The Bears vs. Buccaneers rivalry is certainly not one people would consider the upper echelon of NFL. Certainly not compared to Bears-Packers, Giants-Eagles, or Broncos-Patriots. At the same time, people can so easily miss some of the compelling facts about a rivalry that has endured over a long stretch of time.
This is definitely the case for Chicago and Tampa Bay. They will face off on week two of the 2017 NFL season. It marks the third-straight year this has taken place. There are plenty of juicy subplots as well. The Buccaneers dealing with the aftermath of Hurricane Irma. Mike Glennon return to Tampa at the head of a new team.
To commemorate this event, hear are some interesting facts people didn’t know about this not-so-storied history.
Chicago owns the all-time series advantage
This is sure to make Bears fans happy. Indeed since the Buccaneers officially became a franchise in 1976, the two teams have met 57 times with the 58th set to take place on Sunday. To date Chicago owns a comfortable advantage with a 38-19 record. This includes a stretch from 1983 to 1988 where they beat Tampa 12-straight times. By far the biggest of the rivalry. The Bears have won five of the last seven meetings.
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Seven shutouts have occurred in the series
Another fascinating twist about the series is how dominant the defenses have been at time. Either that or how inept the offenses have been. Both qualify for these teams. Seven times since their first meeting in 1977 (how’s that for poetry?) has one of them been shut out by the other. The Bears did it to them five times while the Buccaneers own the two most recent. Just don’t look at the quarterbacks for those games. It’s not pretty.
Tampa traded them Dan Hampton
People like to thank Tampa Bay for being the team that did business with the Bears last year in the draft. They were the ones who swapped spots so Chicago could snag Leonard Floyd. What most don’t remember is they were also a huge help in collecting one of the best defensive linemen in franchise history. Back in 1978 the Bears dealt three-time Pro Bowler Wally Chambers in exchange for a future first round pick from Tampa. That pick became the #4 selection in 1979, with which Chicago grabbed future Hall of Famer Dan Hampton.
The Bucs won their first sub-40 degree game ever in Chicago
One of the more amazing stats in NFL history is one regarding the Buccaneers and cold weather. Remember this franchise was born in 1976. So keep that in mind when saying they one their first game that recorded temperatures below 40 degrees in 2002. It took them 26 years. That’s almost some incredible symbolism considering they lost their first 26 games as an organization. The team doing the honors that day? Yep, the Bears at a chilly Soldier Field in December. Coincidentally that was one of the two shutouts the Bucs had as well.
They used to be in the same division
These days the Bears are synonymous with the NFC North division while the Buccaneers reside in the NFC South. This occurred when the league went to an eight-division format in 2002. Before that it used to be six division with an east, west and central. Both these teams were members of the NFC Central. Chicago fans may love then to learn that the Bears won the final three meetings between the team before the division split.
They’ve never met in the playoffs
Again, this is a team that has met 57 times in their history dating back 50 years. In that span they’ve made the postseason a combined 24 times. Yet only three of those times did they both make it in the same year and to date they’ve never met in a playoff game. It’s one of those strange quirky facts that tend to pop up from time to time. One can imagine (or hope) that if Trubisky pans out the two teams might be meeting there a lot in the near future.
The cities have swapped some special players
Another fun little fact about the weird connections the cities share is the players they’ve employed. One or two times throughout history they’ve sent one of their own homegrown athletes to the other to become a star. In the 1950s the Bears collected a young fullback by the name of Rick Casares who would go on to five Pro Bowls and help them win the 1963 championship. Thirty years later the Buccaneers grabbed a local Chicago kid by the name of John Lynch to play safety. He went to nine Pro Bowls and got them a Super Bowl title.
