A look at positional group matchups and key statistics in the Week 15 game between the Bears and Browns with a call on the final score.
Category
🥇
SportsTranscript
00:00 [MUSIC]
00:07 The Bears are talking like they're going to run the table.
00:10 But the next step in getting a three game winning streak is winning in a very
00:14 difficult place to play.
00:16 And they're playing against the number one defense in the league.
00:19 It's the Bears at the Cleveland Browns on the lakefront, Lake Erie,
00:23 at noon Sunday.
00:24 Here's who wins and why.
00:25 One of the Browns advantages in this game is in special teams.
00:31 The Browns are experts at blocking kicks.
00:34 Opponents make a league low of 68.4% of their field goals against them,
00:37 partly because of how good they are blocking kicks.
00:39 They also have Dustin Hopkins, one of the few kickers,
00:44 having a better year than Cairo Santos.
00:46 Hopkins leads the NFL with 31 field goals.
00:49 He's made eight of eight for 50 yards and longer.
00:51 Cleveland also gets an edge when it's defending against Justin Fields and
00:55 the Bears passing game, although it's a narrow edge this week.
00:59 The rush from Miles Garrett and Zedarius Smith will test the Bears' tackles,
01:03 Braxton Jones and Darnell Wright.
01:05 But Cleveland's secondary has been struggling a bit more lately,
01:09 with 279 yards and 235 yards in the air on the last two games.
01:14 The other Browns edge comes in, of course, intangibles.
01:19 They're in an AFC wildcard position and they need to win the game badly.
01:23 And they're at Browns Stadium where they're five and one on the year,
01:26 the only loss coming to Baltimore.
01:28 In four of their games, they've allowed ten points or less there.
01:31 Neither side gets an edge in coaching.
01:36 Kevin Stefanski and staff are having a great year
01:39 when they have started four different quarterbacks and
01:41 a one with each one of them.
01:43 And they have eight wins and they're winning despite having a lot of injuries,
01:47 almost half the roster it seems sometimes.
01:50 But Matt Eberflus' accomplishment can't be overlooked either.
01:53 The Bears were dead at two and seven and they bounced back to win three of their
01:58 last four with talk that they could even make it into the playoffs.
02:02 Nor does either side get an edge when the Browns are passing against the Bears'
02:07 pass defense.
02:08 At least until it's proven otherwise, losing Yannick Ngakwe will make it tougher for
02:13 Montez Sweat & Company to get to the passer.
02:16 And the Browns with Joe Flacco,
02:17 the quarterback now, might have a better passing game than they've had all year.
02:20 Flacco's 311 yards last week against the Jaguars was the high for
02:27 the Browns this year.
02:28 But the Bears' pass defense has been coming on very strong with nine
02:32 interceptions in three games and are second in the league with 15 picks on
02:36 the year.
02:37 They have to give the advantage to the Bears when they're running against
02:42 the Browns' front.
02:43 Even though Cleveland is 11th against the run, the Bears are fourth running it and
02:47 they have an extra threat with Justin Fields running.
02:50 When the Browns played the Bears last time, Matt Nagy was coach and
02:54 they didn't use planned quarterback runs much against Cleveland.
02:58 The Browns have given up 125 yards rushing a game over the last five.
03:02 The Bears also get another edge when they are defending the Browns' running game.
03:07 Losing Ngakwe didn't hurt their run defense as DeMarcus Walker comes in and
03:12 he's better against the run.
03:13 The Bears are second against the run overall and
03:18 more elite than Kareem Hunt and the Browns' 11th ranked running attack,
03:21 which hasn't gone over 107 yards rushing in any of its last four games.
03:26 So I see it being a close game and it comes down to a late Hopkins field goal
03:31 as the Browns scrape out a 19 to 17 victory,
03:35 leaving the Bears realistically out of the playoff picture, but
03:38 still an improving team.
03:39 (upbeat music)
03:42 (dramatic music)