicago Bears and the Tampa Bay Buccaneers. Kickoff from Raymond James Stadium in Tampa will be at 1:00 p.m. ET on September 17. FOX will have the telecast with Dick Stockton and Mark Schlereth in the booth.

Chicago is coming off a tough loss in Week 1 where they almost upset the Atlanta Falcons at home. Mike Glennon had the Bears in the red zone, but could not get it into the end zone in the short field. The defending NFC champs hold on in the Windy City, but a valiant effort by the Bears nevertheless.

Tampa Bay had its Week 1 game with the Miami Dolphins rescheduled to Week 11 because of Hurricane Irma. The Buccaneers and Dolphins will not have byes this season because of the Hurricane, but both teams can’t wait for the season to begin. Miami opens up on the road against the Los Angeles Chargers in the StubHub Center in Carson.

According to SportsBook Review, the Buccaneers will be laying seven points at home to the visiting Bears. The associated moneylines for this game are Tampa Bay -315 and Chicago +255. This game’s over/under comes in at a combined 43 points.

Betting Odds

Point Spread: Tampa Bay -7
Moneylines: Tampa Bay -315, Chicago +255
Over/Under: 43

This game will be closer than the seven-point spread. Despite losing another receiver to a season-ending injury in Kevin White, the Bears are a physical team that loves to pound the rock with Jordan Howard and rookie Tarik Cohen. Chicago will sneak up on Tampa Bay, who may be overlooking the Bears a tad.

Glennon will want to play his best against the team that drafted him in 2013 out of North Carolina State. Tampa Bay obviously picked Jameis Winston over him, but will Glennon make the Buccaneers regret it with a great Week 2 performance?

Expect Glennon to play well, albeit with one hand tied behind his back. Not having great receiving weapons will be his inevitable downfall in this game. Winston will have a pair of head-scratching picks that Tampa Bay head coach Dirk Koetter will surely hate.

must read: 30 Best NFL Receivers of All-Time

It will be a low-scoring game between John Fox and Mike Smith’s defense. Being that this is in Tampa, the Buccaneers will find a way to victory in a game that a lesser Bucs team from yesteryear would have found a way to lose. Even at 0-2, the Bears will chalk up another moral victory for Fox in September.

Prediction: Buccaneers 23, Bears 18