The Tampa Bay Buccaneers will have to bring their A-game in Week 9 when they go on the road to take on the 6-2 Chicago Bears. 

The Bears are clearly one of the NFC’s top contenders. If the Bucs can pull off the upset, they would make a big statement to the rest of the conference that cannot be taken lightly. The Bucs' playoff chances have skyrocketed over the last two weeks and will continue to rise with a victory over the Bears.

To beat the Bears, Tampa Bay has to find a way to slow Chicago’s explosive offense. Led by head coach Ben Johnson, who is arguably the brightest offensive mind in the NFL, 

The Bears’ offense averages 26.8 points per game, good for 8th in the NFL. That includes their Week 2 disaster against the Minnesota Vikings, when Chicago only scored three points and star QB Caleb Williams suffered a hamstring injury that would sideline him for the next three games. 

The Bears have scored at least 30 points in all three games since Williams returned. 

Needless to say, the Buccaneers’ defense will have to step up in a big way on Sunday night. 

Fortunately for the Bucs, their defense has been a bright spot all season. Through eight games, the Buccaneers’ run defense has been the NFL’s stingiest, allowing only 80 yards per game on the ground. Tampa’s scoring defense ranks fifth in the league, giving up just 18.9 points per game. 

Despite Chicago’s high-powered offense, Johnson knows his team is in store for a heavyweight battle against Tampa’s defense. 

Speaking with reporters, Johnson spoke about the problems the Bucs' defense presents. 

Johnson spoke very highly of Bucs' head coach, Todd Bowles, and how difficult the matchup against Bowles’ defense will be. 

He specifically mentioned Tampa’s stellar run defense, which forces opponents into long third-down situations. 

That’s when Bowles unleashes exotic blitzes, according to Johnson. 

"They’re Chaos. I think that's what stands out. Whenever you play single high to the rate that he does, it gives you an extra defender in the box. Schematically, it's very challenging to run the ball. And then when he gets you off schedule in third down, that's where he draws up all these exotics. It's a good mix of talent."

The battle between Chicago's outstanding offense and Tampa's stout defense should be incredibly fun to watch.

The Bucs have found a winning formula over the last two weeks, which is to ride their defense and terrific running game to victory.

Both will be put to the test on Sunday night. The Bears traded two first-round picks to the Tennessee Titans for All-Pro defensive tackle Jeffrey Simmons, who instantly proved his worth. In Chicago's Monday Night Football victory over the Seattle Seahawks, Simmons had six total tackles, two TFLs, and a sack. His addition makes the Bears much more difficult to run on.

Tampa's elite run defense will have its hands full against Chicago. The Bears lead the NFL with 17 rushing touchdowns in only eight games.

However, Chicago's head coach understands that nothing will be easy for his offense Sunday night.