Bears WR Luther Burden leaves win over Buccaneers with concussion after costly late hit

The Chicago Bears won on Sunday night but may have lost one of their best receivers for a while. Luther Burden III left Chicago's 27-24 "Sunday Night Football" win over the Tampa Bay Buccaneers with a concussion after taking a big hit late in the fourth quarter.

The play also nearly cost Chicago the game. USA TODAY Sports reported that a hit from Tampa Bay's Bain knocked the ball loose from Burden with less than four minutes left. The Buccaneers recovered the fumble, and a couple of plays later they scored a touchdown and added a two-point conversion to tie the game. The Bears still won, beating Tampa Bay by three for their fourth victory in a row.

Before the hit, Burden had been the most productive receiver on either side. He led all pass catchers with seven receptions for 97 yards and a touchdown. In USA TODAY's first report during the game, the Bears had not said anything about what the injury was or whether Burden could return. The concussion diagnosis means he now has to go through the NFL's step-by-step return protocol before he can be cleared. The league does not set a fixed timeline for that process, so his availability will depend on how he progresses over the coming days.

The timing helps Chicago. The Bears do not play again until Sunday, Nov. 22, which gives Burden about two weeks to clear the protocol. That window is not a guarantee, but it is more time than a normal one-week turnaround would allow.

What it means against New Orleans

Chicago comes out of the Tampa Bay game at 7-2. Its only losses were a 31-7 defeat at Green Bay and a 9-3 home loss to Minnesota. Since the Green Bay game, the Bears have won at Atlanta 31-23, beaten New England 30-24 at Soldier Field, won 34-17 at Seattle and now held off the Buccaneers. They have scored at least 27 points in each of those four wins, and their 4-1 home record includes wins over Philadelphia, the Jets, New England and Tampa Bay.

The next opponent is the New Orleans Saints, who visit Chicago in a Fox broadcast on Nov. 22. Without Burden, the Bears would be missing the receiver who just carried their passing game for most of a prime-time win. The offense has shown it can produce in different ways. It put up 59 points in the opener at Carolina and has averaged more than 30 points during the winning streak. Still, the two scoring droughts in the Green Bay and Minnesota losses show what happens when the attack stalls.

The main question for Chicago over the next two weeks is whether Burden clears the protocol in time. The answer will show up on the practice reports as the Saints game gets closer.