Bears vs. Buccaneers TV, Radio, Game Day Glance

Tampa Bay Buccaneers (3-1) at Chicago Bears (3-1)

Kickoff: Thursday, 7:20 p.m. central time

TV: FOX/NFL Network (Joe Buck, Troy Aikman, Erin Andrews, Kristina Pink)

Prime Video (Hannah Storm, Andrea Kremer)

Radio: WBBM AM-780, 105.9 FM (Jeff Joniak, Tom Thayer, Mark Grote)

Westwood One (Kevin Harlan, Tony Boselli, Scott Graham)

Univision Deportes: AM-1200, 93.5 FM

The Line: Buccaneers by 3 1/2 (over/under 44 1/2)

The Series: This is the 60th meeting. The Bears lead the series 39-20. The Bears won the last game 48-10 at Soldier Field in 2010. The Bears have won six of the last nine. Tampa Bay's last win in Chicago was in 2008.

The Coaches: Bears coach Matt Nagy is in his third season and has a 23-13 record. Tampa Bay coach Bruce Arians is in his second season with the team and is 10-10 and overall is 59-40-1 in seven seasons as an NFL head coach.

Last Week: The Bears suffered their first loss, 19-11 at Soldier Field against the Indianapolis Colts. Tampa Bay defeated the Los Angeles Chargers in Tampa 38-31.

Matching Up: Tampa Bay is 16th offensively, ninth passing and 27th rushing. The Buccaneers are fourth defensively, 19th against the pass and second against the run.

The Bears are 24th offensively, 21st in passing and 20th rushing. They are eighth on defense, ninth against the pass and 16th against the run.

The Injury Report

Buccaneers

WR Chris Godwin (hamstring): Out

RB LeSean McCoy (ankle): Out

WR Justin Watson (chest): Out

RB Leonard Fournette (ankle): Doubtful

WR Mike Evans (ankle): Questionable

WR Scotty Miller (hip/groin): Questionable

Bears

S Deon Bush (hamstring): Out

S Sherrick McManis (hamstring): Doubtful

WR Darnell Mooney (shoulder): Questionable

Key Individual Matchups:

Bears OLB Khalil Mack vs. Bucs RT Tristan Wirfs

Mack has been less productive in terms of actual sacks this year while doing what's necessary to make sure other linemen can get free, but this is a game when the Bears need Mack to prove why he is Mack. It's likely Wirfs will get help from Rob Gronkowski or backs on Mack at times. Wirfs is the 13th pick of this year's draft out of Iowa who received much publicity about being the best overall lineman. He hasn't disappointed with a very respectable 73.7 Pro Football Focus grade, no sacks allowed and just two penalties. He's been up against some strong pass rushers so far, too. He held Joey Bosa in check last week. But Bosa is a young player himself and not a veteran yet with more tricks than younger pass rushers.

Bears DE Akiem Hicks vs. Bucs RG Alex Cappa

If there is a total mismatch on the line for the Bears defense it's Hicks' massive power at 350 pounds against Cappa, who is a relatively light guard at 6-6 306. Cappa is in his second year starting and has a solid Pro Football Focus grade of 68.5. Hicks is off to a monsterous start overpowering linemen with his interior charge with 3 1/2 sacks, nine quarterback hits and five tackles for loss. Part of the reason the Bears lead the NFL in the red zone and are second on third down in the league is because of the pressure being exerted right in the face of quarterbacks by Hicks. The best way to beat Brady is to make certain he has someone right in his face, keeping him from stepping up to throw. Seeing a charging Hicks is not something any quarterback can enjoy, let alone a 43-year-old.

Bears WR Allen Robinson vs. Bucs CB Sean Murphy-Bunting

Tampa Bay's right cornerback has been a punching bag so far for opposing offenses. Bucs defensive coordinator Todd Bowles blitzes plenty and needs to because leaving Murphy-Bunting back on a receiver is an open invitation to a big play. So far PFF has Murphy-Bunting being targeted 18 times and allowing 17 receptions. Sportradar gives him a 146.8 passer rating against when targeted, and has his completion percentage allowed at 86.4%. The start is a bit surprising because Murphy-Bunting was one of the surprise young corners last year with three interceptions and 65% completions allowed. Robinson is riding two straight 100-yard games into this one. He's never had three straight 100-yard games. The one thing playing from behind last week did for Robinson was let him build up a rapport in the passing game more with Nick Foles, who really hadn't had a lot of chances to throw to him yet. Murphy-Bunting's best shot is if the Bucs do as they often do and move Carlton Davis around in the secondary to match him up against the best receiver. Davis can sometimes line up on the right side of the defense or even in the slot on specific downs. It would be to the Bucs' advantage to put him on Robinson on occasion.

