Cleveland Browns defense comes to life in record-breaking performance

The Cleveland Browns defense shined in their 26-6 win over the Bears on Sunday. Myles Garrett and company provided 9 sacks in a record-breaking performance.

The Cleveland Browns earned a smothering 26-6 win in Week 3 over the Chicago Bears at home. It may not have been the most satisfying display of offense against what was a pretty stout Bears defense, but on a day when defensive lines set the tone, it was the Browns defensive unit who managed to get the win on the day.

Even though the Bears defense kept them within reach for most of the game, Cleveland’s defense came alive at the perfect time and went the extra mile in wrecking anything and everything that Matt Nagy cooked up.

The Browns defensive line racked up 9 sacks on the day, 4.5 of them belonging to superstar pass rusher Myles Garrett, put rookie quarterback Justin Fields in an impossible position in his first-ever NFL start. Jadeveon Clowney got a couple of sacks as well opposite Garrett, and the two finally broke out as the fearsome pass rusher duo that fans hoped to see.

Even with the aid of solid field position at midfield twice after the Bears sacked Baker Mayfield on two separate fourth down attempts, and a massive pass interference penalty on John Johnson III that put them deep in the red zone, Fields and the Bears offense could do nothing to establish a foothold against the relentless Browns defense.

Fields had less than a second on average to get his throw off, and got no help in the rushing game either. The Browns defensive interior of Malik Jackson and Malik McDowell was huge, and a banged-up linebacker corps showed up as well led by rookie Jeremiah Owusu-Koramoah. The Bears averaged just 1.1 yards per play against the Browns, the second-fewest by any team in a game this century, according to CBS Sports, and had 47 yards of total offense.

That last total is the lowest any Browns defense has achieved since 1946, also pointed out by CBS, which happened on the day the team debuted their 1946 throwback white uniforms. A fitting historical tribute on a day the defense made history.

Cleveland’s offense struggled to really put the game away against a strong Bears defensive line, and Nick Chubb was held to only 84 yards.

Kareem Hunt got things going late, and Mayfield was methodical once again as they did enough to make the win comfortable in the fourth quarter.

But it was the defense that stole the show with their historic performance. Here’s to hoping this is the start of something special with this revamped unit.