CHICAGO – FitzMagic was too good to last.

After briefly evolving to become the most entertaining quarterback in the NFL, Ryan Fitzpatrick regained his 14-year-old companion status on Sunday and was cleared at half-time for Jameis Winston. Winston could not win the Tampa Bay Buccaneers in the 48-10 loss to the Chicago Bears, but he at least pitched for a touchdown.

Winston finished 16 of 20 out of 20 for 145 yards. In addition to TD, he has made two choices.

Winston missed the first three games of the season after sexually assaulting an Uber driver. But there was no doubt that this week, Winston would return to his quarterback position from the Buccaneers.

The question was when.

Although Fitzpatrick fought Monday against Pittsburgh – he launched three interceptions – asking Winston to take over seemed a difficult task. In addition, Tampa Bay said goodbye next weekend, suggesting that Buccaneers coach Dirk Koetter would wait until Oct. 14 in Atlanta to make a difference.

But the first half made that impossible. Fitzpatrick, who has amassed more than 400 yards in each of the first three games, had only 126 yards in 9 assists. He drove the Buccaneers twice in front of the midfield, but they had to settle for a spot on the center after Fitzpatrick knocked O.J. Howard into the end zone.

Mitchell Trubisky, meanwhile, made his best impression of Sid Luckman, scoring for five touchdowns in the first period and finishing with six.

And if there were any unanswered questions about why the Buccaneers had made the transition, Winston had cleared them by the end of the third quarter. Facing the second and sixth of his own 45 seconds, Winston seemed about to be fired when Khalil Mack grabbed an ankle and started firing.

But Winston managed to get clear and started running, picking up the first one. Eight pieces later, he contacted Cameron Brate for a 16-yard touchdown.

Hey, when you're in a bad patch, you have to take the positives where you can get them.

Here's what we learned from Buccaneers-Bears:

TRUBISKY CAN PLAY: Trubisky did not perform well compared to Patrick Mahomes, who was selected eight places after the Bears quarterback in the 2017 draft. Mahomes scored 13 touchdowns in the top 13 in the first three games. that Trubisky stayed a week in class.

But Bears coach Matt Nagy said Trubisky was close to being there and he never did.

In a big way.

Trubisky became the first Bears quarterback in the Super Bowl era to have scored six touchdowns – and five of those came in the first half. He looked the most comfortable he had ever had, directing his receivers and hitting them fast. Her second TD pass was a beautiful, perfectly placed ball in the back of the end zone where only Allen Robinson could get it.

Trubisky was 19th on 26 for 354 yards and a sparkling 154.6 QB.

This victory gives Chicago its first run of three consecutive victories since 2013 and sends Trubisky within a week afterwards with a ton of confidence.

JON GRUDEN's worst nightmare: What did Jon Gruden still think?

Mack continued to be a one-man demolition crewmate, getting his fifth sack of the season and his fourth forced fumble. This makes him the first player since 2005 to cash a bag and a forced fumble in four consecutive games.

Mack also wreaked havoc, forcing the Buccaneers to try double teams, which opened up opportunities for his teammates.

Mack has only been in Chicago for a month, having been traded to the Oakland Raiders Bears just before the start of the season. Imagine the devastation he will create after a week off in which he has only to study.

Big mistake, Gruden. Large. Huge.

NEW NUMBER, WHICH DIS: For a long time the doormats of the NFC North, the Bears start the week off at the top of the division.

At 3-1, Chicago has had a better start since 2013. And while the playoff talks seemed too optimistic before the season started, it does not seem that far-fetched now. Outside of their division games, the Bears have more than two games that seem to be problematic: against the New England Patriots (October 21) and the Los Angeles Rams (December 9), which are both at home.

Follow Nancy Armor on Twitter @nrarmour.