Browns dominate the Bears on both sides of the line.
It’s fair to say that the Cleveland Browns defense got their cake and ate it too when the Chicago Bears came to town. The Bears’ offense was awful coming into the season, something Chicago head coach Matt Nagy has not done well with, but had some hope with former Pro Bowler Andy Dalton under center.
Dalton gets hurt, and the rookie Justin Fields got placed into the game in his stead. So the Browns defense, on paper, should’ve handled the Bears under normal circumstances but with Fields, Cleveland was expected to have a field day.
No one expected the Browns defensive line to secure nine sacks, however. Myles Garrett had 4.5, Jadeveon Clowney had 2.0, and four others had a sack or half-a-sack respectively.
The Browns did struggle on offense at times. Penalties and blown assignments will do that, but Baker Mayfield also overthrew a few guys, mostly due to the pressure he was under all day from Chicago.
Considering how accurate Mayfield has been throughout the year, the fact that Mayfield ‘only’ completed 61% of his passes shouldn’t concern anyone. The Bears’ defense may be the best in the league at getting to the quarterback, and that didn’t change on Sunday. They’re a great squad.
The Browns did what they do best come the second half and ran the Bears into the ground, all while managing the score. Cleveland only trailed once all game, and while the score looked close early on, the play on the field would’ve told you anything but.
The Good
The defensive line
It’s hard to argue that the Browns defensive line looked as good as it had since Myles Garrett got drafted (and years prior). The team had sack after sack, and it came from just about every player on the defense. Garrett was all over the field and was unblockable. Jadeveon Clowney also stepped up, as did the rest of the defensive line, all of whom made it nearly impossible for the Bears to get anything done offensively.
Baker Mayfield
Some will look at Baker Mayfield’s day and wonder what happened, but it’s not a hard thing to figure out; the Bears’ defense is elite. They’re going to give offenses problems. Mayfield started out rough but had a nice bounce-back game, completing a lot of big passes, and tossing a great touchdown pass to Austin Hooper. Sure, there were about six or seven bad passes but every quarterback has bad passes. Mayfield advanced the ball and didn’t turn over the ball. Couldn’t ask for anything more.
Odell Beckham
Giving it to Kareem Hunt makes a lot of sense, but Odell Beckham had a nice day. He didn’t dominate, but maybe he won’t ever be that guy again. What we got from Beckham, however, was a good game. He made a few great plays and helped out a lot against a staunch Bears’ defense.
Bad
The offensive line
Credit the Bears’ defense, they certainly gave the Browns a test offensively, but the offensive line was just awful in their pass blocking. Numerous holding calls and missed blocks caused Mayfield to scramble for a lot of the game and seemed to never feel comfortable against an aggressive defense. The Browns weren’t helped by Jedrick Wills’ injury but if his injury is so bad that it’s affecting his play, then he needs to be removed and sat. It makes no sense to play an injured guy who’s only going to hinder you.
Playing sloppy
Whether it was holding calls on the offense, holding calls on the defense, or even a pass interference call that some fans will argue wasn’t, the Browns played sloppily all game. They nearly shot themselves in the foot due to these penalties, and the fact it happened at home is a slight bit concerning.
Playcalling
Kevin Stefanski really had some issues in the first half with his play calling. On third and second and fourth and second, Stefanski opted to call back to back passing plays which resulted in a turnover on downs. Had Stefanski gone for a run, or a field goal, the game would’ve been out of hand far earlier.
In Conclusion
The Browns did what the Browns needed to do. It’d be fair to say Myles Garrett never looked better but it’s also worth pointing out how bad the Bears left tackle Jason Peters was all game. The Bears did little to help him, and considering he’s pushing 40, they really should’ve. Garrett deserves a lot of credit but it needs to be stressed that this is more the Bears being horrid offensively than the Browns being an elite defense.
The Browns did achieve a neat piece of history, sacking Justin Fields more times than the young quarterback had completions. This is the first time since 2002 that this has happened, with the Texans’ David Carr being the unfortunate recipient of this unique stat.
Offensively, the Browns didn’t look that good but they looked good enough. The culprits were the offensive line with Jedrick Wills not playing well at all. Blame it on the injury or what have you, but he wasn’t very effective at protecting Baker Mayfield. Joel Bitonio deserves a lot of blame as well, getting blown up inside and getting caught holding the defensive players a few too many times.
The Browns offense has to play mistake-free because next week they get the Vikings and they are a good offensive team. They can’t afford to make the same mistakes against Minnesota, mostly because Cleveland’s defense will be tested far more than the Bears were able to muster.