The last two seasons have been bad for the Cleveland Browns under head coach Kevin Stefanski, but Sunday’s blowout loss in Chicago was unequivocally his worst moment.
Despite their young and depleted roster, and revolving door at quarterback, the Browns have been competitive in the majority of their losses this year, at least enough to give fans hope for the future. This Bears game was a complete 180, though. Stefanski’s group was outclassed in a way the NFL hasn’t seen in over 10 years, according to DVOA metrics.
The worst of it came on offense, which per analyst Aaron Schatz, had an 8 percent offensive success rate through the first three quarters of Sunday’s game. It felt even worse than that, as rookie quarterback Shedeur Sanders struggled to get anything going behind a deteriorating offensive line with zero run game. The Browns averaged a woeful 3.4 yards per play and had just nine first downs in the 31-3 beatdown.
Actually, it does get worse. According to Schatz, the chief analytics officer at For The Numbers, Cleveland’s overall DVOA rating for the game was the NFL’s 11th-worst since 1978, and Browns fans will get a kick (or a cry) out of seeing their team listed two other times within the top-10.
I thought the Raiders were bad BUT...
— Aaron Schatz 🏈 (@ASchatzNFL) December 15, 2025
The Cleveland Browns' 31-3 loss to the Bears yesterday came out as the 11th-worst single game since 1978 by DVOA.
The Browns had an 8% offensive success rate through the first three quarters. pic.twitter.com/4agFurop0c
Browns owner Jimmy Haslam just signed both Stefanski and general manager Andrew Berry to contract extensions in the summer of 2024. He’d probably prefer stability over another complete reset, especially given the immediate returns from this year’s rookie class.
But the idea of retaining Stefanski is looking worse and worse with each passing week.
The Cleveland Browns’ ugly loss in Chicago might’ve just sealed Kevin Stefanski’s fate
When asked directly about his job security, and if Haslam had given him any assurance that he would be back as head coach of the Browns in 2026, Stefanski gave the kind of non-answer that fans have come to expect on Monday morning.
“I don’t get into those types of things. I would just tell you, my focus, our football team’s focus, is solely on the Buffalo Bills, and obviously watching the tape today. That’s our focus, and that’s all we really care about.”
Stefanski figures to face similar questions each week going forward. He’s known around the NFL as an offensive guru, and right now, the Browns are 32nd in success rate, 32nd in EPA per pass, 29th in EPA per rush, and 32nd in competition percentage, per Sumer Sports.
There are certainly caveats, with the offensive line down to bare bones and the team relying heavily on rookies at QB, running back, wide receiver and tight end. But Stefanski hasn’t found any answers during what is now a 6-25 stretch since the start of 2024, and it’s becoming painfully obvious what’s looming for him at the end of the year.