Week 15 Game Recap: Tampa Bay Buccaneers 31, Chicago Bears 34

What you need to know

Tampa Bay Buccaneers

Bruce Gradkowski struggled early on against Chicago, and was replaced for the second week in a row by Tim Rattay. Rattay provided a spark offensively for Tampa Bay and helped lead the 21 point comeback attempt with three passing scores in the second half. While he was able to bring the team back to tie the game, Rattay was unable to get anything going in overtime and Chicago took advantage.

Joey Galloway led the way receiving for the Buccaneers with 107 yards on three catches, including a 64 yard touchdown reception, and WR Ike Hilliard and TE Alex Smith each caught Rattay touchdowns that helped Tampa Bay get back into the game.

Cadillac Williams and Mike Alstott each managed just 26 yards rushing, and failed to find any success running the ball against the tough Chicago defense. Alstott was able to punch one in from 14 yards out on a nice run in the third quarter, but that was the only positive in the Tampa Bay rushing attack.

The Buccaneers’ defense gave up three first half touchdowns and trailed 21-3 at halftime. They came out in the second half and played better, holding the Bears to just ten points in the second session, while their offense was bringing them back. Unfortunately, they could not overcome the great field position Chicago had in overtime, where the Bears were able to convert on their second field goal attempt of the overtime for the win.

Chicago Bears

Rex Grossman helped his team jump out to a 21-3 halftime lead with touchdown strikes of 24 and 12 yards to TE Desmond Clark, and threw for 339 yards to lead the Bears to victory.

Thomas Jones and Cedric Benson split the rushing duties, with 68 and 53 yards respectively, and each had touchdown runs to help balance the Chicago offense.

Desmond Clark had seven catches for 125 yards, including the aforementioned touchdown receptions, to lead the Bears in receiving, and Muhsin Muhammad chipped in with 85 yards on six catches.

Chicago’s defense shut down the Buccaneers' offense early, and with the exception of the Alstott touchdown, put the clamps on the Tampa Bay rushing game as well. In the first half, the Buccaneers had just two first downs and 64 total yards, and things were not looking good for Tampa Bay. However, in the second half the Bears were tested by Buccaneers QB Tim Rattay and could not figure out how to slow down a suddenly revived Tampa Bay offense. Chicago gave up 28 second half points, 21 of which came in the fourth quarter, and allowed the Buccaneers to tie the game and force overtime. The Bears looked alive defensively in overtime, forcing a turnover and shutting down Tampa Bay on three drives. Their performance on the last Buccaneers’ drive gave their offense great field position that led to the eventual game winning field goal.

What you ought to know

QB Tim Rattay, Pass: 20 - 35 - 268 - 3 TD / 1 INT

Rattay relieved Gradkowski for the second week in a row, and continued to build on his solid fourth quarter drive from last week. He finished 20 of 35 for 268 yards and three touchdowns, and was a big reason Tampa Bay was able to stage a comeback and overcome such a large deficit against the Bears. While he did throw one interception, Rattay led the Buccaneers on four scoring drives that led to touchdowns. His scoring passes came on completions to TE Alex Smith, WR Joey Galloway and WR Ike Hilliard. Rattay’s experience shows on the field, and you can see how much more comfortable he is in the pocket than the youngster Gradkowski.

QB Bruce Gradkowski, Pass: 5 - 11 - 37 - 0 TD / 0 INT

Gradkowski got off to a slow start against the impressive Chicago secondary, and following a five for 11 start and just 37 yards, was replaced by backup Tim Rattay.

RB Cadillac Williams, Rush: 11 - 26 - 0, Rec: 2 - 12 - 0 (2 targets)

Williams continued to struggle finding room in the Chicago defensive front, and with the large lead the Bears built, his carries were once again limited. Williams finished with 11 carries for just 26 yards and caught two balls for 12 yards in the passing game.

RB Mike Alstott, Rush: 6 - 26 - 1, Rec: 1 - 4 - 0 (3 targets)

Alstott ran the ball six times for 26 yards and scored on a nice 14 yard touchdown run in the third quarter that started the Tampa Bay comeback. Alstott made a nice move on a Chicago defender and showed the impressive footwork that helped make him one of the faces of the Buccaneers.

RB Michael Pittman, Rush: 2 - 5 - 0, Rec: 4 - 30 - 0 (5 targets)

Pittman had two rushes for five yards and finished with 30 yards receiving on four catches.

WR Joey Galloway, Rec: 3 - 107 - 1 (14 targets)

Galloway was effectively covered for much of the game, but was able to finish with three catches for 107 yards and a touchdown. The touchdown reception came on a 63 yard reception from Rattay in the fourth quarter. Galloway was by far the most targeted Buccaneers receiver with 14, but managed to come down with just three catches.

WR Ike Hilliard, Rec: 3 - 55 - 1 (5 targets)

Hilliard finished with 55 yards on three receptions, including a 44 yard touchdown reception from Tim Rattay in the fourth quarter that tied the game. Hilliard caught a short slant and took it the distance, running away from the Chicago secondary.

