The Chicago Bears suffered a tough loss this week as pass rusher Yannick Ngakoue reportedly broke his ankle against the Detroit Lions. He will go on Injured Reserve, ending his season. While that will be a challenge to overcome, the Bears can at least say they don’t have it nearly as bad as the Cleveland Browns. Their opponent this coming Sunday is going through arguably the worst stretch of injuries any team has experienced this season. They had already lost quarterback Deshaun Watson and running back Nick Chubb for the year. Now, it has gotten so much worse.
All three of their top tackles are now done for the season. Jedrick Willis, Jack Conklin, and standout rookie Dawand Jones all suffered injuries that required surgery. This means quarterback Joe Flacco must stand behind rapidly weakening protection. If that weren’t bad enough, the situation might somehow be worse on defense. Not one, not two, but three players on that side of the ball went down last weekend. Defensive tackle Maurice Hurst and defensive end Ogbonnia Okoronkwo tore their pectorals. Safety Grant Delpit, fresh off a contract extension, is done for the regular season with a knee injury.
The Chicago Bears have a big opportunity.
Cleveland is a talented team. That is why they’ve kept winning games despite several losses, but everybody has a breaking point. The Bears come in with lots of momentum. Their defense is considerably better than the one Cleveland faced last week against Jacksonville. Joe Flacco tends to give the ball away more than you’d like. Chicago has forced 11 takeaways in their last three games. If they put him under pressure, the streak will continue. The bigger challenge is the Browns defense.
It is #1 in the NFL this season, riding the shoulders of superstar Myles Garrett and a talented secondary. However, the loss of Delpit hurts that situation; Okoronkwo was also their second-best pass rusher. Cleveland isn’t quite as good against the run, surrendering at least 100 yards in four of their last five games. Last but not least, they figure to see a motivated Justin Fields on Sunday. He undoubtedly has revenge on his mind after the humiliating beatdown Cleveland gave him two years ago when they sacked him nine times.
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If the Chicago Bears play like they did against Detroit, it’s hard to see the Browns beating them.
