Dec. 28--Too hot: Robbie Gould
Don't look now, but Gould may be back to being Mr. Reliable, turning in a 4-for-4 effort on field goals Sunday. He made kicks of 26, 27, 50 and 39 yards. The 50-yarder with 9:04 left gave the Bears a comfortable 23-14 lead and was Gould's seventh field goal of at least 50 yards this season. For his career, Gould is 23-for-31 on attempts of at least 50 yards. His .742 percentage from that distance ranks fourth all time.
Too cold: LaRoy Reynolds
The core special teamer was caught napping on a first-quarter punt, off guard when Buccaneers linebacker Jeremiah George slanted past him and blocked Pat O'Donnell's kick. The Buccaneers recovered at the Bears' 4 and needed just one play to score a touchdown. Reynolds said he was anticipating a rush similar to the one on the Bears' previous punt when the Buccaneers brought little heat. "I just should have gotten off the ball," he said. "I thought they were going to hold up, then release. They didn't."
Just right: Jay Cutler
To the naked eye, there wasn't much special about Cutler's effort, a 20-for-27 outing that included 156 passing yards and an effortless 1-yard touchdown pass to Ka'Deem Carey. The 10th-year quarterback also dodged a bullet when his ugly second-quarter interception on a screen play was negated by a Buccaneers facemask penalty. But without Alshon Jeffery (inactive, hamstring) and behind an inconsistent offensive line, Cutler stayed patient and turnover-free -- just what the doctor ordered -- using a high volume of short passes to steady the offense.