WR Maurice Stovall, Rec: 3 - 42 - 0 (4 targets)

Stovall was targeted four times, catching three balls for 42 yards. He was flagged for a questionable unsportsmanlike conduct penalty following one of his catches in the third quarter.

WR Michael Clayton

Clayton is on injured reserve and is out for the season.

TE Alex Smith, Rec: 5 - 24 - 1 (7 targets)

Smith was targeted seven times, catching five passes for 24 yards that included a nine yard touchdown reception. Smith had a fumble in overtime that could have been costly, but Chicago missed a field goal attempt on the following series that could have won the game.

TE Anthony Becht, Rec: 2 - 12 - 0 (3 targets)

Becht caught two passes for 12 yards and was targeted three times for the game.

PK Matt Bryant 1 - 1 FG, 4 - 4 XP, 7 points

Bryant connected on a 45 yard field goal in the second quarter, and hit all four of his extra point attempts to finish with seven points in the game.

TB Rush Defense

The Buccaneers defense played the run tough against the Bears, making their backs work hard for every yard they got. While they did score twice on the ground, the Bears ran the ball 34 times for 134 yards, at 3.9 yards per carry.

LB Shelton Quarles had a combined 15 tackles to lead Tampa Bay.

TB Pass Defense

Tampa Bay struggled against the Chicago passing game, giving up 312 net passing yards and two touchdowns. Rex Grossman threw for over 300 yards and a QB Rating over 100. Playing without starting DB Brian Kelly, and with a banged up Juran Bolden, Tampa Bay was hurt by an injury to Philip Buchanon in the game, and their defense was picked apart by Chicago for 18 passing first downs. The Buccaneers could not find TE Desmond Clark who burned them for over 100 yards and two scores.

QB Rex Grossman, Pass: 29 - 44 - 339 - 2 TD / 0 INT

Grossman had a solid performance against Tampa Bay, throwing for 339 yards and two scores on 29 of 44 passing. He had no interceptions and while he was slowed down a bit in the second half, he played well enough for his team to win. Both of Grossman’s scores came in the first half on strikes to TE Desmond Clark from 24 and 12 yards out.

RB Thomas Jones, Rush: 17 - 68 - 1, Rec: 3 - 16 - 0 (4 targets)

Jones split carries with Cedric Benson, but still led the Bears with 68 yards rushing on 17 carries. Jones also got into the end zone from five yards out in the second quarter and caught three passes for 16 yards on four targets in the passing game.

RB Cedric Benson, Rush: 15 - 53 - 1

Benson shared the load with Jones, rushing 15 times for 53 yards including a fourth quarter touchdown run from four yards out that extended Chicago’s lead following two Tampa Bay scores. Benson was determined on the run, punishing Buccaneer DB Jermaine Phillips on the run and walking into the end zone.

RB Jason McKie, Rec: 5 - 34 - 0 (5 targets)

McKie caught five passes for 34 yards out of the backfield for Chicago.

WR Bernard Berrian, Rec: 6 - 33 - 0 (7 targets)

Berrian caught six of the seven passes thrown his way for just 33 yards, and failed to stretch the field with any long pass plays against the Buccaneer secondary.

WR Muhsin Muhammad, Rec: 6 - 85 - 0 (11 targets)

Muhammad was the most targeted Chicago receiver with 11, catching six passes for 85 yards for the game.

TE Desmond Clark, Rec: 7 - 125 - 2 (10 targets)

Clark had a huge game, catching seven passes for 125 yards and scores from 24 and 12 yards out. He did a great job finding the open area in the Buccaneer Cover 2, giving his quarterback great passing lanes and making plays when his number was called.

PK Robbie Gould 2 - 3 FG, 4 - 4 XP, 10 points

Gould hit field goal attempts from 38 and 25 yards out and connected on four extra point attempts to finish with 10 points. He missed a 37 yard attempt in overtime that could have won the game, but luckily for the Bears, he rebounded with a 25 yard attempt later in overtime to win the game.

CHI Rush Defense

The Bears are just nasty against the run. They limited Tampa Bay to just 57 yards on 19 attempts, for a 3.0 ypc average. They hit hard and swarmed to the ball and gave up just two rushing first downs for the game. Tampa Bay did manage a rushing score on a shifty run by Mike Alstott, but that was the only bright spot for the Buccaneers in the run game.

LB’s Brian Urlacher and Lance Briggs each had 11 combined tackles to lead the Chicago defense.

CHI Pass Defense

Chicago was able to pressure Bruce Gradkowski enough to rattle him and shut down Tampa Bay’s passing attack early, but struggled to maintain that success in the second half. The Buccaneers scored three second half touchdowns through the air, two of which came on plays of 64 and 44 yards. The Bears were missing a few defensive starters, which could have contributed to their struggles in the second half. Chicago did intercept a Rattay pass, but came up with just two sacks against an offensive line that has struggled to protect all year long.