When a team has run the way Tampa Bay has in the last four games, it almost becomes easy for defenses. At least mentally it does.

They can sit in base personnel or even run defense. The challenge becomes physical.

When the Bears play Tampa Bay Sunday after its now famous victory over Atlanta without completing a single pass, stopping running backs Bucky Irving and Kenneth Gainwell in the league's top rushing attack becomes the aim. Jeffery Simmons the run stopper will be the Bears defensive focus more than the pass rusher.

"I think their offensive line is physical," Bears defensive coordinator Dennis Allen said. "I think this team just plays really hard and they play a physical brand of football, so it's going to take a lot of physicality.

Bucky Irving weaved right through the defense on this 72-yard run 😮‍💨 pic.twitter.com/rH5GiHGUts

— NFL (@NFL) October 9, 2026

"It's going to take great eyes and eye discipline and making sure we’re in the right spots and then it's going to take all 11 swarming the football. That's really the key to being able to stop a running game like this. They block it well and I think these runners do an exceptional job of finding the right spots.”

The problem for Simmons and the Bears defense is this can't be their only focus. Quarterback Baker Mayfield has beaten the Bears in the past and Tampa Bay's QB still has Chris Godwin at wide receiver, even if the Buccaneers haven't been able to push the ball downfield.

Jeffery Simmons is going to have an out of body experience when he walks out to the atmosphere at Solider Field on Sunday Night.

— Sam (@BearzPlzWin) November 6, 2026

There's good reason, because Mayfield has come back from a dislocated right thumb and even though he returned two weeks ago and is going through full practices he still is listed on the injury report. It could be the second straight QB the Bears faced who played with an injury issue. Last week, Kyler Gordon's hit cracked one of Sam Darnold's ribs and as a result he'll miss this week's Seattle game. Mayfield is experienced enough to cope.

"Good player, very good player," Bears safety Cam Lewis said of Mayfield. "He makes a lot of good throws, scrambling ability makes him I feel like, better than most quarterbacks. He doesn't look to slide. He looks to run you over, juke you.

"I feel like now too when he does scramble he looks to pass, trying to make an explosive play. So we just got to do a good job of plastering, covering our guys and rallying to the football and we'll be all right."

Baker Mayfield left the game grabbing at his thumb in the 4th quarter vs. the Vikings.

(📺 FOX) pic.twitter.com/vlNiGXvn40

— SportsCenter (@SportsCenter) September 27, 2026

Mayfield has thrown 14 passes in two games since returning, completing seven for 64 yards. Counting the three weeks he was playing before the injury, he has averaged only 6.2 yards per attempt with three touchdowns and two interceptions.

"It's not going to be raining this week," pointed out Lewis.

Dennis Allen deadass changed the way we get teams off the field😭

2025 Bears Defense were getting teams off the field by getting turnovers (led the league in TOs)

2026 Bears Defense is ranked 7th in turnovers BUT lead the league in third down defense allowing 23.8% conversion… pic.twitter.com/1ohY4775Hm

— Luther Burnin’ (@LuForSix) November 5, 2026

Run stops help league's top third-down defense

Stopping the run on second down have been the key to the Bears' top-ranked third-down defense. They'll need this working again.

"I think a lot of the third downs are like third-6-plus, third-and-5-plus, so it's a little bit easier to defend," Lewis said. "And the different, I guess, blitzes DA's been calling, and last week we didn't really have to blitz so much with the D-line humming how they were, it just makes our job on the back end fairly easy."

I want the Seahawks to be disciplined but I have to say the team really should have reacted to this hit. This set the tone for the game and if they had gotten in some faces they would have sent a message early. This team needs to care more about its own especially the QB. https://t.co/1GWMLI6Pgc

— Chris Zeller (@conwarrior47) November 5, 2026

The key to that working the same way is Simmons. Allen said having a full week of practice and a second week should obviously make Simmons more impactful. It helped make Montez Sweat a better player last week with a sack, and two others that were wiped out by penalty. It was easily Sweat's best game this year in his return from a two-week PED suspension.

“I think obviously he was motivated to get back out there and play so that was good to see, and quite frankly, that's the version that we expect to see every single week," Allen said. "I think everybody had a little bit of an uptick.

"One, going into Seattle knowing the opponent that we were playing. Two, having a guy like Jeffery Simmons on the field which kind of raises everybody's level of play and so now really the key for us defensively is, how do we continue to do that consistently week in and week out."

This week, it should be by stopping the run.

The Bears defense by DVOA is 31st on first downs, 20th on second downs, and 2nd on third downs.

Normally, this kind of thing is not sustainable. Is there something special about the Bears? Last year, their defense was also better on third down (26th, 24th, and 10th).

— Aaron Schatz 🏈 (@ASchatzNFL) November 3, 2026