Browns (

15.25) at
Bears (

22.75)

Game Overview ::

By papy >>

• The Browns had a lot of players sit out practice on Wednesday. G Joel Bitonio missed with a knee, T Jack Conklin missed with a concussion, S Grant Delpit missed with an illness, DT Mason Graham missed with a rib, DT Adin Huntington missed with a quad, TE David Njoku missed with a knee, RB Dylan Sampson missed with a calf, G Wyatt Teller missed with a calf, WR Cedric Tilman missed with a concussion, and CB Denzel Ward missed with a calf.
• The Bears are relatively healthy. CB Kyle Gordon missed Wednesday’s practice with a groin injury, and RB Travis Homer missed with an ankle injury. WR Rome Odunze was technically limited with a foot (it’s a stress fracture). Keep an eye on his status later in the week.
• The Browns defense got cooked on the ground last week, but they’re still an elite unit.
• Shedeur Sanders showed out when given his first opportunity to pass at elevated rates.
• Quinshon Judkins is the Browns’ best player, but they can’t block for him, and the offense might be transitioning to a pass-first approach.
• Jerry Jeudy and Harold Fannin are the Browns clear top two options in the passing game.
• The Bears need to keep winning, or they’ll quickly be on the outside looking in at the NFC playoffs.
• Luther Burden and Colston Loveland have become the Bears top pass catchers while Odunze is on the shelf.
• D’Andre Swift and Kyle Monangai are being used the same way Ben Johnson used his RBs in Detroit.

JM’S JOURNAL ::

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How cleveland Will Try To Win ::

The 3-10 Browns come into Week 15 after a disappointing home loss against the lifeless Titans. The Titans managed to score 31 points in Cleveland. That is one of the most surprising results in recent NFL history. The Browns’ defense was at home and had been playing at an elite level. The Titans hadn’t scored 30 points (even close) in a game this season. More curious was how they cooked the Browns defense. Cleveland had been lights out against the run, so naturally, they gave up 161 yards and two touchdowns to the previously dead in the water Tony Pollard. The one positive for Cleveland was the play of Shedeur Sanders. He threw for 364 yards, and even though the Titans aren’t good on defense, Sanders looked like a real NFL QB. The Browns haven’t had a QB who looks like he belongs in the NFL all season, and if Sanders keeps playing the way he did last week, they might have a tough decision on their hands when it comes time to draft a QB next April.

The Browns have been playing fast (4th in seconds per play), and while it’s easy to attribute that to always being behind, it shouldn’t be ignored that Kevin Stefanski has always wanted to play fast. Their +2.9% neutral pace over expected was the fastest of any team in Week 14. The Browns play quickly by choice. The Browns have leaned on the run (23rd in PROE), but it’s difficult to run effectively behind a poor (30th-ranked by PFF) O-line that has had issues all season. The Browns PROE number looks low, but that is a yearly number, and something interesting happened last week. It was the first time the Browns had a positive situational neutral pass rate since Sanders took over at QB. Their 58% neutral pass rate last week would be 11th on the season, and it seems like Stefanski finally decided to give Sanders a chance. It’s impossible to know if that trend will hold into this week, but it’s interesting to see what looks like a philosophy shift. Sanders certainly delivered when given more opportunities. The Bears’ defense has been weak (28th in DVOA) against the run, and vulnerable (24th in DVOA) against the pass. The Bears defense hasn’t been good, but their weaknesses aren’t going to matter as much as the Browns preferences. Stefanski has every incentive to let Sanders show his stuff, and the Browns are likely to pass more than people expect in this one.

How chicago Will Try To Win ::