Chicago Bears vs Tampa Bay Buccaneers: A look inside the numbers

All statistics and snap counts are taken directly from the NFL's Game Statistic and Information System.

How fitting that in Lovie Bowl I, the Chicago Bears beat the Tampa Bay Buccaneers in the most Lovie-Smithesque fashion possible. The Chicago Bears only had 204 yards of total offense and they won the turnover battle 4-1. The Bucs were able to move the ball on the Bears defense, to the tune of 367 yards of offense, but when they had to, the D made a play.

Tampa Bay's Josh McCown threw for 341 yards, but he was picked off twice, he lost a fumble and he only completed 52.1% of his passes for a 64.1 passer rating. Chicago's defense held the Bucs' running game to 66 yards and a 3.0 average.

Tampa Bay converted 41% (7-17) of their 3rd down tries and were 0-1 on their lone 4th down attempt.

After the half, the Bears' D really buckled down. They only allowed 156 2nd half yards, they held Tampa Bay to 2 of 7 on 3rd down tries and they only gave up 3 points. The halftime fire and brimstone speeches must have worked.

Chicago's defensive line was the standout unit this week. Defensive end Jared Allen led the line with 68/76 snaps and he led the team with 4 quarterback hits while picking up 2 tackles. The other starting DE, Willie Young, had 2 QB hits in his 61 plays. The two young DEs, David Bass and Cornelius Washington, each picked up a sack in their 15 and 8 defensive snaps respectively. Bass also had a tackle and a forced fumble and Washington also chimed in with 2 tackles, 2 tackles for loss and a QB hit. Corn Wash also played 17 snaps on special teams, making a special teams tackle.

The Bears' defensive tackles were even better. Stephen Paea had the best game of his career. In 52 snaps (68%), he had 3 tackles, 2 sacks, 2 TFL, 3 QB Hits and a forced fumble. He also was the point man in numerous stunts that allowed his teammates to make plays. Jeremiah Ratliff saw 44 plays, making 4 tackles, 1 sack, 1 TFL and 2 QB Hits. Will Sutton had 31 snaps and Ego Ferguson 24. They each had a tackle.

All combined, Chicago's D-Line had 5 sacks, 5 TFL, 12 QBH and 2 FF.

The starting safeties, Ryan Mundy and Chris Conte, each had an interception. Mundy led the Bears in total tackles with 7 in 61 defensive snaps and he picked up a special teams tackle in his 17 3rd phase snaps. Conte played all 76 snaps on D, making 3 tackles. Rookie Brock Vereen played 16 defensive snaps and 22 on special teams. He made a tackle while filling in for Mundy. Danny McCray had 22 plays on the special teams.

The only other Bear to play all 76 defensive snaps was corner Tim Jennings. He had 2 tackles, 2 passes defended and a fumble recovery. The other starting corner, Kyle Fuller, tied for 2nd on the team with 6 tackles. He only played 33 snaps before leaving with a minor MCL sprain. Al Louis-Jean filled in 36 plays, making a tackle and having 1 pass defense. Sherrick McManis had 7 snaps on defense and 23 on special teams. He had 2 special team tackles.

Nickelback Demontre Hurst played 76% of the defensive snaps (58/76) and had 6 tackles, a QBH and a FF. He added a special team tackle in 9 plays.

The linebacking unit was forced into some changes when Lance Briggs left with a groin injury. Briggs had 6 tackles in 35 snaps. Undrafted rookie Christian Jones made the most of his 37 defensive snaps (he also had 25 plays on special teams), making 5 tackles and recovering a fumble. Jones was in at nickel linebacker alongside Jon Bostic, who had 2 tackles and a pass defense in his 58 defensive snaps. Bostic also was in for 19 3rd phase plays.

The other starting linebackers, Shea McClellin and D.J. Williams, played 22 and 18 snaps respectively. Shea had 1 tackle and D.J. had 2.

On the offensive side of the ball, the Bears struggled against Lovie's Tampa 2 defense. Chicago only converted 4 of 16 3rd down tries, and only averaged 3.5 yards per rush and 3.7 yards per pass.

Jay Cutler did have one lost fumble when he was popped by Buccaneer DT Gerald McCoy, but he didn't throw an interception. He ended the day with an 87.0 passer rating and a completion percentage of 63%. He only threw for 130 yards, was sacked three times, and he had 1 touchdown pass.

Running back Matt Forte had 2 TDs in his 23 attempts for 89 yards. He was targeted 6 times in the passing game, catching 5 for 23 yards. Rookie running back Ka'Deem Carey had 3 rushes for 3 yards and he was targeted once in 6 offensive snaps. Forte played 89% (51/57) of the snaps on offense.

No injuries along the offensive line meant all 5 starters joined Cutler for all 57 plays. The Bears used 6th offensive lineman Charles Leno on just 5 snaps.

Martellus Bennett was the most targeted Bear with 7. He caught 4 balls for 37 yards on 53 snaps. Back up TE Dante Rosario caught the only pass thrown his way for 6 yards. He was in on 29 offensive snaps and an additional 22 on the special teams.

Starting wide outs Brandon Marshall (56 snaps) and Alshon Jeffery (54 snaps) each had 3 receptions. Marshall was targeted 5 times and Jeffery 4, with Marshall compiling 32 yards and Jeffery getting 22 and a TD. Marquess Wilson had 1 catch on 3 targets for 10 yards. He played 49% (28/57) of the snaps with #4 WR Josh Morgan seeing action on just 3 snaps.

Bears punter Pat O'Donnell started off good, but in the 4th quarter he shanked a couple when the Bears needed him most. His last punt was a 22 yarder and that was preceded by a 20 yarder. Overall he had 9 punts for a 39.4 net average with 2 placed inside the 20.

One more special teams note. It only took two kick returns to realize that newly signed Marc Mariani deserves to stay as the returner as long as he's healthy. He only had 2 returns for 46 yards, but he definitely looked the part.

What were your thoughts on the numbers this week?