NFL Predictions Week 12: Tampa Bay Buccaneers at Chicago Bears
By Erik Lambert
All sorts of story lines follow the Chicago Bears hosting the Tampa Bay Buccaneers. What do the NFL predictions say?
Subplots
Lovie Smith hopes to take advantage of generous Jay Cutler
Everybody knows the backdrop to this game. Lovie Smith coaches the Bears for nine seasons, which included a Super Bowl appearance. Now he returns to Soldier Field with his new team hoping to incorporate the same takeaway philosophies with Tampa Bay as he did in Chicago. Few know Jay Cutler better than he does, so Smith has a keen understanding of how to take advantage of the quarterback’s giving nature.
Key Matchup
Mike Evans against Kyle Fuller
By far the biggest weapon that has emerged on the Buccaneers offense is rookie receiver Mike Evans. Over the past three weeks he has posted 458 yards and five touchdowns. It will fall to Bears rookie corner Kyle Fuller to cover him. Fuller took on a similar matchup against the 6’5″ Kelvin Benjamin in Carolina and had success. He will have to do the same if Chicago doesn’t want Evans to dominate the game.
Fantasy Players To Watch
Matt Forte – RB
The Tampa Bay Buccaneers have had problems all season stopping the run. Over the past two games teams have averaged over 5.0 yards per carry against them. Keep in mind that includes Steven Jackson and Alfred Morris, who have struggled most of the season. So it will be interesting to see how the Bucs plans to stop Matt Forte who is on pace for 2,092 total yards from scrimmage and 1,172 rushing.
Austin Seferian-Jenkins – TE
The Chicago Bears defense has had all sorts of problems in 2014 but one of the most glaring is their struggles against opposing tight ends. Rob Gronkowski victimized them for over 140 yards and three touchdowns. If there was one matchup the Bucs were looking to exploit, it would be down the middle against the Bear linebackers and safeties. That means giving rookie tight end Austin Seferian-Jenkins a serious role in the game plan, something that hasn’t occurred thus far due to various circumstances.
Pick: TB 23, CHI 21