Odell Beckham Jr. dedicated his first game back from ACL surgery to his fallen teammate, Jarvis Landry, who missed a game because of injury for the first time in his eight NFL seasons.
Browns maligned defense buries Justin Fields in first NFL start
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Editor's note: Tony Grossi is a Cleveland Browns analyst for TheLandOnDemand.com and 850 ESPN Cleveland.
Instant takeaways from Browns’ 26-6 win over Chicago Bears …
1. Take a bow: How long has it been since the Browns’ defense dominated an opponent? Any opponent? It happened on Sunday when Joe Woods’ maligned defense made life miserable for Bears rookie quarterback Justin Fields. Feasting on Fields’ NFL starting debut, the Browns turned in nine sacks – 4 ½ by Myles Garrett, who broke the franchise record of four in a game. The Browns limited Fields to 6 of 19 passing for 68 yards and hit him a total of 15 times, unofficially. The Bears totaled 61 yards offense on 41 plays. Offensively, the Browns successfully got the ball to Odell Beckham Jr. (five catches on nine targets for 77 yards) in his first game since Oct. 25, and their running game awakened in the second half to put away the Bears. Kicker Chase McLaughlin chipped in field goals of 57, 41, 52, and 28 yards. The Browns improved to 2-1 and now travel to Minnesota to play the Vikings, coach Kevin Stefanski’s former team.
2. Kareem-ed: The final numbers don’t show it, but it was a frustrating day for the Browns’ running game until late. Kareem Hunt applied the back-breaker to the Bears with a 29-yard touchdown run in the first minute of the fourth quarter. Hunt broke a tackle in the backfield, followed a block by pulling left guard Joel Bitonio, broke another tackle, ran through a third, stiff-armed lineman Khyiris Tonga and beat a tomahawk chop for the ball by a trailing Chicago defender while crossing the goal line. Until that run, Hunt had been held to 31 yards and Nick Chubb 42. For the game, the Browns wound up with 206 yards on the ground, though Nick Chubb (84) and Hunt (81) fell short of 100.
3. Charity begins at home: The Browns helped the Bears attain their two field goals. The first came in the first quarter after the Browns failed on a fourth-and-5. The second came in the third quarter when safety John Johnson was called for pass interference when he pushed off receiver Anthony Robinson and intercepted a Justin Fields desperation pass at the Browns’ 12-yard line. Those two field goals were the extent of Chicago’s offense through three quarters.
4. Take that: A difficult first half offensively for the Browns ended on a positive note. Mayfield engineered an 89-yard drive in the last 2:54. A key play was converting the first third down on a beautiful back-shoulder throw to Donovan Peoples-Jones at the right sideline for 22 yards. Mayfield completed the drive with a quick dart to Austin Hooper in the middle of the end zone, and Hooper went up to grab it for the touchdown. Chase McLaughlin’s PAT made it 10-3 at the half. Mayfield shook off three sacks in the half.
5. Growing pains: Fields was handicapped by lack of plays. The Bears ran only 16 plays for 41 yards in the first half. They earned two first downs. The Browns’ maligned defense got the crowd pumped up with four sacks of Fields – 2 ½ by Myles Garrett, who called out his defensive teammates on Friday for not taking advantage of his double teams the week before. Another player making life difficult for Fields was rookie Jeremiah Owusu-Koramoah, who got the start for injured Sione Takitaki. JOK was credited for one-half sack and also had a tackle for no gain on a third-and-2 run by David Montgomery. Surprisingly, Fields didn't use his legs at all to create plays in the first half.
6. OBJ quick strikes: The Browns didn’t waste time getting Odell Beckham Jr. involved. Mayfield threw high for him on the second play as OBJ appeared to be held by linebacker Roquan Smith in coverage. Mayfield came right back and completed one of 13 yards to Beckham for a first down. Three plays later, Beckham drew a flag for holding by cornerback Jaylon Johnson, which forced Mayfield to run with a keeper, for 12 yards and a first down. For the game, Beckham led the Browns with 77 yards receiving.
7. Say what?: The Browns’ first two offensive series blew up on sacks on fourth-down plays that lacked, um, efficiency. On the first, fourth-and-5 from the Bears’ 38, the shotgun snap appeared a little off the mark to Mayfield’s right. He was summarily sacked by Robert Quinn and Angelo Blackson. The second failed gamble starts with a third-and-1 Mayfield pass to Demetric Felton. He was stopped for no gain. Then, from the Bears’ 20, Felton stayed on the field with Nick Chubb. Both backs released as receivers. Mayfield play-faked to nobody and he was buried by Khalil Mack storming in from the Browns’ left side. The third time the Browns faced fourth down – it was fourth-and-15 from the Bears’ 39 -- Stefanski tried a 57-yard field goal. And McLaughlin line-drived it over the crossbar to tie the game, 3-3.
8. Big leg: McLaughlin’s 57-yard field goal was the longest ever in FirstEnergy Stadium and the third-longest in Browns history. Steve Cox had one from 60 yards in 1984 in Sam Rutigliano’s last game as Browns coach in old Riverfront Stadium in Cincinnati.
9. Big break: Mack, the Bears' best pass rusher, created havoc early in the game, but had to leave in the second quarter with a foot injury. He stayed on the sideline testing his foot throughout the half.
10. Pre-game notes: Linebacker Sione Takitaki (hamstring) was the only Browns starter made inactive. His spot was taken by rookie Jeremiah Owusu-Koramoah. The Bears were without strong safety Tashaun Gipson, the ex-Brown. At halftime, the Browns honored newest members of their Legends club – quarterback Bill Nelsen, linebacker D’Qwell Jackson, receiver Webster Slaughter and return specialist Josh Cribbs.
11. Trivia tease: Prior to Sunday, the last five rookie QBs to make their NFL starting debut against the Browns had won. They were Andy Dalton in 2011, Kirk Cousins in ’12, Ryan Mallett in ’14, Carson Wentz in ’16 and Brandon Allen in ’19. The Browns defensive coordinators who achieved such infamy were Dick Jauron (’11 and ’12), Jim O’Neil (’14), Ray Horton (’16) and Steve Wilks (’19).
