Week 15 Preview- Bears @ Browns

Alright, ladies and gents,

It is time for the look into Sundays games. I will try to briefly examine each team and it's opponent, and give you my prediction for the score.

CHICAGO BEARS (7-6) @ CLEVELAND BROWNS (4-9)



Chicago is making a grave mistake in my opinion with the benching of Josh McCown, and deciding to play the rusty Jay Cutler. Cutler has not started a game since the Bears 21-19 loss to Detroit. Cutler has an 88.4 QB passer rating, and a 13-8 TD-INT ratio, compared to McCown's 109.8 and 13-1 ratio. Matt Forte is having a stellar year at the running back spot, now with 1073 yards rushing, and 518 yards receiving. Forte has been the end zone maker, with 9 total TDs this season. WR's Alshon Jeffery and Brandon Marshall have been phenomenal playmakers, both men receiving over 1000 yards, and combined for 15 TDs. Martellus Bennett has been the short gain TE that the Bears need in Chicago with 53 catches, 588 yards and 5 TDs. Devin Hester has taken a punt return to the house so far this season, and he's averaging 28.1 yards per kick off return. If the Browns want to stay alive, they need to keep the ball away from the special teams playmaker. Robbie Gould is 24-27 this season, with a miss in every category over 30 yards. Adam Podlesh averages 41.6 yards per punt, with a net total of 32.5 yards. The defense will have the teams only injury, and that belongs to Lance Briggs, the consistent weakside linebacker, will miss the game with an shoulder injury. He did have limited practice on Thursday and Friday, so he may return before the season is over. The defense has put together 26 sacks, the leader being Julius Peppers with 6.5, and 15 INTs so far this season. They have an impressive 31 takeaways, an average of 2.4 per game.

The Browns will have to man up as the lineup is riddled with injuries. The QB this week will be Jason Campbell, who has the teams best passer rating (88.0) and has been a bit of a double threat, showing his ability to run on downs. He has a TD-INT ratio of 9-3 through 6 games, and 1324 passing yards. Willis McGahee looks to be out this week with a concussion, so the RB spot will probably move to Fozzy Whitaker, who has a total of 79 yards rushing, and 113 receiving this season. Chris Ogbonnaya is a player to watch as well, as the teams FB. He has 224 yards rushing, and leads all backfield players on the team with 291 yards receiving. The teams only real WR threat is in WR Josh Gordon. He leads the NFL with 1400 yards receiving, and 8 TDs. Also, watch out for the rising TE Jordan Cameron, who has a team high 72 catches, for 825 yards. Devone Bess and Greg Little have been in the WR spot, combining for 737 yards and 4 TDs. Billy Cundiff is 18-23 on FGs this season, with 4 of those misses being over 40 yards. Spencer Lanning averages 44.1 yards per punt, with a net average of 34.8 yards per punt. The Browns defense has put together a total of 37 sacks, and 21 takeaways, yet they have allowed 324 points, so look for the Bears to take advantage of that.

My Pick: Bears overwhelm Browns, and win 27-23.