The Chicago Bears and Tampa Bay Buccaneers had their playoff hopes extinguished last week, but it was still impressive that both teams were even in the mix this late into the year.
NFL picks and predictions, Bears vs. Buccaneers 2015: Tampa Bay a popular pick to beat Chicago
The Buccaneers have already tripled their win total from last season.
The 6-8 Bucs have already tripled their win total from last year and, if they win out, have a chance for their first non-losing season since 2010. Although they were never able to crack the .500 mark this year, they kept themselves within spitting distance of a playoff berth for far longer than anyone could have anticipated.
More importantly, they seem to have found their franchise quarterback and have a solid young core to build around. Jameis Winston is a leading candidate for the Rookie of the Year award and has already etched his name in the record books, with more accolades likely to come. At age 21, he's the youngest player in NFL history to produce a 3,000-yard passing season.
He needs 578 yards passing in his final two games to become just the third rookie ever to throw for 4,000 yards, joining Cam Newton (2011) and Andrew Luck (2012) in that exclusive group. With 20 touchdown passes in 14 games, he also has a shot to break the rookie record of 26 that is shared by Peyton Manning (1998) and Russell Wilson (2012).
The Bears, meanwhile, need one more win to surpass their total from last year. Although Chicago is going to miss the postseason for the eighth time in nine years, John Fox’s debut season has been far from a total disaster.
Notably, the team has shown significant improvement on the defensive side of the ball. One year after ranking a dismal 31st in points allowed and 30th in yards allowed, the Bears are now 20th in scoring defense and 12th in total defense.
The experts are leaning toward the home team in this matchup. Most of the ESPN panel is picking Tampa Bay, as are six of the eight guys at CBS Sports. Seven of our eight panelists at SB Nation are also taking the Buccaneers over the Bears.
| Week 16 | Ryan Van Bibber | Stephen White | Joel Thorman | David Fucillo | Danny Kelly | Matt Ufford | PFT Commenter | OddsShark |
| CHI vs TB | TB | TB | TB | TB | TB | CHI | TB | TB |
See More:
