Week 15 Chicago Bears Preview: Are the Playoffs Still in Chicago’s Future?
After a loss this past Sunday, the Chicago Bears (9-4) will host the Cleveland Browns (3-10) at Soldier Field. Two teams in completely different positions, yet both are looking for a win. The Bears have slipped to 2nd place in the NFC North.
While the Bears may have lost their win streak, the big question is how far ahead they are, if at all, of most others in the NFC. They dropped from 1st in the NFC to 7th after the loss to Jordan Love and the Green Bay Packers. While still in the playoff picture, this just shows how tight the NFC race is, especially in the NFC North.
So that’s how important the next couple of weeks are to the Bears, starting with Cleveland, followed by two other divisional matchups: the Packers (Week 16) and the Lions (Week 18).
My short answer is yes, I think the Bears could beat at least the Packers or the Lions with their weak secondary and still make the playoffs with a comfortable spot.
It all starts with the Browns first, though, and here’s how I think they can shut them down.
Keys to the Game
Limit the Passing and Rely on the Run
The Cleveland Browns’ defense has been one of the few bright spots this season—especially their pass defense, which is the best in the league, allowing only 165.2 passing yards per game. Teams have tried and failed. But this is perfect for the Bears’ game plan. They use a mixture of runs to open up short passing or play-action passing. The Bears also need to understand that any unnecessary risk could cost them this game. They have to rely on D’Andre Swift and Kyle Monangai as the Browns allow 107.7 yards rushing this season. Caleb Williams can also use that same play action to open up run lanes for himself, as he’s averaging 24.7 rush yards per game.
They must also factor in the complete-game-wrecking ability of Myles Garrett, who is the best edge rusher in the league with 20 sacks, leads the league in tackles for loss at 2.38 per game, and ranks 2nd in QB hits per game at 2.5.
Pressure Shedeur Sanders and Capitalize in the Secondary
Despite the Browns’ loss last week, Shadeur Sanders balled out, passing for 364 yards and three touchdowns. Granted, it was against the Tennessee Titans. The need to keep him pressured and on the move. He’s thrown an interception in 3 of his last four games. So he’s still growing into his role, and as long as the Bears keep him moving, and pressured guys like Montez Sweat and Nashon Wright can work and capitalize.
Their offense was dominated by Harold Fannin Jr., who gained 114 yards and a touchdown. The Bears are allowing 56 yards to tight ends per game—nothing crazy either way. But the Bears play in a 4-3 coverage that allows the linebackers to move around in the box and helps against tight ends.