Buccaneers vs. Chicago Bears 
LOSS - Tampa Bay Buccaneers 03 Chicago Bears 23
Doug Flutie made his NFL debut in the fourth quarter for the Chicago Bears. The Bears took an early 14–0 lead after Mike Tomczak's 37-yard touchdown pass to Willie Gault. The play occurred after Ervin Randle's recovery of a Calvin Thomas fumble was nullified due to an offsides penalty on Craig Swoope.
While the Buccaneers' defense improved later in the game, it was not enough to overcome the problems of the injury-battered offense. Nathan Wonsley suffered a broken neck while making a tackle on the opening kickoff. This was followed by injuries to Jerry Bell, Phil Freeman, Craig Swoope, and Willie Gillespie. Calvin Magee played with a prior injury, as did James Wilder and Leonard Harris, though both were forced to leave the game.
With Gerald Carter left as the only experienced receiver, the Bears keyed on him, and with Bell, Wonsley and Wilder out, the Buccaneers could not run.
GAMEDAY BRIEF
OFFICALS
- REFEREE: Dick Jorgensen
- UMPIRE: Neil Gereb
- LINE JUDGE: Dick McKenzie
- HEAD LINESMAN: Ron Phares
- BACK JUDGE: Tom Barnes
- FIELD JUDGE: Johnny Grier
- SIDE JUDGE: Dave Hawk
SCORING
- BEARS: 09:43-1Q Tomczak 1 run (Butler kick)
- BEARS: 06:40-1Q Gault 37 pass from Tomcazk (Butler kick)
- BUCCANEERS: 01:48-1Q Igwebuike FG42
- BEARS: 00:03-2Q Butler FG25
- BEARS: 13:25-4Q Butler FG23
- BEARS: 01:58-4Q Butler FG22
STARTERS OFFENSE
- WR: #84 L. Harris
- LT: #72 R. Taylor
- LG: #66 G. Yarno
- C: #60 R. Grimes
- RG: #62 S. Farrell
- RT: #73 R. Heller
- TE: #86 C. Magee
- WR: #87 G. Carter
- QB: #08 S. Young
- UB: #82 J. Bell
- RB: #32 J. Wilder
STARTERS DEFENSE
- LE: #71 B. Nelson
- NT: #76 D. Logan
- RE: #90 R. Holmes
- LOLB: #57 K. Browner
- LILB: #58 J. Davis
- RILB: #52 S. Brantley
- ROLB: #51 C. Washington
- LCB: #21 V. McKeever
- RCB: #22 R. Jones
- SS: #41 C. Swoope
- FS: #31 C. Curry
SUBSTITUTIONS
- 1 Igwebuike, 5 Garcia, 17 DeBerg, 23 Castille, 25 Howard, 26 Easmon, 35 Franklin, 36 Futrell, 44 Sully, 46 Wonsley, 54 Randle, 56 Walker, 59 Murphy, 67 Morgan, 68 Mallory, 75 Kellin, 77 Maarleveld, 80 Williams, 83 Gillespie, 85 Dunn, 98 Keys
DID NOT PLAY
- 64 Robinson, 81 Freeman
INACTIVE
- none.
INDIVIDUAL STATISTICS
RUSHING
- BUCCANEERS: Wilder 14-55, Young 4-23, Howard 2-6.
- BEARS: Payton 20-139, Thomas 5-38, Suhey 4-12, Anderson 1-1, Tomczak 1-1, Sanders 4-1, Flutie 1-(-1), Gault 1-(-15).
PASSING
- BUCCANEERS: Young 43-22-220-1-0.
- BEARS: Tomczak 24-11-265-1-1, Flutie 1-0-0-0-0.
RECIEVING
- BUCCANEERS: Carter 5-69, Magee 5-51, Wilder 4-16, Franklin 3-11, J.Bell 2-36, Gillespie 1-18, Williams 1-15, Howard 1-4.
- BEARS: Gault 4-116, Payton 3-69, Wrightman 2-24, Gentry 1-37, Ortego 1-19.
INTERCEPTIONS
- BUCCANEERS: Easmon 1-0.
- BEARS: Jackson 1-0.
KICK RETURNS
- BUCCANEERS: Howard 1-24.
- BEARS: Sanders 2-40.
PUNT RETURNS
- BUCCANEERS: Futrell 0-0.
- BEARS: Barnes 2-17.
SACKS
- BUCCANEERS: Washington 1-7.
- BEARS: Dent 2-15, Perry 2-15, McMichael 1-2, Team 1-0.
