The Browns historically bad loss vs the Bears, by the numbers

The Chicago Bears blew out the Cleveland Browns on Sunday 31-3, but how bad was the loss?

Dec 14, 2025; Chicago, Illinois, USA; Cleveland Browns head coach Kevin Stefanski looks on during the fourth quarter against the Chicago Bears at Soldier Field. Mandatory Credit: Matt Marton-Imagn Images | Matt Marton-Imagn Images

Coming off a loss to the 1-11 Tennessee Titans, the Cleveland Browns were looking to bounce back as they went into the frozen confines of Soldier Field to take on the Bears. 

Chicago has been having a breakout season, boasting a 9-4 record heading into this game and a 5-1 record in their last six games. The Bears' defense has led the way as they lead the NFL in takeaways with 29 coming into Sunday.

The start for Chicago was hot as they ballooned to a two-touchdown lead quickly, then turned Cleveland over three times, all of them being interceptions thrown by Shedeur Sanders.

The final score ended up being 31-3, but how badly did the Browns lose? According to Aaron Schatz, if you look at it by DVOA, the Browns' loss was the 11th-worst since 1978. DVOA stands for Defense-adjusted Value Over Average, basically saying how successful each play is while measuring the situation of the play. 

The Browns' total DVOA on Sunday was -130.3%, the offense being -109.5%. 

Shedeur Sanders was pressured on 52.4% of his 42 dropbacks, also leading to five sacks for the Bears' defense. The Bears' 22 pressures were the most that they’ve had in a game since Week 15 of the 2020 season. 

The main cause of this was that Cleveland was down four starters on the offensive line, including Wyatt Teller and Jack Conklin on the right side, Ethan Pocic at the center position, the shuffle of tackles on the left side, along with left guard Joel Bitonio fighting through injury to make the start. 

The run game also suffered on Sunday, as Quinshon Judkins ran for just 21 yards on 12 attempts, just 1.8 yards per carry. Sanders was the team’s leading rusher as he ran for 24 yards on two attempts. The 1.8 yards per carry were Judkins' lowest all season, as he failed to have a rush for 10+ yards for just the second time this year, his -13 rushing yards over expected were also the lowest this year. 

The plan for the future should be clear for Andrew Berry and the front office, though. Improve the offensive line mightily, and make a choice at quarterback by the end of the season. Sanders did not have a great showing on Sunday, but you can not hold it against him just because the offensive line and run game were also not firing well.