Bear Digest

Bears take care of business with 31-3 rout of Browns

After letting the struggling Cleveland Browns hang around, the Bears delivered a knockout blow in the second half and came away with their 10th victory.
Gene Chamberlain|
D'Marco Jackson sacks Cleveland Browns quarterback Shedeur Sanders in Sunday's Bears win. Jackson also had an interception.
D'Marco Jackson sacks Cleveland Browns quarterback Shedeur Sanders in Sunday's Bears win. Jackson also had an interception. | Matt Marton-Imagn Images

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Chicago Bears

The Bears had the opportunity to make quick work of Cleveland and get everyone out of the brutal cold Sunday at Soldier Field.

They made everyone shiver a little at first, but eventually accomplished their ends with an efficient tuneup for next week's second showdown against Green Bay.

Caleb Williams threw for two touchdowns to DJ Moore, D'Andre Swift ran in for two TDs and the Bears prevailed 31-3.

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The Bears (10-4) let the Browns (3-11) off the hook with a missed 35-yard Cairo Santos field goal just before halftime and a silly failed fourth-down gamble by coach Ben Johnson in the third quarter.

Then they quickly put it away after a D'Marco Jackson interception when Williams threaded a needle in a crowd to DJ Moore for a 22-yard touchdown and a 21-3 lead with 8:39 to go in the third quarter. An 80-yard drive followed with Swift making a nifty 17-yard cutback run for a TD and a 25-point lead. Santos chipped in a fourth-quarter 41-yard field goal.

The end result was exactly what they needed in the icy cold the Bears like to call their ally, but they'll get no style points.

The fast start the Bears said they wanted all week actually did occur, as Williams' arm and the running game combined for scoring drives of 42 and 80 yards for a 14-0 lead before halftime.

Swift had scored the first TD on the Bears' second possession with a 6-yard run, then Williams found Moore at the back of the end zone crossing for a 3-yard TD.

Eventually the defense allowed a 50-yard Andre Szmyt field goal after Johnson's failed gamble, one taken when they could have simply pinned a hapless Browns offense back inside its own 10 with the Bears up 14-0.

The offensive line had problems with Myles Garrett, allowing him 1 1/2 sacks, but the Bears' offense worked around it. Williams finished 17 of 28 for 242 yards and Luther Burden had six catches and 84 yards. Swift finished with 98 yards on 18 runs.

Besides' Jackson's interception, he made one of the defense's five sacks of Shedeur Sanders and Jaylon Johnson came away with a pick at the goal line in the second half to prevent more Cleveland points. C.J. Gardner-Johnson had a third Bears interception to set up Santos' 41-yard field goal.

Along the way, the Bears lost wide receiver Rome Odunze to an aggravated foot injury minutes before he was to return from a weeklong absence. Cole Kmet went out with a lower leg injury in the third quarter after a reception but later was running on the sidelines and appeared only slightly hindered.

They did dodge an injury scare to Williams when he was hit at the end of the first half while throwing on a hook-and-ladder play. Williams limped off and showed up no worse for the wear in the second half.

The win set up next week's showdown for first place in the NFC North and another chance for the Bears to get closer to a playoff spot. They won't find the opponent nearly as feeble as they did on Sunday.

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Gene Chamberlain
GENE CHAMBERLAIN

Gene Chamberlain has covered the Chicago Bears full time as a beat writer since 1994 and prior to this on a part-time basis for 10 years. He covered the Bears as a beat writer for Suburban Chicago Newspapers, the Daily Southtown, Copley News Service and has been a contributor for the Daily Herald, the Associated Press, Bear Report, CBS Sports.com and The Sporting News. He also has worked a prep sports writer for Tribune Newspapers and Sun-Times newspapers.