Bears OLB Roquan Smith vs. Buccaneers TE Rob Gronkowski

Earlier this season, Gronk told reporters he's now a blocking tight end. He was only kidding, but Tampa Bay was using him more to block because they also have O.J. Howard and Cameron Brate. Howard just suffered an Achilles injury. Brate is still a receiving threat. The Bears can anticipate now Brady will rely on his old friend in the passing game because of all the injuries Tampa Bay has, not only to Howard but also to wide receivers Chris Godwin and Mike Evans. Brady is more likely to try to make it look like the good old days and try to get it to Gronk, who has had two catches or less in three of Tampa Bay's four games and averages only 9.7 yards a catch. Has Gronk lost it after being out of the game for a year and joining a new team? Gronk isn't likely to be a big target downfield and the Bears will try to get him covered with linebacker Roquan Smith, or he'll be trying to block Smith on plenty of running plays. Smith is coming off his best game of the year with 13 tackles, including three for loss. Smith definitely has the speed to cover Gronk, but gives up 5 inches in coverage. The Bears have faced Gronk just twice and none of their current defensive players were on the defense then. He had 14 receptions for 192 yards and four touchdowns against them, and scored three TDs in the last one when Marc Trestman was coach.

Bears CB Kyle Fuller or CB Jaylon Johnson vs. Buccaneers WR Mike Evans

With Chris Godwin hurting and unlikely to be ready, Evans will get the burden of being the outside deep threat. He normally will line up on Fuller's side, but could fill the X receiver spot on the left side as well and match up with Johnson, the Bears rookie. At 6-foot-5, 231, Evans is more than a match physically for any defensive back. Evans has an ankle injury but it isn't actually the main injury concern for Tampa Bay. Coach Bruce Arians has already said he doesn't expect Godwin to play Thursday, so it will be on a banged-up Evans to produce the big downfield plays. Fuller is coming off a rare mistake-prone game. He was beaten on a deep ball and flagged for interfering with T.Y. Hilton on the play. It's been a decent season for Fuller, who has one interception. Pro Football Focus only spots him a grade of 64.6 but Sportradar, the league's official stat partner, has him at 37% completions allowed on 27 targets (10 completions) and only a passer rating allowed of 49.2 when targeted.

Bears LT Charles Leno Jr. vs. Bucs OLB Shaq Barrett

Few thought much of Barrett when he left Denver in free agency but 19 1/2 sacks last year and three more this year and he's an obvious source of problems for the Bears. Barrett gives defensive coordinator Todd Bowles the pass rush threat he didn't really have when he blitzed on about every down with the Jets. Barrett will go to either side of the formation, much like the Bears used to use Khalil Mack before Robert Quinn's arrival limited this movement. It's on the Bears' left side where the matchup problem exists against this 250-pound, speedy pass rusher. Leno often gets criticism from Bears fans but so far has had a respectable start under new offensive line coach Juan Castillo. He has allowed one sack and committed only one penalty, a hold. All tackles should be benefiting from the lack of fans in stadiums so they can hear the snap count better, and more than one reputable league source has noted how officials have been eating a lot of flags on possible holding penalties this season for some reason. Still, Leno's pass blocking has been solid. It's going to need to be in this matchup against a speed rusher.

Of Note: Quarterback Tom Brady is 5-0 against the Bears in his career. ... Wide receiver Allen Robinson is going for his third straight 100-yard game. He's never had more than two 100-yard games in succession. ... This is the third straight 3-1 start to a season in Nagy's three years as coach. They lost the next game the first two times and have never been 4-1. ... Bears defensive coordinator Chuck Pagano as a coordinator or head coach is 0-6 against Brady, with his teams allowing an average of 41 points a game.

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