The Cleveland Browns wrapped up their preseason against the Chicago Bears.
The Cleveland Browns finished their preseason by taking on the Chicago Bears. With the final cut-down day coming on Tuesday, the Browns have to make sure they get the right 53 names down on the roster. That means 27 names won’t be on this team come Wednesday. So a few dozen men will be trying to vie for a few final spots on the squad, and the Bears game was their final audition.
There were some guys who really showed up and a lot of guys who really didn’t. Overall, this game was a mess. The first team guys who did play didn’t play great. They got pushed around on both sides of the ball. The secondary wasn’t able to stop Justin Fields and the offense was perpetually coming up short behind Jacoby Brissett.
Things changed when Joshua Dobbs came in, and the offense was able to actually make some moves, but it was mostly against second and third-teamers, so while it was impressive, it isn’t exactly the most eye-opening of performances.
Yes, the Browns didn’t play a few major names. That’s obvious, but at any point, these stars that fans just assume will be there, may not. Injuries don’t care if you’re an All-Pro and if you don’t have viable and healthy backups, then you’re going to be in for a long season because eventually everyone gets hurt.
The team’s overall play was concerning, and there’s no disputing that.
The final score saw the Bears win, 21-20.
The Good
Most of the Browns’ offensive line
Jacoby Brissett was largely clean when he left the game. This wasn’t the case last year with Baker Mayfield, so it was good to see the Browns’ o-line do their job. Well, mostly do their job. While Ethan Pocic was solid against the Bears’ pass rushing, he failed against the run but we’ll talk about that here in a second. Even without Jack Conklin, and Wyatt Teller going with the trainers, however, the Browns were able to be very solid.
Taven Bryan making an impact
Taven Bryan got his first set of reps in the preseason and he looked impressive. In the opening drive, he rode two different Bears linemen down the line of scrimmage, before breaking through and making a tackle behind the line of scrimmage. He’s not a Pro Bowl caliber talent, at least from what we saw in Jacksonville, so don’t expect the next coming of Warren Sapp, but Bryan did look good.
Joshua Dobbs’ electrical play
For the third straight week in a row, Joshua Dobbs came into the game and completely changed the dynamic. He’s mobile, a solid passer, and isn’t afraid to put his body on the line. He never really got to show what he can do with the first-teamers and had he maybe more fans would be clamoring for him to start.
The Bad
Ethan Pocic’s play
Yikes. I thought Donovan Peoples-Jones and David Njoku were liabilities blocking (they are), but if they can catch the ball then fine, they can suck at blocking. Ethan Pocic can’t afford to be bad at run blocking, however, and he is. He’s very bad. The number of times Pocic got pushed deep into the backfield was bountiful. He couldn’t seal an edge on a pulling play and looked largely lost at the position.
The receiver’s
Anthony Schwartz had a nice career with the Cleveland Browns but it’s over. No one’s doubting that. The man had three drops this game alone. Some will also blame him for an interception that Jacoby Brissett threw, but that was more the defense forcing a turnover, as opposed to the Browns making a mistake. It was a timing route and a Bears defender clipped Schwartz off the line. It happens. He’s still a terrible player. Brissett largely stayed away from the receivers too, which isn’t exactly a strong sign that he has faith in them.
Jacoby Brissett
Man, Jacoby Brissett is going to be everyone’s least favorite player and that just shouldn’t be the case. He’s not a good starter, but he’s a fine backup. He’s going to be asked to do things that he just can’t do. He’s perpetually just shy of a big play, and that’s how he’s always going to be. He’s a game manager in the purest sense of the word. If the team has a lead, he’ll be fine, but if he has to lead a comeback, the team will struggle and we saw that across nearly two full quarters. Passes to guys just short of first downs, awkward attempts deep, and of course the interception. That’s not all on him, it happens but the need to run timing routes is an issue. I don’t put much stock in the batted passes, though. The tallest quarterbacks get batted down all the time.