Bears intend to have a plan in place for Browns star Myles Garrett, part of which includes throwing a rookie back into the fire
It’s not going to be easy to slow down Myles Garrett on Sunday.
The Chicago Bears are preparing for the challenge of all challenges on Sunday when the Cleveland Browns arrive to Soldier Field led by the current Defensive Player of the Year favorite Myles Garrett.
Garrett has been on a scorched-earth run during the 2025 season with 20.0 sacks entering Week 15 and the Bears are intending to do everything in their power to make sure Garrett doesn’t wreck the game in hopes of securing the NFL’s single-season sack record.
“Obviously, he’s right there at the sack record, almost there at the sack record,” Bears quarterback Caleb Williams said Wednesday. “And so, I’m going to try and make sure that he doesn’t get the sack record on us and on me.”
The Bears have played through a gauntlet of star pass rushers this season, which helps give the offensive line some experience going up against this kind of “S-tier” player, but truthfully it’s easier said than done when talking about slowing down a guy like Garrett.
“He’s got that bull rush that can take a tackle and put him on roller skates and walk him right back into the quarterback, which happens quite a bit. Every team that you see on tape, they have a plan for him, to slow him down,” Bears head coach Ben Johnson explained.
“And yet, the chip gets off of him and he just still walks that tackle on back into the quarterback. He does a great job with that. And then, heaven forbid you ever leave him one-on-one, and that’s really where he shows up. He’s almost unblockable that way in pass protection. So, a lot of respect for him. He’s done an incredible job.”
To make things even more complicated, the Browns have moved Garrett around the formation all season long, putting him in favorable matchups. On paper, the favorable matchup that has Garrett licking his chops will be seeing a rookie tackle lining on the left side.
Ozzy Trapilo has another big challenge ahead protecting Caleb Williams
In Week 12 against the Pittsburgh Steelers, the Bears were forced to make a third change to the left tackle position when Theo Benedet was ruled out. The Bears were prepared for that potential situation and had full confidence inserting second-round rookie Ozzy Trapilo into the lineup.
Trapilo spent the majority of the summer competing for the starting left tackle role but hit a wall in his development and continued working behinds the scenes. Trapilo’s first game in action came against the Las Vegas Raiders in Week 4 at right tackle after the Bears decided to move Benedet to left tackle and Trapilo impressed in his limited work, which at times included facing Maxx Crosby.
In three games since taking over the left tackle role, Trapilo has allowed zero sacks and five total pressures against three of the league’s top defensive fronts.
“It’s every week that (Trapilo) does a great job of just hitting that reset button and coming in and focused on his technique and his fundamentals,” Johnson said. “He’s a very conscious player. He’s very aware of what’s going on, who he’s going against, where his help is. And, he tries to use it that way. So, not our first time that we’ve gone against a dynamic pass rusher. Certainly, (Garrett) might be on another level than anybody else in this league right now.”
Bears will have to find another ways to help out both starting tackles
At the same time, it’s going to be a challenge for starting right tackle Darnell Wright as well, who’s playing at a Pro Bowl caliber level this season. Both tackles will likely receive some help with tights ends to take the pressure off defending Garrett on an island, but it’s not always going to be the case.
Another factor that works in the Bears’ favor is having a strong run game, which is what helped the Tennessee Titans neutralize Garrett in Week 14. On top of that, Williams has been a difficult quarterback to bring down this season with a 12.0 pressure-to-sack percentage that ranks fourth among 29 QBs with 250+ drop backs.
“He’s very elusive, extremely elusive,” Browns head coach Kevin Stefanski explained. “He can get out of the pocket to the left, to the right, vertical in the pocket. He’s a hard guy to bring down and that adds another element to their team.”
It’s going to be a long battle for all 60 minutes. Garrett is a relentless player and the last few weeks has been hellbent on rewriting the record books. We’ll see if the Bears’ plan is able to hold up.
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The Chicago Bears cannot afford to take the Cleveland Browns lightly on Sunday.
