What We Saw Roundup – Week 9

We watched every NFL Week 9 game so you don't have to — Here's What We Saw!

Brett Ford
What We Saw 23 Minutes Ago
Series Navigation
Introduction
Jaguars @ Ravens
Bengals @ Falcons
Cowboys @ Colts
Jets @ Chiefs
Lions @ Dolphins
Browns @ Saints
Giants @ Eagles
Rams @ Commanders
Broncos @ Panthers
Texans @ Chargers
Raiders @ 49ers
Packers @ Patriots
Cardinals @ Seahawks
Buccaneers @ Bears

Buccaneers @ Bears

Final Score: Bears 27, Bucs 24

Senior Writer: Benjamin Haller (@benjaminhaller1.bsky.social on Bluesky)

 

Three Up

  • Bucky Irving – considering the running back had just 23 rushing yards going into the fourth quarter, this was a good fantasy result on a night when Baker Mayfield could not find any kind of rhythm on offense. His two scores were fantasy gold.
  • Luther Burden III – yet another big night for the younger speedster who has now had three straight games with a touchdown. He did take a big hit and was diagnosed with a concussion in the fourth quarter, but the Bears have a bye, so he has additional recovery time.
  • Rome Odunze – a big step forward for the former first-round pick who scored his first touchdown of the season and showed elite route-running skills on numerous snaps. We need to see more as he emerges as a WR1 for his team.

Three Down

  • Baker Mayfield – a miserable night for the embattled Buccaneers quarterback, who cost his team a win on a night when the defense couldn’t have done more to give him opportunities to capitalise on Williams’ meltdown. Baker was just not up to it…again.
  • D’Andre Swift – a bad matchup and a game script that went badly wrong left the productive back with little opportunity to put up his usual fantasy numbers.
  • Emeka Egbuka – Mayfield needs to get on the same page as his young star wideout. So many opportunities missed, and the Bucs are wasting his big-play ability.

 

Tampa Bay Buccaneers

 

Quarterback

 

Baker Mayfield: 18/32, 243 Yards, 2 INT, 4 Sacks | 1 Carry, 0 Yards

The old dog had to dig deep into his bag of tricks to get the Bucs going after going down early by two touchdowns. On a scramble to the left on third down, Mayfield beautifully layered a throw to Kenny Gainwell down the sideline for a 44-yard gain on a third-and-long play that seemed to be going nowhere. However, the Bucs stuttered at the goal line as Baker overthrew Cade Otton on a back shoulder fade, and they had to settle for a field goal. That just doesn’t cut it against the Bears, though. Mayfield was then stuffed on a 4th & 1 at his own 35-yard line, but the defense bailed him out with an interception on the very next play. The Bucs failed to take any advantage from the Bears’ first-half turnovers, and that has been a big issue for Zac Robinson and this offense. Mayfield did find some rhythm on the promising drive before the half, but a lazy throw as the Bucs approached the red zone handed the Bears an interception as the momentum swung once more. Baker came out with a mission to deliver the ball deeper downfield in the second half, and that brought success immediately with a beautiful 58-yard bomb into the bread basket of Tez Johnson. The Bucs hit paydirt a few plays later to make it a 17-13 game and all to play for. But time after time, the defense gave Baker the chance to make plays, and time after time, Baker screwed it up. The dreadful soft throw to Otton that Jaylon Johnson took back to the house was the killer blow at a time when the Bears were a mess on offense. Mayfield then took three sacks in a row in the fourth quarter, although one was negated by a facemask. But it was the type of thing that happens to a quarterback struggling with everything right now. This was another game where the offense (cough, Baker, cough) has lost the game for Tampa Bay.

