Best Bears Matchups Involve Getting in Tom Brady's Face

Akiem Hicks and Khalil Mack can have a tremendous impact in the Thursday night game by take

The start to Tom Brady's era in Tampa Bay disguised the fact the Buccaneers have compiled a thoroughly sound roster.

It's not easy for offenses to find areas on the Buccaneers defense to pick at with consistency and their offensive firepower makes it unlikely they'll be kept down for long.

Combine that with the braintrust of head coach Bruce Arians and defensive coordinator Todd Bowles and it's actually suprising Tampa Bay started 3-1 instead of 4-0.

All teams have flaws, however, and the Los Angeles Chargers exposed some with the Tampa Bay defense last week. It took rookie quarterback Justin Herbert to do it.

The Bears can find ways to beat the Buccaneers and avoid a two-game losing streak, and it starts with making sure their defense is giving Brady little time to make decisions.

Bears OLB Khalil Mack vs. Bucs RT Tristan Wirfs

Mack has been less productive in terms of actual sacks this year while doing what's necessary to make sure other linemen can get free, but this is a game when the Bears need Mack to prove why he is Mack. It's likely Wirfs will get help from Rob Gronkowski or backs on Mack at times. Wirfs is the 13th pick of this year's draft out of Iowa who received much publicity about being the best overall lineman. He hasn't disappointed with a very respectable 73.7 Pro Football Focus grade, no sacks allowed and just two penalties. He's been up against some strong pass rushers so far, too. He held Joey Bosa in check last week. But Bosa is a young player himself and not a veteran yet with more tricks than younger pass rushers.

Bears DE Akiem Hicks vs. Bucs RG Alex Cappa

If there is a total mismatch on the line for the Bears defense it's Hicks' massive power at 350 pounds against Cappa, who is a relatively light guard at 6-6 306. Cappa is in his second year starting and has a solid Pro Football Focus grade of 68.5. Hicks is off to a monsterous start overpowering linemen with his interior charge with 3 1/2 sacks, nine quarterback hits and five tackles for loss. Part of the reason the Bears lead the NFL in the red zone and are second on third down in the league is because of the pressure being exerted right in the face of quarterbacks by Hicks. The best way to beat Brady is to make certain he has someone right in his face, keeping him from stepping up to throw. Seeing a charging Hicks is not something any quarterback can enjoy, let alone a 43-year-old.

Bears WR Allen Robinson vs. Bucs CB Sean Murphy-Bunting

Tampa Bay's right cornerback has been a punching bag so far for opposing offenses. Bucs defensive coordinator Todd Bowles blitzes plenty and needs to because leaving Murphy-Bunting back on a receiver is an open invitation to a big play. So far PFF has Murphy-Bunting being targeted 18 times and allowing 17 receptions. Sportradar gives him a 146.8 passer rating against when targeted, and has his completion percentage allowed at 86.4%. The start is a bit surprising because Murphy-Bunting was one of the surprise young corners last year with three interceptions and 65% completions allowed. Robinson is riding two straight 100-yard games into this one. He's never had three straight 100-yard games. The one thing playing from behind last week did for Robinson was let him build up a rapport in the passing game more with Nick Foles, who really hadn't had a lot of chances to throw to him yet. Murphy-Bunting's best shot is if the Bucs do as they often do and move Carlton Davis around in the secondary to match him up against the best receiver. Davis can sometimes line up on the right side of the defense or even in the slot on specific downs. It would be to the Bucs' advantage to put him on Robinson on occasion.

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