The Chicago Bears seem to have finally found some momentum after tough sledding in the first two months of this season. They’re 5-4 in their last nine games, including back-to-back wins in the most recent two. Sunday against the Detroit Lions was their most complete performance of the year. The offense scored 28 points while the defense pitched a second half shutout. This is a young team with growing confidence and ascending talent. Perhaps their biggest test is next Sunday when they visit the 8-5 Cleveland Browns and their #1 defense.
They’re coming off a big win over the Jacksonville Jaguars and hope to challenge Baltimore for the AFC North lead. To do that, they must defend their home field against Chicago. There is one problem. Injuries are mounting. They already lost starting quarterback Deshaun Watson and star running back Nick Chubb. Somehow, it got worse this past weekend when rookie tackle Dawand Jones suffered a season-ending knee injury.
He’d allowed only 21 pressures in 419 pass-blocking snaps this season. His presence was a crucial part of their pass attack still finding success. Now Cleveland must face Montez Sweat and a surging Bears defensive line without him.
Points will be hard to come by in Cleveland. Their pass rush is one of the best in the league. Everybody remembers what happened to Justin Fields the last time he played that team. This means the defense will have to keep things close. They’ve been doing that for almost two months now. Without Jones on the right side, Sweat has a chance to feast on Joe Flacco. He’s been terrorizing quarterbacks since he arrived in Chicago, and Flacco isn’t known for being the most elusive guy in history.
Turnovers could decide this one. Cleveland has given the ball away seven times in the last three games, including three against Jacksonville. The Chicago Bears defense has 11 takeaways in their last three games. Everything points to this game being a physical slugfest in the trenches. Limiting the mistakes will be paramount. Jones’ loss makes that tougher for the Browns. Then again, they’ve been overcoming extensive injuries all year.