 

Running Back

 

Bucky Irving: 20 Carries, 97 Yards, 2 TD | 5 Targets, 4 Receptions, 28 Yards

After a sensational few weeks, we have to give Irving some flowers for his performances. He wasn’t on the field for the stuffed fourth down attempt in the first half, and only ran for two yards per carry on his first ten rushing attempts. But he quickly got onto the stat sheet with a rush from the two-yard line on the first drive of the second half as the Bucs started to believe they could get back into the contest. However, Irving had to watch as his quarterback kept making mistakes when the Bucs were given a head start thanks to their defense. His 25-yard run down the middle early in the fourth quarter showed what the Bucs had been doing wrong all night. Irving did score his second touchdown of the game late in the fourth quarter to tie the game after the defense forced another turnover – his tough running and determination on show for all to admire on back-to-back carries. Weather or no weather, it might be more productive for the Bucs to hand the ball to their lead back rather than let Baker throw it.

Kenny Gainwell: 5 Carries, 16 Yards | 3 Targets, 3 Receptions, 60 Yards

 

Wide Receiver/Tight End

 

Tez Johnson: 5 Targets, 2 Receptions, 76 Yards

Johnson was guilty of two drops on third down that stunted drives that could have gone into Bears territory. His only big contribution led to a touchdown as the speedy young wideout stretched the field for a 58-yard deep grab from his quarterback at the start of the second half as the Bucs came out with a shock and awe tactic to flip their first-half game plan. It was Baker’s best throw of the night and an just as good a run and catch from Johnson.

Emeka Egbuka: 5 Targets, 3 Receptions, 38 Yards | 1 Carry, 1 Yard

The sophomore receiver provided the spark that Tampa Bay needed with a couple of splash plays in the first half on a night where Mayfield was struggling to find any consistency. Egbuka looked like he was going to streak away for a touchdown before being hauled down at the last second by Jeffrey Simmons on a 21-yard burst through the middle of the Bears’ defense. The play put the Bucs in line to score a touchdown before the half, but the offense couldn’t get it done and had to settle for another field goal. Egbuka was criminally ignored for the majority of the second half, registering just one more catch late in the fourth quarter.

Cade Otton: 8 Targets, 4 Receptions, 25 Yards

It was a miserable night for the tight end, who was robbed of the ball on Johnson’s pick-six and also failed to connect with his quarterback on two throws in the red zone. Otton has seen regular involvement and a decent share of targets, but he is yet to find the endzone this season and has only gone over 50 yards once.

Chris Godwin Jr.: 3 Targets, 2 Receptions, 16 Yards| 1 Carry, 12 Yards

Ted Hurst III: 1 Target

 

Chicago Bears

 

Quarterback

 

Caleb Williams: 22/37, 279 Yards, 2 TD, 4 INT, Sack | 5 Carries, 16 Yards

Williams has shown moments of being at the apex of his game right now. His confidence in the offense, his ability to work out of the pocket, and his execution under pressure were all on display in a first half that started off electric. Williams surgically marched down the field on the first series of the game despite the Bucs showing him some different looks and forcing him out of the pocket three times. Williams produced another stellar throw on a 16-yard connection with Odunze at the start of the second quarter on third down that was a snapshot of his ability to make plays others cannot. Two drives, two touchdown passes, and it looked all too easy. The star quarterback was 6-for-6 to start the game on third down but got a bit too greedy in the red zone as he forced a ball over the middle on a play after a penalty put them in a second-and-long. Williams threw into double coverage, and Tykee Smith made a nice grab in front of Odunze. He was then guilty of playing hero-ball after the Bears defense stuffed the Bucs on fourth down at their own 35-yard line. Williams shrugged off an easy checkdown to Swift in acres of space and paid the price by being picked off for the second straight time by the brilliant Zyon McCollum. And, quite remarkably, Williams threw his third interception in four drives on his next pass, with McCollum again making a terrific low grab to give the Bucs hope. Williams was a shell of the player who started the contest in the second half, throwing behind his receivers, throwing short of his receivers, and questioning his instincts on his reads. As much as the first quarter was a joy to watch, the second half was painful. The Bears went three-and-out, three-and-out, interception, three-and-out, punt, fumble, field goal. Only a pick-six gave Chicago any breathing room. It was a relief when Williams just about did enough to engineer the game-winning field goal. We could probably say the fourth interception wasn’t his fault, but the others were bad decisions by a young quarterback with a lot to learn.

