(670 The Score) The Buccaneers read it the whole way.
With just more than two minutes remaining Sunday as Tampa Bay held a 20-17 lead against Chicago, the Bears faced first-and-11 from their own 6-yard line, needing to get a drive started on a good note as they searched for the potential game-tying field goal or game-winning touchdown. Instead, it turned into disaster for Chicago, as Tampa Bay linebacker Shaquil Barrett read a middle screen and intercepted Bears quarterback Justin Fields’ pass that was intended for running back Khalil Herbert. Amid a scrum, Barrett then drove his way into the end zone on a four-yard return for a pick-six that clinched the game.
Turns out, the Buccaneers had an easy read on what was about to transpire.
“That called a screen,” Buccaneers linebacker Lavonte David told reporters after the game Sunday, according to a video posted by Fox Sports writer Greg Auman. “It was the same formation. Everybody knew what was coming. He read it out.
“He just made the big play. Playmakers make plays.”
The Bears have called a bevy of screens amid their 0-2 start, in part because they lack trust in their offensive line to protect Fields well. For the most part, the screen tactics have failed, as the Packers defended them quite successfully in a win at Soldier Field in the season opener before the Buccaneers blew one up with the game on the line Sunday.