Michael Horan
Tarik Cohen is the Bears newest offensive weapon, and he presents, by far, the biggest challenge for the Tampa Bay Buccaneers this week.
Jordan Howard, the team’s starting back, is no slouch and had a solid game versus the Buccaneers last season. However, Cohen is the type of dynamic scat back that can break open a game with just one play, and quickly earned himself a spot in the Bears rotation as a 3rd down back.
In his debut last week against the Atlanta Falcons, Cohen registered 66 yards rushing and 47 yards receiving with a touchdown.
As a dual threat, the Buccaneer linebackers will play a key role in sniffing out screens, covering wheel routes down field (a play that Cohen scored on last week), and general gap integrity to keep the speedy rookie under control.
Fortunately for the Bucs, Kwon Alexander and Lavonte David should be up for the task.
The easiest way to slow down Cohen is absolute domination in the trenches by the Buccaneers defensive line.
Chicago has a stout offensive line, especially if star Kyle Long returns this week, so Gerald McCoy and company will have their work cut of for them.
In last year’s match-up the Bears ran the ball effectively with Jordan Howard, but didn’t have any running backs make big plays in the passing game – we’ll see if that changes now with Cohen in the picture.