Instant reactions: Bears blown up by the Buccaneers in Week 2

The Chicago Bears played horribly on Sunday in Tampa Bay, yet still had a chance for a game-winning drive late in the fourth quarter.

You know what happened next. Chase Claypool took a bad penalty, Justin Fields threw an awful pick six and the Bears were handed a 27-17 loss to drop them to 0-2 on the season with a trip to Kansas City coming next Sunday.

Here are our initial reactions to Sunday’s loss …

Adam Hoge

It’s hard to imagine a worse start to the season for the Chicago Bears. The defense still isn’t getting home and now has major depth issues with both Kyler Gordon and Eddie Jackson out. Justin Fields is just… well, struggling. It’s worrisome. When you can’t pass protect on one side of the ball and you can’t create pressure on the other, you’re not going to win football games. On that note, the Bears have now lost 12 games in a row.

Mark Carman

I have not felt this sick after a Bears game since the double doink. What an unbelievably bitter pill to swallow after making it a one-score game and then getting a stop to give the offense a chance. There were moments of progress combined with all the head scratching. Bears fans will have a hard time taking solace in having a chance to win late in the fourth quarter, but the Bears did see some progress this week. Along with the pain.

Nicholas Moreano

The Bears knew what they needed to correct going into their Week 2 matchup against the Buccaneers. Despite the major let down against Green Bay, all the same mistakes surfaced a week later in Tampa Bay. Justin Fields held the ball for too long and missed players downfield. The defense couldn’t get off the field on third down. And now the Bears are 0-2 and have to travel to Kansas City to face Patrick Mahomes. Only two weeks into the season, but already it feels like it’s over.

Will DeWitt

Leave it to the Bears to give us a glimpse of hope they’re near the end just to flush it straight down the toilet. For every step forward it felt like this team made today, it also took a couple back. So many self-inflicted wounds. Fields is way behind where we thought he’d be, and his team is following suit. Go figure. DJ Moore had over 100 yards receiving. Chase Claypool had a touchdown. Bears defense held the Bucs to one touchdown in four red zone trips. But it wasn’t enough. It’s rarely enough when your quarterback plays like we saw from Fields today.  

Greg Braggs Jr.

Same ol Bears, different day.

This is Nagy and Mitch all over again. Getsy refuses to establish the power run, even if it shows success. The team can’t develop the quarterback. The quarterback can’t read the field. I can’t even be mad at the defense. This team will never go anywhere until they figure out how to play offense. It probably will never happen in my lifetime.

The question now is: What kind of President does Kevin Warren want to be? Is he just the money guy and the stadium guy like Ted Phillips was? Or is he going to be hands on and challenge Ryan Poles as to why this looks worse than last year despite all the additions? At some point, there has to be some accountability from the head coach, offensive coordinator and quarterback.

Kevin Kaduk

I’ve got nothing. I didn’t expect the Bears to be a top-flight NFC contender, but improving on last year should have been a given. The 2023 Bears instead look miles worse than the 2022 squad that finished with three wins and the No. 1 pick. Back to the drawing board for what seems like the 400th time in my Bears fan life.