Spokesman-Review
National Football League
Chicago 21, Tampa Bay 13
When: 1:00 PM ET, Sunday, November 23, 2014
Where: Soldier Field, Chicago, Illinois
Temperature: 54°
Head Official: Walt Coleman
Attendance: 61109

Bears 21, Buccaneers 13: Matt Forte ran for two touchdowns and Chicago's defense made a late stand as the Bears defeated former coach Lovie Smith in his return to the Windy City.

Jay Cutler threw for 130 yards and a touchdown with no interceptions and one fumble for Chicago (5-6), which has won back-to-back games following a three-game skid. Brandon Marshall and Alshon Jeffery were relatively quiet, combining for six catches for 54 yards, although Jeffery did have a third-quarter touchdown catch to help the Bears recover from an ugly first half.

Former Chicago quarterback Josh McCown threw for 341 yards and a TD with two interceptions and a fumble for the Bucs (2-9), who have lost six of their last seven games. Rookie wideout Mike Evans caught a second-quarter TD pass, giving him eight scores on the season, including six in the last four games.

Patrick Murray's 39-yard field goal gave Tampa Bay its only points of the second half, drawing the visitors within 21-13 with 4:56 remaining. Chicago went three-and-out and Pat O'Donnell uncorked a 20-yard punt to set up the Bucs with a short field, but McCown was stuffed on fourth-and-1 at the Bears' 36 to effectively seal the outcome.

Facing a 10-0 deficit at halftime, Chicago scored a touchdown on three of its four drives in the third quarter to take control of the game. Cutler threw a 2-yard TD pass to Jeffery early in the period before Forte scored on runs of 13 yards and 1 yard less than two minutes apart, separated by a Ryan Mundy interception of McCown.

GAME NOTEBOOK: McCown, who passed for 13 touchdowns and one interception for the Bears last season, has seven TDs and eight INTs this season after signing a two-year, $10 million contract in the offseason. ... Forte's rushing TDs were his first since Oct. 19. ... Evans, who had set a career high in receiving in each of the last four weeks, was limited to three catches for 47 yards. The Bucs did have a pair of 100-yard receivers in Vincent Jackson (five catches, 117 yards) and Louis Murphy (six receptions, 113 yards).
Top Game Performances
Rushing
Tampa Bay   Chicago
Doug Martin Player Matt Forte
11 Attempts 23
27 Yards 89
2.4 Avg Yards 3.9
0 Touchdowns 2
10 Long 13
Receiving
Tampa Bay   Chicago
Vincent Jackson Player Martellus Bennett
5 Receptions 4
117 Yards 37
23.4 Avg Yards 9.2
0 Touchdowns 0
40 Long 26
Team Stats Summary
 
  Yards Scoring Defense
Team Tot Rus Pas TD FG INT Sck FF
Tampa Bay 367 66 301 1 2 0 3.0 1
Chicago 204 92 112 3 0 2 5.0 3
Upcoming Games
  • Chicago will play their next game on the road against Detroit. The Bears have a W/L % of .500 after a win and .429 after a loss.
  • Tampa Bay will play their next game at home against Cincinnati. The Buccaneers have a W/L % of .000 after a win and .222 after a loss.