The Morning Journal (Lorain, OH)
RACK-A-SACK DUO
Browns defensive end Myles Garrett, 95, right, celebrates a sack with linebacker Jeremiah Owusu-Koramoah, 28, against the Bears Sept. 26 on the way to Garrett’s team record-breaking 4.5 sacks in the game. The Browns beat the Bears, 26-6 at First-Energy Stadium,
Sometimes, a player calls out his teammates and is a noshow himself. Myles Garrett did the calling out on Sept. 24. Two days later, he set a Browns record with 4.5 sacks, and his peers followed his lead.
The Browns made life miserable for rookie quarterback Justin Fields, sacking him nine times on the way to dominating the Bears, 26-6, on Sept. 26 at FirstEnergy Field.
A week earlier, the Browns beat the Houston Texans, 31-21, but winning that game against such a woebegone team left them unfulfilled. The effort against the Bears was the opposite.
The Browns started 2-0 at FirstEnergy Stadium last year and finished 11-5. This is the first time since 1979-80 they started 2-0 at home two years in a row. That 1980 season was the Kardiac Kids year when they finished 11-5 and lost to the Raiders in a divisional playoff game.
“It’s tough watching my teammates not be able to make a play, because when I see an offense keying on me with chips and stuff like that, it’s like, well, they’re taking a player out of the play to stop me, so we have 1-on-1,” Garrett said after practice Sept. 24.
“And to see they’re not making a play, it’s kind of frustrating. I want to see them go out there and make big plays. We’ve got to get there.”
The Browns held the Bears to 47 yards of net offense on 42 plays — a miniscule 1.1-yard average per play. Chicago’s only points were scored on field goals of 47 yards and 22 yards by Cairo Santos.
Their longest gain all day was an 18-yard completion from Fields to Allen Robinson. The Bears were 1-of-11 on third down.
Jadeveon Clowney had two sacks. Ronnie Harrison had one. Jeremiah Owusu-Koramoah, Malik Jackson and Takk McKinely each had a half sack. The Bears had one net yard of passing offense — the fewest ever by a Browns’ opponent — and it all started with Garrett’s wake-up call.
“Some unbelievable individual efforts, but I thought the guys played sound, played together, ran to the ball and obviously did a nice job to hold that team to six points and 47 yards,” Coach Kevin Stefanski said.
The Bears’ pass rush got to Baker Mayfield, too, with two sacks in the first quarter, one in second and two in the second half. The difference is the Browns took Chicago’s best shot right on the chin and stepped back to the line of scrimmage figuratively swinging haymakers.
Kareem Hunt ran with the same determination he displayed when he played for Willoughby South and ruled the field under Friday night lights.
The game was tied, 3-3, until Mayfield finished off a 75-yard drive to end the first half with a 13-yard touchdown pass to tight end Austin Hooper. Coupled with the way the defense was playing, the touchdown was a shot of adrenalin for the offense heading into the second half.
Chase McLaughlin nailed a 57-yard field goal in the second quarter, a 41-yarder in the third plus field goals of 52 yards and 28 yards in the fourth quarter. If you’re a glass half-empty person, you could say the Browns should have finished the drives with touchdowns, but having a reliable kicker is like having a warm security blanket when the furnace is on the fritz.
Demtric Felton, getting better week by week, returned seven punts for 103 yards.
One was a 24-yard return accomplished by weaving through a host of Bears.
“Those guys were flying around on kickoff (coverage),” Stefanski said. “Chase was outstanding four-for-four and two fifty plus. Demetric was outstanding.”
The Bears are not a good team. General manager Ryan Pace has not devoted the same attention to his offensive line that Browns general manager Andrew Berry did when Berry started running the Browns football operation in 2020.
The crowd of 67,431 in First Energy Stadium and those watching at home witnessed a thorough trouncing of an inferior opponent.
That’s what championship-worthy teams do.