By Gene Chamberlain Sports Illustrated Chicago Bears News, Analysis and More
The Matchup: The Bears have a 7% chance of making the playoffs according to N.Y. Times calculations and try to continue to stay afloat as they look for their longest winning streak since 2021 at three games.
Cleveland is sitting in the fifth seed for the AFC wild card playoffs and needs the win to bolster its position but its top-ranked defense has been hit hard by injuries, as has their offensive line. Cleveland is without starting center Ethan Pocic and both starting tackles as well as a swing tackle.
The defense is down between four and six starters depending on who finally is able to be active on Sunday. However, the Browns do have sack artist Myles Garrett, who made 4 1/2 sacks of Justin Fields in the last regular-season meeting between the teams in 2021.
The Series: The 18th game with the Browns leading 10-7 in a series that started in when Cleveland came with the Colts and 49ers from the All-American Football Conference to the NFL in 1951. The Browns won the last game 26-6 in 2021 but the Bears had won three straight before that game. Cleveland is 8-2 all time in Cleveland against the Bears.
The Coaches: Bears coach Matt Eberflus is 8-22 in his second season and has never coached against the Browns.
Browns coach Kevin Stefanski owns a 34-29 record in his fourth season and is 1-0 against the Bears.
Last Week: The Bears defense was dominant, taking the ball away three times on the day and holding the Lions’ high-flying attack to 76 second-half yards and four first downs in a 28-13 Chicago victory. Justin Fields ran for an 11-yard TD in the fourth quarter and hit DJ Moore on a freebie 38-yard TD bomb after an offsides penalty for the go-ahead TD in the third quarter.
Veteran backup Joe Flacco hit wide receiver David Bell on a 51-yard TD pass in the fourth quarter to expand Cleveland’s lead to 28-14 and the Browns went on to a 31-27 win over Jacksonville. A 55-yard fourth-quarter Dustin Hopkins field goal proved huge, as well. Flacco was 26 of 45 for 311 yards with three TDs and an interception.
Matching Up: The Bears are 21st on offense, 26th passing and fourth in rushing. They are 20th in scoring. Chicago is 12th on defense, 23rd against the pass and second against the run. The Bears are 22nd in scoring defense.
The Browns are 19th on offense, 23rd passing and seventh rushing. They are 12th in scoring. Cleveland is No. 1 on defense, 11th against the run and No. 1 against the pass. The Browns are 14th in scoring defense.
Stat Leaders: Bears QB Justin Fields is completing 63.5% (162 of 255) for 1,810 yards with 13 TDs and six interceptions. He hasa passer rating of 91.8. Fields also leads the Bears in rushing with 458 yards on 89 carries. … RB D’Onta Foreman leads in rushing touchdowns with four. … WR DJ Moore is the leading Bears receiver with 76 receptions on 103 targets for 1,071 yards and seven TDs. … LB T.J.
Edwards has the Bears lead in tackles with 131 and fumble recoveries with two. … DT Justin Jones leads in tackles for loss with eight. … CB Jaylon Johnson leads the Bears in interceptions with four and pass defenses with nine. … S Jaquan Brisker leads in forced fumbles with two.
Browns QB Joe Flacco is playing in his third game with the team and has completed 55.1% (49 of 89) for 565 yards and five TDs with two INTs. … RB Jherome Ford has the Browns rushing lead with 698 yards on 166 attempts. … RB Kareem Hunt leads in rushing TDs with seven. … TE David Njoku leads the Browns in receptions with 59 in 92 targets and TDs with four. … WR Amari Cooper leads in receiving yards with 876 for his 57 receptions.
LB Jeremiah Owusu-Koramoah is the leader in the game for the Browns in tackles with 78 and in tackles for loss with 16. … DE Myles Garrett leads in sacks with 13 and forced fumbles with four. … LB Sione Takitaki is the fumbles recovery leader with two. … CB Martin Emerson is the interceptions leader with four and is tied with Denzel Ward with 10 pass defenses.
Injury Report: For the Bears, WR DJ Moore (ankle) and S Jaquan Brisker (groin) are questionable. LB Noah Sewell (knee) is out.
For the Browns, LB Jordan Kunaszyk (calf), DE Ogbonnia Okoronkwo (pectoral), C Ethan Pocic (stinger) are out. DL Jordan Elliott (concussion), LB Anthony Walker and CB Denzel Ward (shoulder) are quesitonnable.
Noteable: The 4 1/2 sacks Garrett had in the last game for Cleveland against Fields was a Cleveland record. … Garrett has gone three straight games without a sack and is battling through a shoulder injury.
