The Tampa Bay Buccaneers and Chicago Bears meet on Sunday Night Football at Soldier Field, with kickoff set for 8:20 p.m. ET. Chicago enters on a three-game winning streak, including a 34-17 victory over Seattle, while Tampa Bay has won two straight after a 16-0 shutout of Atlanta.
The Buccaneers are 3-5 overall and 3-2 in NFC play, sitting second in the NFC South. The Bears are 6-2 overall and 4-2 in the conference, holding second place in the NFC North. Chicago will be without Kyle Monangai due to toe and thumb injuries, while Tampa Bay's Emeka Egbuka is active after a foot issue.
Chicago leads the all-time series 40-22, though Tampa Bay has won the last two meetings, including a 27-17 win in 2023. The Bears are 6-point favorites with an over/under of 47.5 points. Both teams' against-the-spread records match their straight-up marks: Chicago 6-2, Tampa Bay 3-5.
NFL handicapper Matt Severance, who has returned $1,437 to $100 players over the past three seasons, enters the game on an 8-0 run on NFL money-line picks and 5-1 on all NFL picks. He has gone 14-7 on Bears-involved games, returning nearly $500 to $100 bettors.
Severance is leaning toward the under 48 combined points, noting the under has hit in three of the last five head-to-head matchups and is 6-4 in Tampa Bay's last 10 games and 5-4 in Chicago's last nine. He also highlights a key X-factor that makes one side of the spread a strong play, with SportsLine's model projecting a 28-20 Chicago win.
