No surprise: Businesslike Bears whip Bucs 28-10 Michelle Kaufman, The St.Petersburg Times, published 1988 It shouldn't have shocked the 56,892 shivering fans at Soldier Field Sunday that the Chicago Bears beat the Tampa Bay Buccaneers without their head coach and starting quarterback. Common sense could've told them that. The Bucs are 2-8. The Bears are 8-2. The Bucs have lost 16 of their last 18 regular-season games, including the past five in a row. The Bears have lost five of 18, and had beaten the Bucs 10 straight times before Sunday's 28-10 win. Bucs coach Ray Perkins was in for a long 47th birthday whether Bears coach Mike Ditka was on the sideline or in a hospital bed. Ditka suffered a mild heart attack last Wednesday and had to watch Sunday's game on television while defensive coordinator Vince Tobin called the shots. What was a bit surprising was the way Tampa Bay lost. This time it wasn't Vinny Testaverde's fault, though he threw two interceptions to tie Doug Williams' team record for interceptions in a season (24). Perkins said he thought Testaverde “demonstrated more discipline on more plays than in any game this year.” He completed 22 of 52 passes (42 percent) for 305 yards and a touchdown, and was sacked only twice by one of the NFL's most relentless front lines. It wasn't fumbles by running backs' fumbles. They had none. s penalized three times, tying the season low. And it wasn't lack of time. The Bucs were out of the game long before the two-minute warning. Most of the fans who braved the 9-degree wind chill index had packed up their blankets and headed for the parking lots by that time. This time, there were new (and unlikely) goats to blame: 1. The receivers. “We didn't play worth a damn today,” said Bruce Hill, who caught five passes for 94 yards and a touchdown, but dropped a couple of perfectly thrown balls. “Vinny threw to the right people; we just didn't catch them like we're supposed to do. I think every receiver, except the tight ends, dropped at least one ball today.” 2. Placekicker Donald Igwebuike, who was wide right on a 44-yard attempt and short on a 40-yarder. “This was the worst day in my career, college and pro. I would've been better off staying in Tampa. I don't know why the hell I came here. I didn't do anything.” 3. Punt snapper Tom McHale. Though the Bucs' punting game has been far from impressive this year, it hasn't been the fault of McHale. Sunday, it was. A rolling snap in Tampa Bay territory ended up costing the Bucs seven points and put the game out of reach 28-3 with 8:31 left in the third quarter. 4. Bucs defenders. Though they shut down the Bears' No. 3-ranked running game almost entirely - Neal Anderson had just seven carries for 7 yards - they let Mike Tomczak complete 69 percent of his pass attempts (18 of 26) for 269 yards and two touchdowns with one interception. At one point, two Bears receivers were so wide open they practically fought for the 41-yard bomb that set up Chicago's final touchdown. Tomczak was filling in for Jim McMahon, who suffered a knee injury last week and is out four to six games. Former Florida State receiver Dennis McKinnon was at the end of four Tomczak passes for 87 yards and a touchdown. Dennis Gentry had six catches for 97 yards. The Bucs also gave Tomczak enough room to be the Bears' leading rusher with three carries for 28 yards. He wasn't sacked all day. Two of Tomczak's runs (a 17-yarder and a 13-yarder) were for first downs on the Bears' first two scoring drives. Linebacker Kevin Murphy said it was tough to catch Tomczak because the Bucs were in man-to-man coverage at the time. “If he gets past the front four, the rest of us have our backs turned, so we don't even know he's scrambling,” Murphy said. “By the time we hear the crowd cheering and turn around, he's gone 10 yards.” “Those two scrambles for first downs really got him going,” said Chicago right guard Tom Thayer. “After that, he was as good as almost any starting quarterback you'll see.” The Bears scored on a 1-yard run by Thomas Sanders, a 1-yard run by Anderson, a 20-yard catch by McKinnon and a 2-yard catch by tight end Emery Moorehead. Tampa Bay's points came on a 45-yard Igwebuike field goal and a 21-yard reception by Hill, his eighth touchdown of the season. Statistically, the Bucs came out ahead for the day: 25 first downs to 19, 357 total yards to 338, 84 yards rushing to 69, 273 yards passing to 269, and 36:02 of ball control to 23:58. The difference was, the Bears made their plays and their minutes count. “They made plays when they had to, and we didn't,” said Bucs defensive end Harry Swayne. “They were a good team, not great, but they did what they were supposed to do. We didn't.” Among their big plays were a 45-yard pass to McKinnon, a 41-yard pass to Gentry, consecutive completions of 12 and 21 yards to a wide-open Anderson, Vestee Jackson's 46-yard interception return, and rookie Todd Krumm's interception. The Bucs' big-play success Sunday was best demonstrated on a double reverse, in which Testaverde gave the ball to Don Smith who handed off to Hill, who was supposed to hand it back to Testaverde. Instead, Hill fumbled and the Bucs lost 13 yards on the play. What happened? “Our right guard (rookie John Bruhin) and left tackle (rookie Paul Gruber) got slaughtered and demolished,” Perkins said. Things went so smoothly for the Bears that interim coach Tobin said, “The game took care of itself. There weren't any critical situations in the game that required yes or no answers.” Things were so bumpy for the Bucs that Perkins said, “There were some players in uniform today that probably shouldn't be in an NFL uniform the way they played.” The Bears said it was strange not having the emotional Ditka on the sideline. “One thing about Mike is that when you have adversity, he's always there to fire us up,” McKinnon said. “Vince is a lot more laid back. Mike is like a volcano ready to go off. We miss him dearly.” Defensive end Al Harris said, “Mike's the heart of this Bears team. Him and Vince are like night and day, but they're both winners.” Ditka phoned the locker room after the game to congratulate his players. “It was nice hearing from him,” Tomczak said. “He had a smile under his voice.” Perkins had frustration and anger under his. Midway through the third quarter, a sign flashed on the scoreboard that read: “If you experience numbness, change of face color or pain, please go to an aid station.” Maybe the Bucs should've taken the advice.