3 Keys to a Chicago Bears victory over the Browns in Week 15

The last time the Chicago Bears played a game in Cleveland was in 2021 when Justin Fields made his first career start in relief of an injured Andy Dalton. He was sacked nine times and passed for just 68 yards in a 26-6 loss.

The Bears and Fields have come a long way since then. Justin Fields is still a work in progress, but he’s been playing better lately. The Bears’ defense has been completely transformed since the trade for Montez Sweat and has played like a Top 5 unit.

Meanwhile, the Browns are reeling from a disastrous trade for quarterback Deshaun Watson, who was largely ineffective before an injury put him out for the year. Their league-best defense has carried them to an 8-5 record, but they’re dealing with a laundry-list of injuries to starters, including two key starters on defense.

Despite the stark difference in their win totals, these two teams feel like a good matchup for each other. The Browns are the 3.5-point favorites, which factored in an automatic 3-point advantage for being the home team.

Las Vegas oddsmakers clearly don’t like this game at all. This gives the Bears a perfect chance to turn back-to-back wins into a true winning streak.

Here are the three keys to getting that done.

Take advantage of holes in the Browns’ roster.

As I said above, the Browns will be without several starters for this matchup. Both of their offensive tackles are out, they’re on their 4th quarterback of the season, and now they’ve lost starting safety Grant Delpit and defensive end Ogbo Okoronkwo, who was second on the team in sacks.

The Chicago Bears, meanwhile, are relatively healthy, even despite Yannick Ngakoue going on season-ending IR just this week.

The Bears must ruthlessly attack these holes in the Browns’ roster. Montez Sweat will line up against backup offensive linemen, which means he should make last week’s victimization of Jared Goff look like child’s play.

Joe Flacco is an experienced quarterback and a Super Bowl champion who can still dissect a defense if given time to throw. The Bears have a prime opportunity to put maximum pressure on the 38-year-old quarterback, and they have to make it count.

Justin Fields must win the quarterback duel.

Flacco’s comeback this year is a fantasy story, but the Bears need to slam that book shut. The Bears will be his first real test as Cleveland’s starter, and they’ve been dominant in their last three games, racking up 11 takeaways and eight sacks in that timespan.

There’s no reason to think the Bears’ defense won’t put Flacco through hell.

If Justin Fields can’t outduel Flacco in this game, then the Bears have no chance of winning. He doesn’t need to set new career highs to beat Cleveland, but the two things he can’t do are what he’s struggled with since being drafted: holding the ball too long (which leads to sacks), and turnovers. If this is a repeat of Fields’ first game in Cleveland, you can chalk it up as another loss. If he continues his upward trajectory, however, then he and the Chicago Bears should be able to do just enough to sneak out of Cleveland with a win.

Have a perfect day, Cairo Santos.

Anytime you have two terrific defenses in a December game with playoff considerations for both sides, you can count on a good old-fashioned slugfest. Touchdowns will be hard to come by, which means the kickers may win or lose this game.

Cairo Santos has been fantastic this season. He rarely misses, though last week against Detroit, he did have a blocked kick in the first half that seemed like it could come back to bite the Bears in the end.

The kicking crew can’t let that happen again this week. I don’t believe the Bears will have the kind of lead that allows a missed field goal opportunity to be brushed off.

Final prediction: Bears win 20-17

The weather in Cleveland is predicted to be rainy, chilly, and a little gusty. As if the offensive situation for both teams wasn’t bad enough, the weather will make this one an ugly contest, but I think the Bears can “out-ugly” the Browns.

The Bears’ running game will power the offensive engine just enough to get over the Browns, while the defense, and Montez Sweat in particular, should keep Flacco and the Browns’ running game in check. This one will come down to either a last-second field goal for Santos or a final stand by the defense to keep the Browns out of field goal range.

I’ve stopped picking the Chicago Bears to win in my predictions, but the way they’ve been playing, combined with Cleveland’s dire injury situation, makes me feel pretty good about their chances.

What say you, Bears fans? What’s your final score prediction for the Chicago Bears’ Week 15 game? Become a premium Bears Talker to unlock our comments and engagement features. You can post your predictions for this week, as well as enjoy an ad-free experience and gain access to our premium content. It’s all for just $3.49/mo or $29.99/yr. Bear Down!