TAMPA, Fla. -- The Tampa Bay Buccaneers' defensive resurgence last season was hardly a fluke. In fact, they showed Sunday against the Chicago Bears, whom they beat 29-7, that they have not only picked up where they left off -- they've improved.
The Bucs allowed the Bears just 20 rushing yards -- the Bears' third-lowest total in the past 15 seasons. It was also the ninth-lowest mark allowed in Bucs history. Last year against the Bucs, the Bears averaged 6.1 yards per carry. Last week against the defending NFC champion Atlanta Falcons, the Bears averaged 6.6 yards per carry.
"They came down here last year and they started a good running game on us," said defensive tackle Clinton McDonald. "That’s one of the things that Coach [Dirk Koetter] harped on."
Bucs defenders contacted Bears running backs Tarik Cohen and Jordan Howard at or behind the line of scrimmage on 10 of their 16 rushes, according to ESPN Stats & Info. The Bears averaged 0.13 yards before contact per rush -- their worst such mark in the last 10 seasons. For a defense that was 23rd in the league last year, that made it a focal point of the offseason program -- it was huge.
"We talked about that in the spring leading into OTAs, training camp, preseason and up until now – stop the run. You build off of that," said defensive tackle Gerald McCoy. "That two-headed monster they have, they’re going to hurt a lot of defenses. ... We knew we had to corral them -- keep them in and gang tackle today.”
The Bucs defense also got takeaways. They intercepted quarterback Mike Glennon twice and forced two fumbles -- one on defense and one on special teams -- with 20 of their 29 points coming off turnovers.
The first pick came in the first quarter, with Kwon Alexander intercepting Glennon on a pass intended for Deion Sims. In the second quarter, cornerback Robert McClain picked off a pass and returned it 47 yards for a touchdown. Noah Spence also slammed into Glennon and knocked the ball loose, with Lavonte David recovering it.
“If you look at last year, our defense, towards the end of the year they were lights out," said quarterback Jameis Winston. "That’s why our offense had success. Defense wins championships. When you’ve got a dominant defense, it opens up every single thing."
"When you’ve got a defense that is literally stopping the offense and the offense feels like they have nowhere to go, that’s inspiring to the offense," Winston said. "Because we know we have to score points because our defense is out there playing their tails off."
Granted, the Bears were weakened with the loss of Kevin White and Cameron Meredith. Mike Glennon's days as a starter may soon before over too. But this was a performance Bucs fans can (and should) feel good about.
"[If you] stop the run [and] take the ball away, it leads to wins," McCoy said. "We’ve just got to keep it going. The formula doesn’t change -- that’s for anybody. Any of the best defenses you’ve seen -- the great defenses -- it’s their formula: stop the run and take the ball away. That’s how it goes.”
The Bucs defense will be tested against the Minnesota Vikings next week -- particularly against the run. Rookie Dalvin Cook has 191 rushing yards per game through two games this year -- third-most in the league. Depending if Sam Bradford is healthy enough to play or if Case Keenum gets the nod, Cook may be relied on even more.