5 things to watch in the Chicago Bears-Cleveland Browns game — plus our Week 15 predictions
The Chicago Bears (5-8) will look to extend their winning streak to three games for the first time since December 2020 when they play the Browns (8-5) on Sunday in Cleveland.
As kickoff approaches, here’s our snapshot look at the game.
Player in the spotlight
Browns defensive end Myles Garrett
The last time Bears quarterback Justin Fields played the Browns in the regular season was his first career start on Sept. 26, 2021. It’s an impossible one to forget.
“Just being back in Ohio, first start, everybody excited, and then of course getting sacked too,” Fields said. “Hopefully we can change that going back this weekend.”
Browns defensive end Myles Garrett recorded 4 1/2 of the Browns’ nine sacks against Fields, who completed just 6 of 20 passes for 68 yards under then-coach Matt Nagy. Fields lost 67 yards to the sacks.
As the Bears return to Cleveland, Garrett, a four-time Pro Bowl selection, still is wreaking havoc on opposing quarterbacks. He ranks seventh in the NFL with 13 sacks and is tied for fourth with 26 quarterback hits.
Bears left guard Teven Jenkins called Garrett “a freak” and said he will be the best pass rusher he has gone against.
“His explosiveness, quickness and just overall play strength is other-wordly, really,” Jenkins said.
Garrett is part of a Browns defense that has the best sack rate in the NFL at 10.2%. Former Green Bay Packers/Minnesota Vikings edge rusher Za’Darius Smith has 3 1/2 sacks and 14 quarterback hits. Ogbonnia Okoronkwo, who has 4 1/2 sacks, will miss the game with a pectoral injury.
Offensive coordinator Luke Getsy said he received a stats sheet with the Browns ranked first in multiple defensive categories — including allowing just 263 yards and 159.7 passing yards per game — and thought, “This is going to be fun.”
“You have 95 (Garrett) and 99 (Smith) staring down at you at the same time, it’s fun,” Getsy said. “This is why you do what you do. You want to play against the best. Yes, those two you have to account for at all times. There’s no question about it that when you’re going up against guys like that your game plan has to be centered around those two guys.”
Pressing question
Can the Bears defense continue its late-season surge?
Over the last five games — and coinciding with the arrival of pass rusher Montez Sweat — the Bears defense has 10 takeaways and 11 sacks while allowing an average of 272.2 yards and 18.2 points per game. Contributions are coming from multiple players across all three levels, and the confidence swell within the entire unit has been undeniable.
“Most of it is really about the energy and the passion that you see,” coach Matt Eberflus said Friday. “When guys know what to do and how to do it, they play with speed and physicality and you can start to feel that.”
Sweat’s presence up front has made a difference. Linebackers T.J. Edwards and Tremaine Edmunds are hitting stride too. On the back end, Jaylon Johnson is enjoying the hottest stretch of his four-year career. Key contributions are also coming from Kyler Gordon, Jaquan Brisker, Eddie Jackson, Andrew Billings and Gervon Dexter.
Count linebackers coach Dave Borgonzi among those who have felt the momentum and the resulting excitement with the defense. “It’s a lot of fun,” Borgonzi said. “It is. When you’re playing well, it creates a lot of energy and juice. And right now we’re playing well. Now you’ve got to maintain that.
“You don’t have to do anything extra or special. You’ve just got to do your job. ... I think we’re all excited about where we’re going, we just have to have the singular focus of playing good ball on Sunday.”
Keep an eye on …
In the year of the backup QB in the NFL, Flacco’s couch-to-starter journey is another compelling story.
The Super Bowl MVP in the 2012 season with the Baltimore Ravens told Cleveland reporters he was spending his Sunday afternoons watching football on TV before joining the Browns practice squad Nov. 20 and then starting their last two games. Flacco, who made nine starts over the previous three seasons for the New York Jets, has thrown for 565 yards, five touchdowns and two interceptions in two games, including a 31-27 victory over the Jacksonville Jaguars on Sunday.
Bears linebackers coach Dave Borgonzi, who is just a few years older than Flacco, called the 38-year-old quarterback’s return ”impressive.”
“The thing that stands out is his ability to make every throw,” Borgonzi said. “He’s got a strong arm, really comfortable in the pocket. It’s impressive to see a guy that just got there have such good command of the offense.”
The Browns have put up some explosive plays in the two games with Flacco at the helm. He has had nine passes go for 20 or more yards and is averaging 5.8 air yards per completion, according to NextGen Stats. Bears coach Matt Eberflus said Flacco makes a team defend the entire field.
