The Bears (9-4) will look to register their sixth win in their last seven games Sunday when they host the Browns (3-10) at Soldier Field.
Having compiled a 9-2 record since an 0-2 start, the Bears are in second place in the NFC North, a half game behind the Packers (9-3-1) and one game ahead of the Lions (8-5). They are also in the third and final wild card position in the NFC.
The Bears will look to rebound from last Sunday's 28-21 loss in Green Bay. They followed their previous two defeats with winning streaks of four and five games.
The Browns (3-10) have dropped five of their last six games, falling to the Patriots (32-13), Jets (27-20) and Ravens (23-16), beating the Raiders (24-10) and then losing to the 49ers (26-8) and Titans (31-29). Cleveland is 1-5 on the road this season.
When the Bears have the ball
Caleb Williams quarterbacks a Bears offense that ranks in the top 10 in the NFL in scoring (8th at 25.7 points per game) and total yards (5th at 369.7) after finishing in the bottom five in both categories last season. Since their Week 5 bye, the Bears lead the league in total yards (388.2) and rushing yards (175.0) per game.
Williams has thrown for 2,908 yards with 19 touchdowns, six interceptions and an 87.2 passer rating, including a 103.0 rating on third down that is tops in the NFL. The second-year pro has demonstrated exceptional elusiveness, rushing for 321 yards and 3 TDs on 65 carries and reducing the number of sacks he's taken from 68 last season to 20 this year, a decline from 4.0 to 1.5 per game.
The Bears are hoping that leading receiver Rome Odunze returns after missing the Packers game due to a foot injury. He is listed as questionable on the injury report after being limited all week in practice.
Rookie tight end Colston Loveland has become more involved in the passing attack, averaging 53.2 yards and scoring four TDs over the last six games.
The Bears running game is powered by veteran D'Andre Swift (173 carries for 837 yards and 5 TDs) and rookie seventh-round pick Kyle Monangai (135-648-5), both of whom rank in the top 10 in the NFL in yards per carry.
Last Sunday, the Browns defense allowed 184 rushing yards for the second time in four games, with the Titans' Tony Pollard gaining 161 yards and 2 TDs on 25 carries.
Cleveland's defense ranks second in the league in total yards, 13th against the run and second versus the pass.
"It's a top three defense," said coach Ben Johnson. "I mean, they're really good. Team speed off the chart and it shows up. We're going to have a challenge here to move the ball and score points."
Cleveland's defense is led by star end Myles Garrett, a six-time All-Pro and six-time Pro Bowl selection who leads the league with 20.0 sacks—just 2.5 sacks shy of the NFL record shared by Michael Strahan (2001) and T.J. Watt (2021).
"[Garrett] might be on another level than anybody else in this league right now," Johnson said. "He's just a complete player. When you look at the size and strength and speed, it's just a unique package where he really has it all.
"He's very strong. He's got that bull rush that can take a tackle and put him on roller skates and walk him right back into the quarterback, which happens quite a bit. Every team that you see on tape, they have a plan for him to slow him down, and yet the chip gets off of him and he just still walks that tackle on back into the quarterback. And heaven forbid you ever leave him one-on-one; that's really where he shows up. He's almost unblockable that way in pass protection."
The Browns defense is coordinated by longtime NFL coach Jim Schwartz.
"He does a good job of making everything look the same," Johnson said. "Coverage-wise on the back end, it's hard to get a tell there on pre-snap. It's not necessarily the most complicated that we'll see all year, and yet, what they do, they do at a really high level."
Joining Garrett on the defensive line are end Alex Wright and tackles Maliek Collins and Mason Graham.
"It starts with the front four for them and how they get off the ball," Johnson said. "It's unique. It's a hard thing to practice and simulate. And I think for a lot of teams that don't see it very often, it's a little bit of a shock early in games, just how quickly those guys can get off the ball. They do a really good job with it. They've got some horses up there, and the linebackers are really fast."
Johnson compares rookie middle linebacker Carson Schwesinger, who leads the Browns with 119 tackles, to former Panthers star Luke Kuechly.
