The Chicago Bears blew out the Cleveland Browns, 31-3, Sunday at Soldier Field. It was a chilly affair, making it one of the more difficult games of the season right off the bat.
Early in the game, special teams were on top of their game. Devin Duvernay returned the opening kickoff to midfield, and the punt unit pinned the Browns offense on the one-yard line after the Bears couldn’t score on their opening possession.
After making a defensive stop when Cleveland was pinned in, Chicago took a 7-0 lead. Running back D’Andre Swift scored his sixth touchdown of the season, and Cairo Santos hit the extra point. From there, the Bears were off and running.
Eventually, they took a 14-0 lead, and only climbed up from there. The final score of 31-3 tells the story perfectly of how much the Bears dominated the football game.
Chicago is now 10-4 in head coach Ben Johnson’s first year. A double-digit win season was not a lock for the Bears coming into 2025, especially after starting the year 0-2. Everyone from the coaching staff to the executives to the players should be proud of the year that they are putting together.
Quarterback Caleb Williams completed 17-of-28 passes for 242 yards with two touchdown passes and no interceptions. It wasn’t a perfect outing for him out in the cold, but he made some big-time throws when he needed to. Williams and the offense accounted for four touchdowns, so it was more than good enough.
In the run game, Swift carried the load with 18 carries for 98 yards, averaging 5.4 yards per carry, and two touchdowns. Kyle Monangai, who has had a great rookie year, carried it for 33 yards on 11 carries. It is hard to say which of these guys is going to be the biggest difference maker from week to week, but one of them always seems to step up.
The Bears defense was the biggest difference in this game. They allowed just three points to the Browns, which was even more lackluster than they are used to. They forced rookie quarterback Shedeur Sanders to throw three interceptions, adding to their league lead in takeaways (30).
Chicago isn’t going to play the Browns defense, or one like it every week, or even again this season. But they got back to some of the habits that have made them successful so far this season.
The Bears’ 10th win should get Ben Johnson into “Coach of the Year” conversations, if he isn’t already. The fact that this team is pushing for the top spot in the NFC North is far from where they were last year at this time (in the middle of a 10-game losing streak). As mentioned before, everyone deserves credit, but Johnson’s impact as a first-year head coach is monumental.
Now, as a 10-win team, the Bears made their case for being a playoff team even clearer. They have some tough matchups coming up in the final three games, starting with the Green Bay Packers next week.
This article originally appeared on Bears Wire: Bears vs Browns: Instant analysis from Chicago’s Week 15 win
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