The Cleveland Browns are trying to fortify their roster with the rash of injuries the past week by bringing up two defenders
BEREA, Ohio — As the Cleveland Browns prepare to host the Chicago Bears at Cleveland Browns Stadium, they have elevated two defensive players from the practice squad.
Because of the injuries at safety, which have claimed Grant Delpit for the season and Juan Thornhill for the game, Ohio State Buckeye Tanner McAllister will get a chance to appear at Cleveland Browns Stadium against the Bears. The Browns currently have D’Anthony Bell, Ronnie Hickman, and Duron Harmon on the active roster, and McAllister will give them a fourth safety. McAllister will wear 48, is an undrafted rookie from tOSU, and has appeared in one game.
Also getting a second game on the active roster is Charlie Thomas III, an undrafted rookie out of Georgia Tech. He has spent the entire season on the practice squad and will wear 35.
Cleveland Browns Defense Looking for Repeat Performance Against Justin Fields, Bears
The last time the Cleveland Browns faced the Chicago Bears in 2021, their defense dominated. Sunday, the Browns are hoping for a similar result.
The last time the Cleveland Browns hosted the Chicago Bears, it was week four of the 2021 season when quarterback Justin Fields was a rookie. The Browns defense turned in a historic performance, yielding just 47 total yards while racking up nine sacks and hitting Fields on 15 other drop backs in a 26-6 victory. Fields and the Bears are both better than they were in that game, but there is one aspect of Fields that hasn’t changed, which could lead to a similar outcome.
Fields still holds onto the ball. He takes his time scanning the field, seeing what develops and utilize his legs. According to PFF, his time to throw 3.3 seconds, the slowest in the league. That could provide the Browns pass rush plenty of opportunity to generate a pass rush on Fields, potentially leading to sacks and turnovers.
The Bears aren’t oblivious to the fact Fields holds onto the ball or that teams are going to come after him. As a result, they a large number of screens in their offense in an attempt to slow down the pass rush. They particularly like wide receiver screens, given the speed at their disposal, which puts pressure on Browns defensive backs to tackle in space effectively. If corner Denzel Ward is able to play in this game, expect the Bears to test that shoulder early.
The Browns must both be effective in stopping the run and prevent Fields from beating them with his legs, forcing him into obvious passing situations which increase the chances of an impact play on defense. Given some of the Browns injuries, defensive coordinator Jim Schwartz might be more inclined to dial up blitzes in this game as a means to combat both run and pass. Linebacker Jeremiah Owusu-Koramoah is likely to be a featured part of the game plan in attempting to snuff out plays early. If Fields is slow to process or the Browns coverage is tight enough, they could get to him before he gets rid of the ball as was often the case in 2021.
Dialing up more pressure does come with some risk, especially since the Browns could be without both Grant Delpit and Juan Thornhill at safety. On one hand, speeding up the Bears collective clock on offense could help protect the back end, but if Fields can get the ball to a playmaker in space, it could yield explosive plays or quick
Myles Garrett had 4.5 sacks in the last matchup with the Bears. Their left tackle Braxton Jones has had a productive year in pass protection, but it’s always different going against Garrett. If the Bears do what most teams have done, opting to utilize extra personnel to chip or double him, that should provide more opportunities for his teammates. With their injury situation, this is an opportunity for Za’Darius Smith to have a big game. Both Garrett and Smith have proven integral in defending quarterbacks who want to create with their legs. Against the Baltimore Ravens and Lamar Jackson for example, both made critical plays in pursuit.
The more players the Bears keep in to protect Fields, the more defenders that could be freed up to attack him. That is, if the Browns defense feels good about their plan for defending wide receiver D.J. Moore. Showing heavy pre-snap pressure was one of the ways the Browns got Jacksonville Jaguars quarterback Trevor Lawrence off of his game. The Browns trusted Martin Emerson and Greg Newsome to play on an island and when presented with numbers at the line of scrimmage, Lawrence identified the one-on-one matchup he liked and threw up a 50/50 ball. That resulted in a pair of interceptions for the Browns.
Calvin Ridley and Evan Engram are talented receiving threats, but neither is the caliber of Moore. The Browns don’t want to put themselves in a situation where Moore can go off for 230 yards and three touchdowns as he did against the Washington Commanders earlier this year.
The flip side of this is that opponents know where the ball is going. On the season, Moore has 39.8 percent of the team’s receiving yardage. The Bear are 3-1 in their last four games and Moore is being targeted on 35 percent of their pass attempts. If the Browns have a good plan for defending Moore, it could cause problems for Fields. Either he forces the ball into bad situations or hesitates, holding onto the ball, which may enable the pressure to get home for a sack, And with Fields, that has a decent chance of resulting in a fumble.
The Browns dominated their 2021 matchup with the Bears utilizing aggression, constantly attacking the Bears and Fields. Jim Schwartz doesn’t need prodding to be aggressive, looking to attack the opponent and specifically the quarterback. The Browns may not be able to hold this iteration of the Bears to 47 total yards, but they could take control of the game, giving their offense every opportunity to win the game, putting them one step closer to the playoffs
Leave a Reply