The Bears entered Week 15 with a record of 9-4.
The Browns were 3-10.
In a performance fit for both teams’ records, Chicago had little trouble taking care of Cleveland for a 31-3 victory.
The Bears’ defense made it particularly tough for rookie quarterback Shedeur Sanders, picking him off three times. With little run game to speak of, the Browns did not reach 200 yards of offense until there was a minute left in the fourth quarter. And then they lost that mark when Sanders took two late sacks, finishing with 192 total yards.
Offensively, Chicago took an early 14-0 lead that seemed insurmountable — because it was. D’Andre Swift rushed for a 6-yard touchdown midway through the first quarter. Caleb Williams followed that with a 3-yard touchdown pass to DJ Moore late in the period.
With frigid conditions in Chicago, Bears kicker Cairo Santos missed a 35-yard field goal wide right to keep the score 14-0 at halftime.
While Andre Szmyt connected on a 50-yard field goal to make the score 14-3 early in the third quarter, the Browns weren’t able to do much else.
Moore’s 22-yard touchdown after a Sanders pick made the score 21-3. Swift added a 17-yard TD late in the third quarter and Santos nailed a 41-yard field goal to close out the scoring.
Williams finished the contest 17-of-28 for 242 yards with two touchdowns. Swift had 18 carries for 98 yards with a pair of TDs.
Sanders ended the game 18-of-35 for 177 yards with no touchdowns and three interceptions.
Notably, Browns defensive end Myles Garrett got even closer to the single-season sack record. He brought down Williams 1.5 times in the game, giving him 21.5 sacks on the season — 1.0 sacks off of the record shared by Michael Strahan and T.J. Watt.
The Bears now have 10 wins for the first time since 2018 — Matt Nagy’s first year as the club’s head coach. Chicago will host Green Bay next Saturday night for a game with huge postseason implications.
At 3-11, the Browns are playing out the string. They will host Buffalo next Sunday afternoon for a battle of Lake Erie.
