A frigid football game on the Chicago lakefront in December with a playoff trip on the line.
It’s something that Chicago Bears fans have longed for after years of sitting through meaningless December games with the team long eliminated.
The opponent for this game probably won’t excite many folks, but it should be a decent game. The Bears’ passing game has struggled and Cleveland has the No. 1 pass defense, led by Myles Garrett, terrorizing opponents.
This being a trap game has driven a lot of talking points this week, as it’s stuck between the two Packers games, but something tells me this coaching staff isn’t going to let the team slack.
With all that said, let’s see what our crew thinks will be the keys to victory this week.
Sam: Stop Myles Garrett, first and foremost. Second, confuse Shedeur Sanders. The pass rush hasn’t been able to get home, but Sanders is a rookie making his third start. Dennis Allen should be able to throw some different looks, send different guys and confuse the rookie. The Browns offensive line is very banged up, giving an advantage to the Bears. For the offense, take care of the football and Garrett’s rushing, establish the run and they should be able to do some damage.
Josh: Caleb needs to settle down and connect on more passes earlier. The offensive line needs to give him a chance to do so. Caleb needs to get first downs the easy way. The defense needs to take away the ball. Caleb needs to put together scoring drives by connecting on passes after the defense takes away the ball.
Jack R Salo: The winner of this game will probably be the team that can get to the second level blocking in the run game. The best Bears performances lately have been when they can consistently pick up 5+ yards on the ground. The Browns have an exciting rookie running back in Quinshon Judkins, and Shedeur Sanders can also pick up yards on the ground when needed. When the Bears have to throw the ball, they need to pick and choose when to double-team Myles Garrett. #95 will be looking to break the record for most sacks in a season (he needs 2.5 to tie it) but the Bears can’t allow pressure in Caleb’s face just to stop one player.
Gary: Getting pressure on the rookie quarterback Shadeur Sanders is going to make our lives infinitely easier. Sanders struggled with the blitz and pressure while at Colorado, and thus far into his NFL career, that holds true. So finding ways to at least make Sanders uncomfortable and move off his spot is a huge key. Neutralizing Myles Garrett would be key number 2. The Bears overall did a decent job of minimizing the Parsons impact last week, so I expect to see a similar plan of attack this week against the league’s best pass rusher. A lot of chips, extra TEs, and extra TEs in the backfield to provide support in the pass pro area should be expected.
What are your keys to a Chicago win this week? Let us know in the comments.