Bears vs Bucs: Inside the snap counts, stats, and Groundhog Day Syndrome

As I sat down to write the open to this article, I wanted a way to describe the perpetual feeling of disappointment I've had in cheering for this team for the majority of my adult life. I Googled the movie Groundhog Day, the Bill Murray vehicle where he's forced to relive the same day over and over, for some inspiration.

I was not expecting to stumble on something called Groundhog Day Syndrome in a February 2023 article on Psychology Today.

"Groundhog Day Syndrome is the feeling that each day is on repeat," which certainly describes cheering for the Chicago Bears. It's not a psychological diagnosis but rather a way to describe a familiar feeling many have.

Regime after regime, head coach after head coach, coordinator after coordinator, offensive line after offensive line, quarterback after quarterback, we relive the same cycle watching this team.

"The feeling can leave you feeling bored, trapped, dull, and hopeless about the future."

Ugh, that's such a bleak description, but that's us.

This franchise cleans house, and we have some hope. They give us a glimmer of excitement, and that feeds our hope. Then there's always a regression, and we get bored waiting for them to snap out of it. But we're trapped because that's our team. We can't jump ship and abandon the team we've been rooting for all our lives. They provide us with no sustained game-day excitement, and it's almost a chore to sit through three hours of Bears football.

It's only been two weeks, but realistically, where can this team go from here?

The scoreboard doesn't reflect it, but the Tampa Bay Buccaneers dominated this game. They had a time of possession edge of 35:56 to 24:04, had more total yards 437 to 236, and were better on third downs (8-15-53.3% to 6-13-46.2%). But somehow, the Bears were down just three points with the ball and 2:24 left to play.

We all know what happened next.

Let's look closer at the Bears' playing time breakdowns and some individual stats.

OFFENSE

Justin Fields looks like a different player from a year ago. He's throwing more, but the athleticism seems to have been coached out of him. He only had three yards rushing (on 4 attempts) and a touchdown. He was 16 of 29 passing for 211 yards, with 1 TD and 2 interceptions. He was sacked 6 times, and while I haven't seen the All-22 for Sackwatch yet, my guess is a few of these will be on him for sitting in the pocket for too long.

D.J. Moore went for 104 yards on 6 receptions, while Chase Claypool caught 3 for 36 yards and a TD. Chase also got hit with an offensive pass interference when he started blocking too early on a screen.

Khalil Herbert led the Bears with 35 rushing yards on 7 attempts, plus a 23-yard reception.

Rookie Roschon Johnson had 32 yards on 4 carries, plus 2 catches for 10 yards.

I may as well round out the receptions because Fields only hit five payers, and tight end Cole Kmet had 4 for 38.

Left tackle Braxton Jones’ rough season continued with two more penalties. Right tackle Darnell Wright also had one.

DEFENSE

At linebacker, Tremaine Edmunds had 16 tackles, T.J. Edwards added 12, and Jack Sanborn had 4.

Third-string nickleback Greg Stroman Jr. had 7 tackles and a tackle for loss, rookie corner Tyrique Stevenson had 7 tackles, and Jaylon Johnson had 4 plus a forced fumble.

The Bears had no sacks on the day and just 1 quarterback hit.

Bucs' QB Baker Mayfield was slippery in the pocket, and he threw for 317 yards and a TD and had 17 yards rushing of 6 total attempts.

Tampa Bay had 120 yards on the ground and 3.5 ypc.

SPECIAL TEAMS*

*The above image has players who only played in the third phase.

Cairo Santos hit a 52-yard field goal and both his extra points.

Trenton Gill had 5 punts for a 46.4 average (45.0 net) and put 1 punt inside the twenty.

Rasheen Green blocked a field goal.

Noah Sewell had a tackle and forced fumble on special teams.

To check out the complete Bears vs. Buccaneers box score, I find that ESPN has an easy-to-navigate site, so hit that link if you want to see all the numbers.

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