With just four weeks to go in the 2023 season, the Cleveland Browns sit with an 8-5 record and an 81 percent chance to make the playoffs, holding the fifth seed in the AFC. Looking to improve those odds this week at home, Joe Flacco, Myles Garrett, and company will host the Chicago Bears at Cleveland Browns stadium.
Getting past the Bears first, however, is no shoo-in toward their ninth win of the season as Chicago has won two straight and three of their last four as quarterback Justin Fields has returned from injury. Everyone in Chicago is playing for their jobs, so there is a level of desperation to almost fear as Cleveland looks to solidify their spot in the postseason.
It does not help either that the Browns have been ravaged by injuries, placing three starters on Injured Reserve this week alone. Crawling toward the finish line, the Browns have seen 16 significant contributors miss significant time this year and still sit with eight wins.
If the Browns want to make it nine, here are five things that must be keyed in on against Fields and the Bears.