Bears 21, Buccaneers 13
Matt Forte ran for two touchdowns and Chicago's defense made a late stand as the Bears defeated former coach Lovie Smith in his return to the Windy City.
Jay Cutler threw for 130 yards and a touchdown with no interceptions and one fumble for Chicago (5-6), which has won back-to-back games following a three-game skid. Brandon Marshall and Alshon Jeffery were relatively quiet, combining for six catches for 54 yards, although Jeffery did have a third-quarter touchdown catch to help the Bears recover from an ugly first half.
Former Chicago quarterback Josh McCown threw for 341 yards and a TD with two interceptions and a fumble for the Bucs (2-9), who have lost six of their last seven games. Rookie wideout Mike Evans caught a second-quarter TD pass, giving him eight scores on the season, including six in the last four games.
Patrick Murray's 39-yard field goal gave Tampa Bay its only points of the second half, drawing the visitors within 21-13 with 4:56 remaining. Chicago went three-and-out and Pat O'Donnell uncorked a 20-yard punt to set up the Bucs with a short field, but McCown was stuffed on fourth-and-1 at the Bears' 36 to effectively seal the outcome.
Facing a 10-0 deficit at halftime, Chicago scored a touchdown on three of its four drives in the third quarter to take control of the game. Cutler threw a 2-yard TD pass to Jeffery early in the period before Forte scored on runs of 13 yards and 1 yard less than two minutes apart, separated by a Ryan Mundy interception of McCown.
GAME NOTEBOOK: McCown, who passed for 13 touchdowns and one interception for the Bears last season, has seven TDs and eight INTs this season after signing a two-year, $10 million contract in the offseason. ... Forte's rushing TDs were his first since Oct. 19. ... Evans, who had set a career high in receiving in each of the last four weeks, was limited to three catches for 47 yards. The Bucs did have a pair of 100-yard receivers in Vincent Jackson (five catches, 117 yards) and Louis Murphy (six receptions, 113 yards).