For the first time all season, the Browns offense must carry the load, and this week may be their toughest test.
Often, we get stuck on looking at overall stats when evaluating teams. We get caught up in what teams have done throughout the season to determine what they will bring to the table on Sundays.
Doing that usually gives you a good idea of what a team is, but for this opponent, doing that would be a trap.
The Bears come into Sunday’s game with a five-and-eight record which is last in the NFC North. However, this team has hope. After the game against Cleveland, they will have three winnable games left on the schedule and nine wins in the NFC means playoffs.
Chicago’s defense has a very defined turning point in their season. On October 31, the Bears and Commanders agreed on a deal that sent Montez Sweat to Chicago and the defense evolved.
In the first two months of the year, the Bears were a bottom-tier defense. They were 28th in points per game, 23rd in total yards allowed, 30th in pass yards per game, last in sacks and 22nd in takeaways.
In weeks nine through 14, they have the ninth-best ranking in points per game at 18.2, they are fifth in total yards given up per game, they are fifth in passing yards per game and second in takeaways with 11. To say they turned things around would be an understatement.
Sweat leads the charge up front for this group. In just five weeks he has the second most sacks on the team with 3.5. His 10.5 total sacks would be first on the team. They will be without pass rusher Yannik Ngakoue who broke his ankle last week.
The two linebackers of this defense are studs. TJ Edwards has 131 tackles on the season and will be everywhere on Sunday. He tackles in the run game but also has four passes defensed and four interceptions on the season. His running mate, Tremaine Edwards has missed two games but still has 83 tackles on the year, five tackles for loss, five passes defensed and three interceptions. He is long and rangy, a problem at the second level of the defense.
The Bears’ secondary is led by cornerback Jaylon Johnson who is having a fantastic season. He is currently the highest-graded cornerback in all of the NFL according to Pro Football Focus. His 90.6 PFF grade is comprised by his four interceptions, one pick-six, and nine passes defensed. The Browns will attack the other side of the field, Tyrique Stevenson. While Johnson is the highest-graded corner in football, Stevenson is one of the worst.
Cleveland’s offense needs to show up on Sunday. The Bears aren’t going to feel bad for all the injuries and they aren’t holding a spot in the playoffs for us because of all the injuries.
For the first time this year, the Cleveland offense will carry the defense We’ll find out if they can get it done.
Leave a Reply