Cleveland Browns vs Chicago Bears: 2017 Christmas Eve game Q & A

Cleveland Browns fans are waiting to see whether or not the team can win consecutive games on Christmas Eve. In the meantime, I spoke with Da Windy City to get their outlook and opinions on this week’s game.

Will this finally be the week the Cleveland Browns win a game? This week is their best chance to achieve such a goal but that is far from guaranteed.

To get a feel for what Chicago Bears fans are thinking, I spoke with Da Windy City‘s Site Expert Khari Thompson.

FoS: Why isn’t John Fox and Mitchell Trubisky getting the same backlashed treatment Hue Jackson and DeShone Kizer are getting?

DWC: On one hand, I think that Mitch Trubisky has played better than Kizer on the whole (though Kizer has had a few good games). Also, we don’t entirely know what Trubisky is yet because Fox appears to have limited what Trubisky was allowed to do for so much of his time.

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So there’s a bit of mystery and benefit of the doubt with Trubisky. Kizer hasn’t been put in the best position, but his shortcomings have been more obvious.

FoS: Cleveland’s run defense has been great. That said, although Jordan Howard is the bigger name in the backfield, is he truly the most challenging back the Browns will face on Sunday?

DWC: Jordan Howard is still the bread and butter of the offense, having become the first back in Bears history to top 1,000 yards in his first two seasons. But I think Tarik Cohen is the more explosive, versatile player by far.

It’s a shame that the Bears still don’t know how to really use him as anything other than a gadget player yet/don’t put him on the field when they really need him because he has shown the ability to be more than just a toy.

His moves in the open field, pass catching, and surprising toughness should be torturing defenses far more than they already are.

Watch out for him.

FoS: Adam Shaheen is finally starting to show something this season. Cleveland’s poor pass defense has led to field days for tight ends to have big games.

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Are you confident he will be able to continue to maintain his recent momentum?

DWC: Adam Shaheen is another player that the Bears haven’t played as much as they ought to, especially now that Zach Miller is out. He’s their best red zone threat at tight end, and he can clearly get open in the passing game.

Personally, I don’t think his blocking is as bad as has been suggested, either. He deserves to be on the field, and he produces when given the chance. The main thing holding him back right now is the coaching staff. Surprise.

FoS: Which player will have the bigger stat line and why: Josh Gordon or Duke Johnson?

DWC: Good question. The Bears have shown some tendencies to be a really good run defense themselves but can struggle against duel-threat runners like Duke Johnson at times. That said, while the Bears have solid corners, especially Kyle Fuller, neither one of them is good enough to lock up Josh Gordon.

If you made me guess, I’d say Gordon will end up with the bigger day. He’ll probably get loose for a big play or two when Fuller slips and falls out of his break, as he frequently does.

FoS: If Cleveland wins, what would you expect the reaction to be from Chicago fans? What has been the discussion leading up to the game on that topic?

DWC: Truthfully, a lot of Chicago Bears fans are indeed afraid that the Bears will lose on Sunday. That’s been the feeling for the past few weeks, especially after watching the Bears lose to Brett Hundley and the Green Bay Packers the way they did.

At times, the Browns offense has looked better with DeShone Kizer than the Bears’ has with…anyone thanks to the coaching. Still, if the Browns beat the Bears on Sunday, Bears fans very well might march on Halas Hall and run John Fox out of town on a rail.

“Worst loss in Bears history” will be thrown around. Bet on it. We still have to see if it happens though.

Next: Week 16 predictions vs the Bears

Two very bad teams are set to face each other. Look for a low scoring game with the team that has the ball last to likely win it before the end of the fourth quarter. A big thanks to Khari for taking the time out to answer our questions this week. It sure will be interesting on Sunday!

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