Browns Blown Out in Chicago, 31-3: Game Notes
Tough to find the positive today as the Browns were out-classed by the Bears.
It felt like a December Browns game we have seen too many times in our football lives. A Browns team, eliminated from the playoffs, showing up for a cold Sunday with little interest in doing what it takes to win an NFL game. Especially the type of game on the road against a contending team in Chicago.
The Bears had very little issue shutting down Shedeur Sanders and the Browns offense on Sunday afternoon. Caleb Williams and the Bears offense had their way with the Browns defense and the Browns offense didn’t do much to challenge things. The Chicago now sits at 10-4 on the year after winning six of the last seven, and is very much on pace to make its first playoff appearance since 2020.
Sanders struggled to get much of anything going for the Browns on Sunday and those around him didn’t help much. He went just 18-of-35 for 177 yards, without a touchdown and three interceptions. Two of those interceptions came in the third quarter and allowed the Bears to break the game wide open.
Williams went 17 of 28 for 242 yards with two touchdowns in the win. D’Andre Swift had 98 yards and two scores on 18 carries, and DJ Moore had two touchdowns and 69 yards on four catches. Sanders was the Browns’ leading rusher, too, with 24 yards on two carries. Quinshon Judkins had 21 yards on 12 carries. Isaiah Bond had 89 yards on two catches.
Here are your Week 14 Game Notes.
From a process standpoint, the offense started about as rough as you could by having 12 men in the huddle on the first play of the day and then taking a delay-of-game penalty on the first play of their second drive. Who knows what exactly happened with the wristband, Sanders said the card slipped out, but it was about as JV as an NFL team could look to start a game. Perhaps JV is too kind of a description.
There were good moments and bad moments from Sanders in this game. His best two completed throws were on deep throws to Isaiah Bond — both for 40+ yards on post routes.
Sanders had some bad luck on his second turnover of the day when he put the ball in a spot well enough for Jerry Jeudy to secure the touchdown but Jeudy was not only unable to secure it but lost it in Jaylon Johnson’s hands. This is not a ball I would deem “turnover-worthy” at all. Jeudy has to bring these types of throws down in order for this offense to have a chance.
The first and third interceptions were his fault, though. He didn’t process the linebacker undercutting the slant on his first turnover and then the curl/flat defender baited him into throwing the corner route on his second when he had the tight end in the flat.
There were still those instances where he drifted around too deep in the pocket and didn’t process the quick decisions that needed to be made but they were not crippling for the most part and I do think he has improved there. He is making NFL throws, no doubt, but the team cannot take five sacks and have three interceptions. Not a way to survive.
The running game was non-existent despite trying. Quinshon Judkins ran for just 21 yards on 12 carries. They run into dense run boxes, fail to win at the point-of-attack, and cannot layer much of any deception into their run game. It is broken for several years now.
Harold Fannin Jr. did his thing again going for 48 yards on seven receptions. He played well again. Isaiah Bond did his thing deep down the field, something we will cover extensively in the coming days, but that is it. Jeudy was a non-factor on two receptions and then two other receptions from Gage Larvadain and Malachi Corley.
The offensive line was makeshift coming into the game and it showed. The pass protection from the tackles was really rough in this one, as we have grown accustomed to, but it just destroys what an offense can do. The interior seemed fine on first watch but we will study more.
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