Passage: The final road game of the season took place in week sixteen, when the Bears visited the Tampa Bay Buccaneers. In 55 all-time meetings, the Bears led the series 37-18, while also winning the most recent game in 2014 21-13 and the last game in Raymond James Stadium in 2005 by a score of 13-10. Jeff Joniak writes that the offense, taking on a defense guided by former Bears head coach Lovie Smith, had to "be patient", a philosophy that teams had used during Smith's tenure in Chicago; Smith's defenses force offenses to work with long series, followed by forcing a turnover. In 2015, the Bucs defense recorded 22 fumbles, 11 interceptions and 33 sacks, 7.5 of which are by defensive tackle Gerald McCoy. Another player that the Bucs defense featured was linebacker Lavonte David, who recorded 12 pass breakups, three interceptions, two sacks and a forced fumble in 2015. Tampa's defense also excelled in the run and passing games; in the former, the Bucs allowed the second-fewest average yards per carry with 3.3, while being ranked fifth in yards allowed after the catch. The Bucs also ranked eighth in yards per play. However, opposing quarterbacks were completing a league-high 69.2 percent of passes, while also throwing for a total of 28 touchdowns. The Bucs defense was also without linebacker Kwon Alexander, who ranked second in the team in tackles with 93, as he was suspended for drug use. On defense, the Bears took on rookie Jameis Winston, who recorded 3,422 passing yards and 20 touchdown passes in 2015. However, the Bucs receiving corps had 29 drops and a 7.9 drop percentage, the second-highest in the NFL. Chicago's run defense faced Doug Martin, who had averaged 5.1 yards per carry, 1,305 rushing yards and a league-best 2.4 yards per carry after contact. Alshon Jeffery, Bryce Callahan, Jacoby Glenn, Shea McClellin, Nick Becton, Tayo Fabuluje and Bruce Gaston were inactive. The Bucs won the coin toss and deferred. The Bears opened the game with a hurry-up offense and gained a first down, but were eventually forced to punt. Tampa Bay also later punted, but regained the ball at the Bears' four-yard line after a blocked punt; Jeremiah George escaped LaRoy Reynolds to block Pat O'Donnell's punt and Howard Jones recovered. The Bucs converted the play into a four-yard touchdown run by Martin. Both teams later punted on their next drives, Jay Cutler's screen pass was deflected and intercepted by William Gholston, who returned the pick to the Bears' 15-yard line, but Jacquies Smith's facemask penalty nullified the play. Afterwards, Ka'Deem Carey scored on a one-yard touchdown run to tie the score. On Tampa's next drive, Martin was stripped by Harold Jones-Quartey, and the fumble was recovered by John Timu; the takeaway led to Robbie Gould's 26-yard field goal. The Bucs were later forced to punt again with two minutes left in the first half, and the Bears offense drove 40 yards to the nine, where Gould kicked a 27-yard field goal with eight seconds left. Winston kneeled to end the half. On the first drive of the second half, the Bucs scored when Winston threw a 50-yard touchdown pass to Charles Sims, who took advantage of Tracy Porter to score. Although the Bears punted on their next drive, they regained possession after Christian Jones and Lamarr Houston's blitz forced Winston to throw to Charles Sims, where Jones-Quartey pulled the ball away. The Bears eventually punted, but got the ball back when Pernell McPhee stripped Martin, with the fumble being recovered by Timu. On the first play of the fourth quarter, Cutler's play-action pass to Carey resulted in a one-yard touchdown. The Bucs punted on their next series, and Gould kicked a 50-yard field goal to increase the score to 23-14; Connor Barth later missed a 52-yard field goal wide left, leading to Gould's 39-yard field goal. With one second left in the game, Winston threw a 43-yard touchdown pas to Austin Seferian-Jenkins, and on the ensuing onside kick, Cameron Meredith recovered as time expired. With the win, the Bears officially improved upon their 5-11 record from 2014. The three turnovers forced in the game was a best for the defense, while also tying the total in the last five games.
Output: How many total yards were the field goals that Gould kicked in the first half?