T Jedrick Wills Jr. (knee) and T Dawand Jones (knee), S Grant Delpit (groin), DT Maurice Hurst (pectoral) and DE Og bo Okoronkwo (pectoral) have gone on injured reserve. … Moore is sixth in receiving yards, seventh in catches and sixth in TD catches in the NFL … All four of Johnson’s interceptions came in the last seven games. …
In going 6-1 at home, Cleveland has outscored opponents 141-60. … The Browns are the seventh team in the Super Bowl era to have four different QB starters win games … Browns kicker Dustin Hopkins is 8 of 8 from 50 yards or longer.
His 31 field goals are a team record. … Fields has a 104.5 passer rating in the last six games with 1,284 yards, 10 TDs and two interceptions. … Garrett has been fined $25,000 by the league for running his mouth about officials after last weeks’ game. It was $75,000 less than Chiefs coach Andy Reid was fined for criticizing officials after their loss to Buffalo.
Key Individual Matchups
Bears T Darnell Wright vs. Browns DE Myles Garrett
Wright’s gauntlet continues. If it’s not Aidan Hutchinson or Khalil Mack, it’s a Garrett this week for the rookie. Wright is graded 55th of 83 tackles by Pro Football Focus. For the year, he has 10 penalties and has given up six sacks. Wright has a big size edge on Garrett at 6-5, 335 to 6-4, 272.
Garrett is graded the second best edge player by PFF and has 13 sacks, 8 1/2 of them at home. His 32 pressures are just six short of his total for all last season. a tone for the rest of the game.
Bears T Braxton Jones vs. Browns DE Za’Darius Smith
Brown is having a solid second season, ranking 32nd oveall among 83 tackles by PFF but ninth best as a pass blocker. He has given up only one sack and has seven penalties.
He hasn’t given up a sack since Week 2. Although Smith has just 3 1/2 sacks, he is graded 28th among all edge players out of 108 by PFF.
His sack last week against the Jaguars was his first since Nov. 12. But he does have 23 pressures and 10 quarterback knockdowns. Against the Bears, he has 2 1/2 sacks and two tackles for loss with a forced fumble and 10 total tackles.
Bears DE Montez Sweat vs. Browns T James Hudson III
PFF ranks Hudson last among 83 tackles in the NFL. He has eight penalties on only 303 plays but has allowed only one sack. The former Cincinnati Bearcat is 6-5, 313 and has started 10 games in his three seasons.
Sweat has 3 1/2 sacks for the Bears since coming over in a trade and a career-high 10 sacks total. Sweat’s 34 pressures are a career high, as well, and he is graded PFF’s 15th best edge against the run.
Bears CB Jaylon Johnson vs., Browns WR Amari Cooper
This could be a situation where Johnson travels this week all over the field to cover the top Browns receiver, although they do have other capable pass catchers like .
Johnson is now the No. 1 cornerback in the PFF grading system overall and also in pass coverage. He has four interceptions and has allowed just 20 catches in 42 targets.
Johnson has a passer rating against when targeted this season at 47.6 according to Sportradar, who say he has allowed two TD catches, The 6-1, 211-pound Cooper had a season high in targets last week against Jacksonville with 14 and tied his season high in catches with seven.
QBs have struggled to get him the ball in jump ball situations this year and it’s part of the reason they have a 68.6 passer rating when they target him this year, according to Sportradar.
It’s by far the worst of his career, but he’s had four different passers throwing it his way. His 179 yards after the catch are well on the way to being the lowest of his career (278 previous low).
Bears S Jaquan Brisker vs. Browns TE David Njoku
Brisker is coming off of a 17-tackle game, third best in Bears recorded history. He’s saddled with a groin injury but is expected to play. Brisker has a 94.5 passer rating against when targeted and 60.9% completions according to Sportradar.
Njoku is No. 1 for catches on the Browns and the 6-4, 246-pounder is having his best season.
He has a career-high 59 catches in his seventh season in the league, all with this team. He is 40 yards yards from a personal best and needs one TD catch for his best.
Bears NT Andrew Billings vs. Browns RG Wyatt Teller
Billings should be out for a bit of revenge. The Browns waived him in 2021 after the 2020 COVID-19 season.
Teller has a tough assignment because he’ll be playing alongside center Nick Harris, a lighter, 6-1, 293-pound third-year backup to injured regular center Ethan Pocic.
Billings is supposed to jam up the middle and take double teams off of Justin Jones, and it should be easier with an inexperience center playing who has just two starts.
But Teller can be a tougher assignment for Billings because he is ranked the 10th best guard in the league according to PFF.
Teller has allowed four sacks with five penalties. Billing was having a standout year earlier according to PFF but has tailed off and is graded 44th among 132 interior defensive linemen. His run-stopping grade has been dropping in recent games.
