The Cleveland Browns are looking to put an embarrassing 31-29 loss to the Tennessee Titans behind them on Sunday when they head west to visit the Chicago Bears, who are also looking to put a bad loss behind them after falling to the Green Bay Packers last week. It will start a stretch of four tough opponents for the Browns to end the season and go a long way toward helping the front office determine if Shedeur Sanders can be the franchise quarterback this team so desperately needs.
The Browns have a lot of work to do if they plan on upsetting the Bears, but if they can do it, it would be a much-needed statement win that would build momentum for the stretch run.
When diving deeper into the X’s and O’s of the matchup, there is one stat that sticks out that shows how Cleveland could have an uphill battle on its hands.
According to Pro Football Focus, the Browns give up a significantly higher passer rating to opposing QBs on the road. The Browns’ road opponents average a 107.9 passer rating, while their home opponents average a 74.7 passer rating.
Cleveland’s only road win all year was against the Las Vegas Raiders a few weeks ago, which was the only road game where the Browns have surrendered fewer than 23 points. In three of Cleveland’s six road games, the Browns have given up at least 32 points, so clearly something isn’t translating when they hit the road.
Caleb Williams has developed nicely in his second season, but he hasn’t been flawless. He has one of the lowest completion percentages in the league at 57.8, and the Browns need to limit him the best they can because they likely aren’t winning this game if they give up 32 points again.
It should be a fun battle between young up-and-coming quarterbacks.
We’ll see if Cleveland has what it takes to pull the upset and if it can find a way to limit the passing attack on the road for once.
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