 

Running Back

 

D’Andre Swift: 12 Carries, 31 Yards | 1 Target

It was always going to be a difficult night for Swift against an elite defensive front that came into the contest allowing a league-low 80 rushing yards per game. And they did it again, stuffing Swift on numerous occasions at the line of scrimmage, allowing him a long run of just six yards. What is more surprising is the lack of any kind of screen game to try and negate that Bucs front. Williams almost exclusively looked intermediate-to-deep throughout the night. Swift was lucky not to cough the ball up on a play where he fumbled, and the Bucs recovered; however, the call on the field was that he was down by contact, and there was not enough evidence to overturn. Salvon Ahmed took the snaps for the rest of the drive. It isn’t the first time Johnson has been unhappy with Swift’s ball security. Scratch this down as a bad matchup with a game script that went sideways very quickly and move on.

Salvon Ahmed: 5 Carries, 25 Yards

 

Wide Receiver/Tight End

 

Luther Burden III: 9 Targets, 7 Receptions, 97 Yards, TD, Fumble (Lost)

The electric Burden sprinted away for a 58-yard catch-and-run touchdown on the Bears’ second possession of the game. Williams found his burgeoning young wideout over the middle before Burden shook off three tacklers to get out into the open field where he could not be touched. It was the kind of play that this Bears offense has become known for, and Burden is the perfect weapon for Ben Johnson to tinker and play with in his scheming. His 26-yard grab late in the third quarter also brought the Bears into the red zone when Williams was still cooking. It was slim pickings after that moment as Williams completely melted down, throwing four picks the rest of the way. He was given the trust on third-and-long late in the fourth quarter, but a bit hit from the Bucs defense saw Burden cough the ball up in a big spot. To be fair, it was a helmet-to-helmet tackle that should have been flagged. Burden left the game after that hit and was later diagnosed with a concussion. Let’s hope he’s ok and appreciate the good football he gave us in this game.

Rome Odunze: 7 Targets, 4 Receptions, 60 Yards, TD

After the former first-round pick bobbled a ball in the back of the end zone, costing himself a touchdown, his quarterback went straight back to him for the first score of the game – Odunze running a misdirection route to perfection to lose his marker and haul the ball in on the far right side of the end zone. Odunze then showed his big boy skills on a tough 23-yard run down the right sideline in which he stiff-armed two defensive backs before striding forward for extra yards. He dropped a walk-in score on a bullet from Williams midway through the second quarter before hauling in a fadeaway pass under pressure on another third down on the same drive to move the sticks. However, from that point on, Williams had his meltdown, and opportunities down the field for Odunze dried up entirely.

Colston Loveland: 6 Targets, 4 Receptions, 54 Yards

Loveland dropped his first target, but it was a tough catch on a scramble down the right sideline. He saw more targets underneath in the second half as he acted as a security blanket for a spiralling Williams, but he never looked like a danger to hit paydirt in this contest. It wasn’t until the final drive when Loveland found himself all alone after the Bucs blew coverage to take the ball down the field for what turned out to be the game-winning field goal.

Kalif Raymond: 7 Targets, 4 Receptions, 32 Yards

Sam Roush: 2 Targets, 2 Receptions, 23 Yards

Zavion Thomas: 2 Targets, 1 Reception, 13 Yards

Thomas was unlucky not to have a 91-yard punt return for a touchdown after a soft holding call negated a fantastic run down the sideline that showed his speed and nifty footwork.

Series Navigation
Introduction
Jaguars @ Ravens
Bengals @ Falcons
Cowboys @ Colts
Jets @ Chiefs
Lions @ Dolphins
Browns @ Saints
Giants @ Eagles
Rams @ Commanders
Broncos @ Panthers
Texans @ Chargers
Raiders @ 49ers
Packers @ Patriots
Cardinals @ Seahawks
Buccaneers @ Bears

Brett Ford

Writer, Editor and Podcast host for QBList.com, Ravens fan, Cool Dad