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Week 16: Toilet Bowl


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Week 16

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Players to Watch

Offense: Running back Jordan Howard
Jordan Howard Howard will look to continue his dominance of the AFC North. The second-year pro has recorded his three most productive of the season against that division with 167 yards versus the Ravens, 147 yards against the Bengals and 140 yards versus the Steelers. Baltimore and Pittsburgh inexplicably played defenses designed to take away the pass, daring the Bears to beat them on the ground—and Howard and the Chicago offense were more than happy to oblige.

The Browns likely will stack the line of scrimmage Sunday like the Lions did last Saturday, a tactic that helped limit the Bears to just 43 yards on 15 carries after they produced 222 yards on 30 attempts in their previous meeting with the Lions Nov. 19 at Soldier Field. Regardless of how Cleveland approaches Sunday's contest, the Bears no doubt will try to establish their running game with Howard. The 2016 fifth-round pick ranks fourth in the NFL in rushing with 1,069 yards and seven touchdowns on 245 carries.

The Browns (0-14) remain the NFL's only winless team and have lost 32 of their last 33 games dating back to 2015. But their defense is respectable, ranking 16th in the league in total yards allowed and an impressive seventh against the run.

Defense: Cornerback Kyle Fuller
Kyle Fuller After missing all of last year following knee surgery, Fuller has enjoyed a resurgent season. The 2014 first-round draft pick leads Bears defensive backs with 65 tackles and tops the defense with a career-high 16 pass breakups.

"It says a lot about the kid," said coach John Fox. "Obviously [last year was] a frustrating year for him. He worked very hard this offseason. He's worked very hard this season. There are maintenance things you can do because it is a long season. There are different things, exercise and maintenance, that you can do to keep yourself healthy, keep yourself going and I think he's done a tremendous job."

Fuller will lead a Bears secondary that will look to contain Browns receiver Josh Gordon. The talented wideout returned to the team last month following multiple suspensions for violating the NFL's substance abuse policy, seeing his first action since 2014. In three games, Gordon has caught 12 passes for 201 yards and one touchdown.

"He's got really good size," said defensive coordinator Vic Fangio. "He can run well, he's a good athlete, big catch radius. You can see why they've been so patient with him, waiting for him to come around."

Offense: Quarterback Mitchell Trubisky
Mitchell Trubisky After three straight weeks of throwing for less than 200 yards, Trubisky has put together consecutive strong passing outings. In Week 14 versus Cincinnati, he threw for 271 yards and a touchdown, and that was followed by a career-high 314 yards last Saturday in Detroit. Trubisky is becoming more comfortable as a passer, and that in turn is making the Chicago offense more dangerous. Though he has admitted he needs to cut down on turnovers, the rookie's passing ability presents challenges to opposing defenses. Versus the Bengals and Lions, the Bears have had two of their best performances in terms of yards per play, as the upgraded passing attack has opened up running lanes for the Chicago backs.

On top of the strong play he's shown recently, there's some personal angles for Trubisky on Sunday. He's facing the team he grew up watching; Trubisky grew up in northeast Ohio and started his first high school varsity game at Cleveland Browns Stadium. Add to that the Browns had a chance to select the quarterback in the first round of the 2017 draft, but opted to pass; the Bears traded up to the second pick to grab Trubisky. Though the rookie said he's not expecting any extra emotion to be on display Sunday, there's no doubt he wants to show his hometown team they made an error by passing him over.

Defense: Outside linebacker Lamarr Houston
Lamarr Houston With the Bears in need of pass rush help following injuries to other linebackers on the roster, the Bears called upon Houston, who was cut by the team at the end of training camp. Houston has answered that call. He recorded one sack each in Week 13 versus San Francisco and 14 against Cincinnati, and then two more a week ago in the loss to Detroit.

Houston should be able to add to that total this weekend against the Browns. The Cleveland offense has had a tough time protecting its quarterbacks this season, allowing 43 sacks in 2017, fifth-most in the NFL. Rookie quarterback DeShone Kizer can scramble, but that often leads to trouble, as he holds onto the ball for a long time waiting for a play to emerge. If Houston and the other Chicago pass rushers can find their way into the backfield, they will have plenty of opportunities to take down Kizer and create tough situations for the Browns. Only two teams in the league are worse at converting on third down than Cleveland, which converts on roughly 33 percent of its third-down chances. Houston's pressure will make sure the Browns don't move the chains very often.

 

4 Things to Watch

(1) Will rookie quarterback Mitchell Trubisky continue to improve while eliminating the turnovers he committed last weekend in Detroit?

The first-round draft pick had what coach John Fox called "arguably his best game" against the Lions in terms of mechanics and decision-making, setting Bears rookie passing records with 31 completions, 46 attempts and 314 yards. But Trubisky threw three interceptions—all in the second half—after being picked off only four times in his first nine starts.

The Ohio native must do a better job of protecting the ball Sunday against a winless Browns team that boasts an aggressive defense that's coordinated by veteran coach Gregg Williams.

