Myles Garrett and the Browns Stomp on the Bears in Fields’ Debut
In Week 3, the Cleveland Browns took on the Chicago Bears with both teams coming off a win and a record of 1-1. Chicago started their prized first-round draft pick, QB Justin Fields, for his first NFL start. Despite this, Cleveland took care of business at home, dominating the Bears by a score of 26-6. Let us dive into the stars of the game, take a look at the return of star WR Odell Beckham Jr., and other key aspects for the Browns victory.
Game Details
In the win, the Browns turned in a total team effort. Starting with the offensive side of the ball, QB Baker Mayfield played solidly while under pressure the whole game, going 19/31 with 246 yards and a touchdown pass to TE Austin Hooper. He finished the game with a QBR of 105.2 and has a 74% CMP through the first three weeks of the season. Mayfield spread the wealth once again, connecting with six different pass catchers, led by Beckham Jr. and HB Kareem Hunt. Hunt led the charge on offense with 155 total yards and a rushing TD. While they did not force a turnover, the Browns defense was as dominant as you can be, sacking Fields nine times in the victory. DE Myles Garrett had 4.5 of those, a franchise record.
On the short end, the Bears had nothing going on offense. Fields had a miserable day, completing just six passes with no touchdowns. The leading receiver on the Bears was Allen Robinson, who had just two catches for 27 yards. HB David Montgomery struggled as well, carrying the rock ten times for just 34 yards and no touchdowns. On a positive note, the Bears defense looked impressive in this game. Chicago sacked Mayfield five times, led by Khalil Mack, who registered two of those in the losing effort.
The Return of OBJ
It was a long wait, but the wait finally came to an end in Week 3 of 2021. The return of Odell Beckham Jr. to the Cleveland Browns after suffering a torn ACL in Week 7 of last season. With WR Jarvis Landry going down with an injury in Week 2, Beckham’s presence was that much more needed in this game and going forward until Landry returns. In his first game back, OBJ led the Browns in receiving yards (77) and was second in catches with five, trailing only Kareem Hunt (6). After the game, Odell spoke to the media and stated that he “never got his legs under him” and was “exhausted” at the game’s end. These are all expected after a major story, but his presence was felt on the field. Look for Beckham Jr. to build off this game and continue to work his way back to the elite receiver he was before his injury.
Browns Defense Dominates
While yes, we grazed over the easy statistics for the Browns defense, what they did in Week 3 was truly incredible. Along with the nine sacks, Myles Garrett and crew held the Browns to ONE net passing yard… that is not a typo. The Browns also held them to a 30% CMP and 3.5 YPC. Their longest play of the game was a 48-yard pass interference that should have been an interception, but a suspect call by the referees erased that. Chicago was held to 47 yards of offense, six first downs, 1-12 on third and fourth down while having the ball for just over 20 minutes of game time. It was a truly dominating performance by the Browns defense and was needed badly after a poor showing the first two weeks of the season.
Rough Day at the Fields for Chicago
The way you can describe Justin Fields first NFL start… forgettable. Fields finished with a final line of 6/20 with 68 yards and no touchdowns, while also rushing three times for 12 yards. You can blame head coach Matt Nagy, Fields, or whoever you want to blame, this was an utter embarrassment by the Bears offense and for Fields. Fortunately, but unfortunately, Fields is not alone with his struggles as a rookie. Out of the four rookie QB’s who have started a game (Lawrence, Wilson, Fields, Jones) they have a combined nine passing TDs to a whopping 17 INT’s, sporting a combined record of 1-9. It has not been easy for the rookie quarterbacks in 2021.
Looking Ahead
Heading into Week 4, the Bears will look to avenge their loss as they host their division foe, the Detroit Lions (0-3) who are looking for their first win of the season. For Cleveland, they will have a tough task, traveling to Minnesota to take on Kirk Cousins and the Minnesota Vikings (1-2), who are coming off an impressive win over the Seattle Seahawks. To add to the drama, this will be Browns head coach Kevin Stefanski’s first game back in Minnesota after holding the offensive coordinator job there from 2018-2019 before being the head coach in Cleveland.
Stats from profootballreference.com
Schedule from nfl.com
Writer
-By: Richie Dordas