"He's a really good player," said the Bears coach. "He's going to be a good player for a long time as well. He's all over the place. Highly instinctive. You can't fool him. He's got good eyes and he's super fast."
Key matchup: Bears left tackle Ozzy Trapilo vs. Browns defensive end Myles Garrett
The rookie second-round pick has already faced elite edge rushers Maxx Crosby, T.J. Watt and Micah Parsons, but Garrett is on his own level with 7.0 more sacks than anyone else in the NFL. The No. 1 overall pick in the 2017 NFL Draft possesses a prototypical combination of size, strength and speed and is the favorite to win the first NFL Defensive Player of the Year Award of his career.
When the Browns have the ball
The elevation of rookie fifth-round pick Shedeur Sanders to starting quarterback in Week 12 has provided a boost for the Cleveland offense. The Browns have produced two of their highest three point totals of the season in his three starts in a 24-10 win over the Raiders Nov. 23 and a 31-29 loss to the Titans last Sunday.
Against Tennessee, Sanders joined the Bengals' Joe Burrow as the only rookie quarterbacks in NFL history to pass for at least 350 yards and three touchdowns and rush for at least one TD in a game.
"He's doing a great job as a rookie," Johnson said. "He was able to sit and soak in that offense over the course of the spring and the summer and early in the season, and you can tell that's probably benefited him to a degree because now he's able to go out there and let it loose. He does a great job of extending the play and creating on his own as well. The last three weeks you kind of feel a little bit of a spark there on offense with Shedeur out there."
Sanders has added the deep ball to Cleveland's arsenal. He has joined Aaron Rodgers as the only NFL quarterbacks with four completions of at least 50 yards in their first three career starts since 2000.
"There's a lot of things they're doing that are similar to what they've done in the past," said defensive coordinator Dennis Allen. "They're still a big wide zone running team with keepers that come off of them. That's still a big part of their offense. The thing I've noticed a little bit more the past few weeks is them trying to get the ball down the field a little bit more. They've been really explosive in terms of some of the things they've done in the passing game."
The Bears counter with a defense that leads the NFL with 27 takeaways and 18 interceptions. Safety Kevin Byard III tops the league with six interceptions and cornerback Nahshon Wright leads the NFL with eight takeaways and three fumble recoveries and is tied for second with five interceptions.
Takeaways have fueled the Bears' success this season. They are 8-0 when forcing multiple turnovers and 1-4 with one or none. The Browns have committed at least two giveaways in each of their last three games and in seven contests this season.
Sanders isn't the only Browns rookie playing a key role. Second-round running back Quinshon Judkins leads all NFL rookies with 930 yards from scrimmage, 784 rushing yards and seven rushing TDs, while third-round tight end Harold Fannin Jr. tops Cleveland in receiving with 59 catches for 619 yards and four TDs.
The Browns offensive line has been decimated by injuries. Center Ethan Pocic was lost for the season with a torn Achilles tendon last weekend against the Titans. Pro Bowl right guard Wyatt Teller (calf) and right tackle Jack Conklin (concussion) have been ruled out of Sunday's game. And left guard Joel Bitonio (knee/back) is questionable after being limited in Friday's practice.
Key matchup: Bears defensive end Montez Sweat vs. Browns right tackle K.T. Leveston
Sweat produced the Bears' only sack in Green Bay, increasing his team-leading total to 8.5, which includes 7.5 sacks in his last eight games. He likely will be opposed by Leveston, a 2024 seventh-round pick who started last week's game against the Titans in place of the injured Conklin.
Fun facts
- The Bears are 6-1 in games decided by five or fewer points this season after being 1-6 in those contests last year.
- At plus-17 through 13 games, the Bears are on pace to lead the NFL in turnover differential for the first time since they were plus-23 in their 1985 Super Bowl championship season.
- Williams' reduced sack rate from 10.8% to 4.4% would be the largest improvement from one season to the next since the 1970 NFL/AFL merger.
- Sunday's game will feature two of the NFL's top three rookie rushers in the Browns' Judkins (784 yards) and the Bears' Monangai (648). The Raiders' Ashton Jeanty is sandwiched between them with 665 yards.
