TAMPA, Fla. (AP) -- The upbeat mood in the Tampa Bay locker room had little to do with the prospect of ending a two-game losing streak against the Chicago Bears.

The Buccaneers, idle last week, haven't beaten an opponent in almost a month. Yet, the hole they've dug for themselves in the NFC Central suddenly doesn't appear all that deep.

Three of Tampa Bay's four NFC Central rivals, including the Bears, lost last weekend to create an opening for the Bucs to surge through over the next three games.

"Nobody wants to play the game the way it's supposed to be played right now," Pro Bowl defensive tackle Warren Sapp said, counting the underachieving Bucs (2-3) among the teams whose records have dropped because of inconsistency.

The Bears (3-3) lost to the struggling Philadelphia Eagles last Sunday, a week after upsetting defending division champ Minnesota (2-4) on the road. Green Bay (3-2) was routed at Denver to fall into a first-place tie with Detroit (3-2), which dealt the reeling Vikings their second straight loss.

"It's real surprising ... but I'm loving it," Sapp said.

"You've got to kind of tip your hat to them for playing that way. You take a week off after losing two in a row in the division and everything falls into place. We don't lose any ground. We actually gain a little ground."

After facing the Bears at home Sunday, the Bucs will play the Lions and New Orleans Saints on the road in their next two games. A sweep of those teams would thrust them into a position to make a strong bid for the division title with five home games in the second half of the season.

Coach Tony Dungy stressed, however, the club is not in a position to look beyond the Bears, who are already within one victory of matching their total for 1998.

The Bucs have the NFL's second-ranked defense. However, the offense is still having problems moving the ball and scoring points. Trent Dilfer has thrown three more interceptions (nine) than touchdowns (six), and the team's giveaway-takeaway differential of minus-11 is tied for the worst in the league with Atlanta.

Dungy welcomed the help the Bucs received during the bye week, but rejected the notion the so-called "soft" portion of Tampa Bay's schedule should give the team a chance to take command of the race.

"The biggest problem is we've got to start playing. Regardless of what everyone else does, if we play our kind of football I think we can get in the race and win it, regardless of what happens to anyone else. But that depends on us," the coach said.

"You can say we lost to Minnesota and Green Bay, but Chicago's ahead of Minnesota right now. So, that's the way we've got to look at it. We've got to deal with a team that beat Minnesota, which is something we couldn't do."

With five of their next six games on the road, the Bears are entering a stretch that's equally important. The lone home game during the period will be a rematch with the Vikings.

Although Chicago has played just one NFC Central opponent so far, the Bears have already done something Green Bay, Minnesota, Detroit and Tampa Bay have not -- beat a division opponent on the road. "The good news is in our confernce, there are two teams that have more wins than us and there are no teams in our division that have more wins than us," said first-year Bears coach Dick Jauron.

"There are probably a lot of people who never thought we'd be 3-3 at this point. We're disappointed to only be 3-3."

Bears fans were talking playoffs after Chicago's victory over the Vikings two weeks ago. A four-point loss to the Eagles in first-rounder Cade McNown's first pro start at quarterback tempered the excitement, but didn't change the way the players feel about their potential.

"Somebody's got to make a move. 3-3 is not acceptable," said offensive tackle Blake Brockermeyer, who signed with the Bears as a free agent after four seasons with Carolina.

"I don't care whether we were expected to be there or not, I didn't come here to be on a team that's happy to be .500. I came here to be on a team that expects to win every week ... .500 is not going to get you very far in this league. Even if it does get you to the playoffs, you won't last long."

Dungy concurred. He said the first team in the division to put together a four- or five-game winning streak will separate itself from the pack.

Sapp expects it to be the Bucs.

"We've got to put ourselves in a position to win this thing," the fifth-year pro said. "Right now, it's for the taking. Are we the team that wants to take it right now? That's the challenge at hand."

CHICAGO Season schedule and results

TAMPA BAY Season schedule and results

September 12 Kansas City W 20-17 September 19 Seattle L 13-14 September 26 @Oakland L 17-24 October 3 New Orleans W 14-10 October 10 @Minnesota W 24-22 October 17 Philadelphia L 16-20 October 24 @Tampa Bay 1:00pm ET October 31 @Washington 1:00pm ET November 7 @Green Bay 1:00pm ET November 14 Minnesota 1:00pm ET November 21 @San Diego 4:15pm ET November 25 @Detroit 12:40pm ET December 5 Green Bay 1:00pm ET December 19 Detroit 1:00pm ET December 26 @St. Louis 1:00pm ET January 2 Tampa Bay 1:00pm ET

September 12 NY Giants L 13-17 September 19 @Philadelphia W 19-5 September 26 Denver W 13-10 October 3 @Minnesota L 14-21 October 10 @Green Bay L 23-26 October 24 Chicago 1:00pm ET October 31 @Detroit 8:20pm ET November 7 @New Orleans 4:05pm ET November 14 Kansas City 1:00pm ET November 21 Atlanta 1:00pm ET November 28 @Seattle 4:05pm ET December 6 Minnesota 9:00pm ET December 12 Detroit 1:00pm ET December 19 @Oakland 4:05pm ET December 26 Green Bay 4:15pm ET January 2 @Chicago 1:00pm ET

Records source: STATS, Inc.

Copyright 1999 STATS, Inc. Commercial distribution without the express written consent of STATS is prohibited.