Despite a late-game comeback bid by the Tampa Bay Buccaneers at Soldier Field on Sunday night, the home team came out victorious with a walk-off 38-yard field goal by Cairo Santos. The Bucs tied it up at 24 following a six-yard touchdown run by Bucky Irving and an ensuing two-yard rush up the middle for the two-point conversion attempt.
"I think we had settled down," said Head Coach Todd Bowles on the Bears' early lead. "I thought everyone was a little antsy starting the game, the first two drives. Once we settled down, I thought we played well and played some pretty good football from there on out and until obviously the last play. They came out real hot and we were on our heels a little bit then the younger guys settled down and started playing football."
The Buccaneers rallied from behind after falling to 14-0 on Chicago's first two possessions. Tampa Bay's defense picked off Caleb Williams four times, Rueben Bain Jr. forced a fumble that was recovered by Ifeatu Melifonwu, Miles Killebrew had a punt deflection, but miscues became the storyline for Tampa Bay at Soldier Field in prime-time. Baker Mayfield threw for a season-high 243 yards but was intercepted twice, including one that was returned 67 yards for a pick-six by Jaylon Johnson in the third quarter. The Bucs committed eight penalties, including five false starts. The Buccaneers totaled 352 yards of offense, to Chicago's 349, but the club only converted two of their 12 third-down attempts against the NFL's top-ranked defense in that category.
Offensive Overview
Baker Mayfield completed 18 of 32 attempts for 243 yards and two interceptions. In a game that pit two offenses and defenses ranked in the top five in rushing yards against one another, the Bucs had the advantage on the ground, rushing for 126 yards compared to Chicago's 72. Bucky Irving rushed 20 times for 97 yards and two touchdowns. Receiver Tez Johnson led the team with 76 receiving yards on two catches, including a 57-yarder in the third quarter that set up Irving's first touchdown run. Running back Kenny Gainwell had three totes for 60 yards and receiver Emeka Egbuka returned from a two-game absence with a foot injury and caught three passes for 38 yards. The defense kept the Bucs in the game with three second-quarter interceptions but Tampa Bay was only able to turn it into three points. McCollum's second interception in the third quarter was followed by Johnson's pick-six, which gave Chicago a 24-13 lead. In the Week Nine clash, Chase McLaughlin continued his perfect season by making field goals of 27, 21 and 35 yards but the Bucs were not able to come out on top with inefficiency in the red area.
Defensive Rundown
Following Sunday's five-takeaway, four-interception performance, the Bucs lead the league in both categories, with 21 and 16, respectively. Tampa Bay became the first team to ever intercept Bears' quarterback Caleb Williams three or more times in a single game across his 40 career games played. It was his first game with multiple interceptions since Week Three of his rookie season in 2024. Williams entered the game with just one interception on the season over 158 pass attempts but threw four on 37 pass attempts on Sunday against the Bucs' swarming defense. With five takeaways and two turnovers on the day, Tampa Bay improved its turnover margin to +7 – tied for the third-best mark in the NFL this season. The defense limited the Bears to just 72 rushing yards – the fewest in a game for Chicago this season.
Safety Tykee Smith hauled in the first interception for the Bucs, his second in 2026 and the fifth of his NFL career. Cornerback Zyon McCollum recorded the second and third interceptions for Tampa Bay, giving him three-straight games with an interception and making him the first Buccaneer to accomplish this feat since Lavonte David in 2013. He is one-of-10 players in franchise history with four-or-more interceptions over a three-game span, and the first since David in 2013. McCollum's career high four interceptions on the season lead the team and make Tampa Bay one of two teams across the league to have multiple players (Alex Anzalone – three) with three-or-more interceptions joining the Green Bay Packers (Xavier McKinney and Evan Williams).
With two in Week Nine, McCollum is up to 11 passes defensed on the season – tied for the second-most in the NFL in 2026, trailing only teammate Jacob Parrish's 14. Parrish's league-leading 14th pass deflection on the season resulted in an interception by inside linebacker Alex Anzalone. Anzalone's interception was his fourth interception of the season, and his third over his past two outings alone. Anzalone's four picks are the most by a front seven player in the NFL this season. The final turnover came on a fumble that was forced by Bain and recovered by safety Ifeatu Melifonwu, who was in for the injured Antoine Winfield Jr. (ankle). It marked the first career forced fumble for Bain Jr. and the third career fumble recovery for Melifonwu.
