Bears predictions: Week 2 vs. Buccaneers

SHARE Bears predictions: Week 2 vs. Buccaneers
aptopix_bears_buccaneers_football_65337315.jpg

Bears running back Jordan Howard runs against the Buccaneers in 2016. (AP)

The Chicago Sun-Times’ experts offer their predictions for the Bears’ matchup against the Buccaneers in Week 2:

RICK MORRISSEY

Buccaneers, 20-17

I can’t forget the way Jameis Winston avoided a horde of Bears and found Mike Evans with a deep pass last season. I know: The Bears’ defense is better but … Season: 1-0.

RICK TELANDER

Buccaneers, 20-17

It’s rare we factor a hurricane’s effects into our game picks. But there was Irma, and there’s Tampa Bay. Will the Bucs be up or down? Same for the Bears, now 4-18 since December 2015. Ill winds for both. Season: 1-0.

ADAM L. JAHNS

Bears, 27-20

Mike Glennon gets his revenge on his former team — and he actually goes deep more than once. Tarik Cohen will produce again, too. The Bucs are a team on the rise, but a week spent dealing with Hurricane Irma and more serious matters helps the Bears’ cause. Season: 1-0.

PATRICK FINLEY

Buccaneers, 21-20

The Buccaneers had their lives uprooted and now have to work through the rust of a season-opener. The Bears looked solid Sunday but, the last two years, have yet to catch the metaphorical — or literal — last-second pass in the end zone. Until they do, you can’t bet them. Season: 1-0.

MARK POTASH

Bears, 24-21.

That the Bears played last week and the Bucs did not will be a benefit for the Bears. The Buccaneersare  due for a shaky start after the tumult of Hurricane Irma. Season: 1-0.

RELATED STORIES

Is the Bears’ offense capable of surprising everyone?

Why injured WR Markus Wheaton is one of Bears’ most critical players

The Latest
Busch found an unconventional way to score in the Cubs’ loss to the Rangers.
The acquisition of Tamarack Farms makes Hackmatack National Wildlife Refuge a more impactful destination and creates within Hackmatack a major macrosite for conservation.
The man was found unresponsive in an alley in the 10700 block of South Lowe Avenue, police said.
The man suffered head trauma and was pronounced dead at University of Chicago Medical Center, police said.
Another federal judge in Chicago who also has dismissed gun cases based on the same Supreme Court ruling says the high court’s decision in what’s known as the Bruen case will “inevitably lead to more gun violence, more dead citizens and more devastated communities.”