"He's going to create a lot of challenges and it's the first time Mitchell's seen anything like this," said offensive coordinator Dowell Loggains. "Gregg was a high school quarterback; he knows how to affect quarterbacks and that's how his defense plays. He does a really good job of protecting his weaknesses. You see it on tape, and the blitzing. They blitz as much as anybody in the NFL and they're trying to get the ball out as fast as they can. You can tell they feel the strength of their team is up front."

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(2) Will the Bears defense continue to excel despite being decimated by injuries?

The Bears enter Week 16 ranked eighth in total defense, a far cry from the unit that finished 30th in each of Marc Trestman's two seasons as head coach in 2013-14. What makes that feat even more impressive is that key players Quintin Demps, Leonard Floyd, Jerrell Freeman, Pernell McPhee, Mitch Unrein and Willie Young are all on injured reserve.

"They were bad for two consecutive years and we've got it back to being respectable—in some cases good, in some cases not good enough," said defensive coordinator Vic Fangio. "Overall, I think the defense is in a lot better shape moving forward than it was those two years."

"We've done a tremendous job in reworking the defense," added Fox. "I believe we were [30th] in the league the year prior to us getting here and over this period of time, almost a complete three seasons, we're in the top-10 range."

The Bears have increased their takeaways from an all-time franchise low 11 last year to 19 this season. Interestingly, they lead the NFL with 13 fumble recoveries but have only six interceptions. "We just have to be where we're supposed to be," Fangio said, "and if there's a chance to get an interception, we need to take full advantage of it."

(3) Will the defense be able to contain Browns rookie quarterback DeShone Kizer?

Kizer has potential, but he has struggled as a rookie. The second-round draft pick from Notre Dame ranks last in the NFL among 35 qualifiers with a 59.4 passer rating. Kizer has completed 53.9 percent of his passes for 2,398 yards with nine touchdowns and 19 interceptions. He has also lost six fumbles, meaning that he has accounted for 26 turnovers.

"I see a talented guy," Fangio said. "He's very athletic. He's a good scrambler. He does a good job of running the ball, both when he's scrambling out of the pocket, and in their zone-read game when he can pull it and has. He's a very athletic guy with a big arm."

"One thing about him is we've got to be conscious as far as rushing the passer goes and making sure we maintain a good pocket because he is looking to take off and when he takes off he's not sliding," said defensive end Akiem Hicks. "He's actually taking hits and stuff like that, which may not be the best thing for a quarterback. He's not afraid to go out there and lay it on the line and that's something we respect from a quarterback, especially with a team that's struggling."

Facing a quarterback in Kizer who leads the NFL with 19 interceptions should provide a chance for the Bears to pad their meager total of six picks on the season. "We've had our opportunities to have more," Fangio said. "We haven't made the plays, finished them off in some instances. We need to come up with more. Some of our guys historically haven't gotten many in their careers. That's part of it. But we need to get more."

(4) Will Hicks and running back Jordan Howard play with extra chips on their shoulders after getting snubbed in Pro Bowl voting?

Hicks compared finding out he hadn't been voted to the Pro Bowl to "telling a kid he ain't getting no presents for Christmas." The veteran defensive end, who has set career highs and leads the Bears with eight sacks and 15 tackles-for-loss, was named a fourth alternate.

"It's always motivation when somebody tells you that you're not good enough," Hicks said. "I wasn't even a first, second or third alternate. When people tell you that you're not good enough to do something, it just makes you want to be that much better."

Howard, meanwhile, was named a first alternate behind the Rams' Todd Gurley and the Saints' Mark Ingram and Alvin Kamara. Howard ranks second in the NFC behind Gurley and fourth in the NFL in rushing with 1,069 yards and seven touchdowns on 245 carries.

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Jeff Dickerson ESPN Staff Writer 

Chicago Bears inactives vs. Cleveland: QB Mark Sanchez, DB Deiondre Hall, RB Taquan Mizzell, DL Rashaad Coward, guard Josh Sitton, OL Tom Compton and TE Adam Shaheen.

 

Pat McManamon ESPN Staff Writer 

CB Briean Boddy-Calhoun is inactive for today against the Bears. The inactive list: QB Cody Kessler, Boddy-Calhoun, DB B.W. Webb, LB Jeremy Cash, OL Marcus Martin, OL Geoff Gray and WR Matt Hazel.

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10 minutes ago, Rogerthat said:

Win or lose the this should be mitch’s Last game of the year. Why risk a week 17 injury in meaningless game 

Negative, he needs to play every snap he can get.  Injuries are part of the game and can happen anytime.

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3 minutes ago, DABEARSLCF04 said:

I hate Christmas and this year is the only time i have asked for anything since I was a child meny years ago. I do not want to see the Bears lose to the Browns. I will not accept Fox as the couch for the final game if he fuges this game up.

I'd like to see him on the couch for the final game.

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