The Chicago Bears had little or no subject shutting down Shedeur Sanders and the Cleveland Browns on Sunday afternoon.
The Bears rolled to a dominant 31-3 win at Soldier Field behind a sturdy outing from Caleb Williams. The Chicago now sits at 10-4 on the yr after profitable six of the final seven, and may be very a lot on tempo to make its first playoff look since 2020.
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Sanders struggled to get a lot of something going for the Browns on Sunday. He went simply 18-of-35 for 177 yards, zero touchdowns and three interceptions. Two of these interceptions got here in the third quarter and allowed the Bears to break the recreation broad open. The first decide got here after D’Marco Jackson actually tipped a Sanders pass up in the air and then caught it himself deep in Cleveland territory.
While that’s not essentially Sanders’ fault, it was in stark distinction to what Williams pulled off with DJ Moore only one play later.
Sanders threw one other interception on their subsequent drive whereas making an attempt to get a deep move to Jerry Jeudy in the finish zone. It appeared like an correct throw however bounced off the arms of Jeudy and into the arms of Jaylon Johnson in protection.
The Bears turned that into a landing, too, thanks to a 17-yard run from D’Andre Swift simply 9 performs later.
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Sanders threw one remaining interception in the loss, this time halfway by way of the fourth quarter. He tried to lob up a ball to Harold Fannin Jr. however simply left it utterly brief — which allowed C.J. Gardner-Johnson to give you the straightforward decide.
That led to a Bears area objective, and finally, the 28-point win.
To his credit score, Sanders did get the Browns into scoring place on their remaining drive of the recreation. He accomplished eight passes — and solely 18 on the day — and bought them inside the 10-yard line. But the Bears sacked him twice to drive the turnover and finish the recreation.
Williams went 17 of 28 for 242 yards with two touchdowns in the win for Chicago. Swift had 98 yards and two scores on 18 carries, and Moore had two touchdowns and 69 yards on 4 catches. Sanders was the Browns’ main rusher, too, with 24 yards on two carries. Quinshon Judkins had 21 yards on 12 carries. Isaiah Bond had 89 yards on two catches.
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The Browns, who have now misplaced three straight, will host the Buffalo Bills subsequent weekend.
Myles Garrett closes in on sack document
The lone vibrant spot for the Browns? Myles Garrett is now only one sack shy of the NFL’s single-season document. Garrett recorded 1.5 sacks on Sunday, giving him 21.5 on the season.
He wants one sack over the subsequent three video games to tie Michael Strahan and T.J. Watt for the document. Strahan set the document in 2002, when the NFL performed a 16-game schedule. Watt tied him in 2021, enjoying in 15 of Pittsburgh’s 17 video games that season.
What do the Browns do at QB transferring ahead?
Browns head coach Kevin Stefanski already said that Sanders will start for the team for the remainder of the season. Sunday’s loss dropped them to 3-11, and they’ve already been eradicated from playoff competition for a second straight yr. Keeping Sanders in there and getting him expertise as a beginning quarterback can solely assist him as a participant, and the group would not have a lot to lose at this level.
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But the Browns will have a quarterback question to answer but once more in the coming months, and there’s no clear answer.
While Sanders hasn’t been nice — Sunday’s loss at Soldier Field was a good instance of that — he has proven strong flashes. He threw for 3 touchdowns and greater than 360 yards in final week’s recreation towards the Tennessee Titans, for instance, although the Browns still misplaced. But there are many unhealthy errors that he’s made whereas exhibiting a lack of consistency. And, maybe extra importantly, the Browns aren’t profitable video games.
The Browns could turn back to Deshaun Watson, who was designated to return to observe earlier this month after tearing his Achilles twice. He’s not performed this season, and probably received’t. But Watson, who the Browns gave a absolutely assured $230 million contract, was an elite quarterback in the previous earlier than the accidents and an 11-game suspension. If he can bounce again and have a late-career resurgence, it’s straightforward to see a world the place he’s the Browns’ quarterback for the subsequent few years, at a minimal.
Or, the Browns might merely go in a new path and choose to choose a quarterback once more in the NFL Draft in April. At 3-11, the Browns are projected to have a very excessive draft decide as soon as once more. There are loads of choices for them on this subsequent draft class, too.
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Regardless of what route they take, it is clear that Sanders hasn’t performed sufficient but to show he’s the future with the Browns. Unless one thing modifications drastically over the subsequent three weeks, the quarterback subject in Cleveland will probably be spilling over into subsequent season.
Sanders, no less than publicly, is not making an attempt to suppose too onerous about his job safety.
“Do you know what league we’re in?” Sanders mentioned, via 92.3 The Fan. “You can lose your job at any point in time … I don’t play or live in fear. Whatever situation I’m in, I’m in. Whatever happens, it happens. I live each moment and try to live each day to the fullest, so never live in worry or fear.”