Against the Jaguars, Flacco targeted wide receiver Amari Cooper 14 times, and Cooper had seven catches for 77 yards. For the season, Cooper has 57 catches for 876 yards — 15.4 yards per catch.
“(Flacco) definitely likes showing off his arm and stepping into it and trying to deliver a deep ball,” safety Jaquan Brisker said. “Obviously they’ve got some receivers that can go deep, and he gives them shots to do that.”
Unconventional wisdom
When the Bears won the coin toss before Sunday’s game against the Lions, they made the unconventional choice to receive the opening kickoff. Eight plays later, DJ Moore scored on a 16-yard run to put the Bears up 7-0 less than five minutes in.
It wasn’t the first time the Bears have opted to receive the opening kickoff.
In 13 coin tosses this season, the Bears have won six times. The last four times they won — against the Lions, New Orleans Saints, Las Vegas Raiders and Washington Commanders — the Bears elected to receive. The first two times they won it, they elected to defer their choice to the second half.
Three of the four times the Bears elected to receive — two were under Fields and two under backup quarterback Tyson Bagent — they scored on the opening drive.
Eberflus said he visits with director of research and analysis Harrison Freid to make the decision each week, weighing an opponent’s strengths on offense and defense, their performance on opening drives and the wind. He then tells his players what their choice will be on the Friday before a game.
“We’ll just look at the opponent and then look at ourselves and how we match up well against a certain group,” Eberflus said.
Teams most often defer, potentially allowing the opportunity to score back to back if it has the ball at the end of the second quarter and then at the beginning of the third. Every team that has won the coin toss against the Bears this year has deferred.
“There’s really no analytics to that that suggest that you get a double-dip in that situation, taking the ball or deferring,” Eberflus said. “But you look at it and it’s still about execution. It’s still about creating the opportunity for yourself to get the double-dip — stopping them and using your timeouts and all that.”
Injury report
It has been a challenging week in Cleveland. The Browns placed starting safety Grant Delpit (groin) and offensive tackles Jedrick Wills (knee) and Dawand Jones (knee) on injured reserve. In addition, defensive lineman Ogbo Okoronkwo (pectoral), safety Juan Thornhill and center Ethan Pocic (stinger) have been ruled out for Sunday’s game.
The Browns already had entered this week with four Week 1 starters on IR in running back Nick Chubb, quarterback Deshaun Watson, offensive tackle Jack Conklin and safety Rodney McLeod. Standout cornerback Denzel Ward has missed the last three games with a shoulder issue but is pushing to return Sunday and is listed as questionable.
That leaves coach Kevin Stefanski and his staff to reshuffle on both sides of the ball.
For the Bears, the story is decidedly more positive. Safety Jaquan Brisker returned to practice Friday after missing the previous day’s on-field work with a groin issue. Brisker is listed as questionable for Sunday’s game. Receiver DJ Moore shares the same status as he works through an ankle injury.
Predictions
Brad Biggs (9-4)
This is an interesting matchup because the Bears have created some momentum and cling to hope they can run the table to close the season and have a shot at the playoffs. The Browns (8-5) remain two games behind the Baltimore Ravens in the AFC North and have faced the second-toughest schedule in the NFL while managing a slew of season-ending injuries to key players. Joe Flacco is the fourth starting quarterback coach Kevin Stefanski has been forced to use, and while he’s a sitting duck in the pocket, he can get the ball out quickly with the Browns missing their top three offensive tackles. Browns edge rusher Myles Garrett might be the best defensive player the Bears face all season. Edge to the Browns with defensive coordinator Jim Schwartz capable of creating a variety of looks for Justin Fields to deal with.
Browns 23, Bears 16
Colleen Kane (8-5)
The Bears are a much healthier team than the Browns and are playing with increasing confidence while on a two-game winning streak. That could help keep this one close. But even with the injuries, this Browns defense behind Myles Garrett has the potential to seriously test Bears quarterback Justin Fields’ poise in a hostile environment. Meanwhile, Joe Flacco jumped off the couch and a few weeks later was throwing for 311 yards and three touchdowns against the Jaguars. If the Bears can keep up their takeaway parade against him, maybe they’ll have a chance at pulling off a second straight big-time win. But even after the Bears’ improvements over the last month, I’m still in prove-it-to-us mode.
Browns 24, Bears 20
Dan Wiederer (9-4)
First to 17 points wins? It could be that kind of day. The Browns defense presents a major test for Justin Fields and Co. And on the road, the Bears offense will to have to stay poised, limit mistakes and capitalize on big-play opportunities when they arise. Still, the Bears defense is rolling right now. And sometimes in December, the healthier team has the advantage. The hunt for a wild-card berth continues.
Bears 17, Browns 16
