The Chicago Bears will have an early advantage on Sunday against the Cleveland Browns in their Week 15 matchup.

The Bears pass rush, which has begun to flourish over the last few weeks, will be facing off against the Browns injury-riddled offensive line.

The pass rush unit in Chicago has recorded six sacks in their last two games and getting home with the pressure on Sunday is the most opportune way to secure the team's third straight victory of the season.

The Bears unit will however been a man down over the final four weeks of the season after placing defensive end Yannick Ngakoue on the injured reserve with a broken ankle. Ngakoue led the Bears with 4.0 sacks through the first 14 games of the season.

As for the Browns, four offensive lineman have been placed on the injured reserve throughout the season. Rookie tackle Dawand Jones and former first-round tackle Jedrick Wills Jr. were the latest to be ruled out for the remainder of the season.

Despite all of their injury concerns, the Browns offensive line has still managed to hold up while protecting their fourth different starting quarterback of the season. In the Browns Week 14 win over the Jacksonville Jaguars, the makeshift offensive line did not allow a single sack. The Browns unit did however allow nine pressures, six of which came against their backup tackles, per Pro Football Focus.

The Bears defensive ends should be set up for a solid day against the Browns latest starting tackles. Montez Sweat has recorded 3.5 sacks and seven QB hits in his last three games. The Bears are also expected to rotate their other defensive ends following Ngakoue's injury, meaning more opportunities for DeMarcus Walker and Rasheem Green. 

Bears head coach and defensive play caller Matt Eberflus provided some insight regarding how the Bears will game plan differently after losing their sack leader.

"Blitz every snap," Eberflus said on Wednesday. "It's everybody just stepping up and stepping into their roles. When you have injury, you have opportunity for people. I think it's important for those guys to lean into the opportunity."

The Bears could also see more opportunities for two rookie pass rushers on Sunday, Gervon Dexter Sr. and Zacch Pickens. Both players have played solid this season in their limited rotational roles and now could have a chance to take advantage of a potentially higher snap count.

The last time the Bears played in Cleveland, the defense managed to record five sacks against Baker Mayfield in Week 3, 2021. The unit will have a more experience and seasoned pro to face on Sunday in Joe Flacco.

"You can see the talent, [Flacco's] always had it and he still has it," Eberflus said. "You can see the arm strength, the accuracy, the vision, the patience in the pocket. He's put up good numbers and there's no secret to that. They've done a nice job protecting him too."

The last time an Eberflus-led defense faced off against Flacco was in Week 8, 2019 when the Indianapolis Colts hosted the Denver Broncos. Eberflus' defense held Flacco to 174 passing yards and recorded three sacks against him to secure a 15-13 victory.

His new unit in Chicago will be looking to stay hungry on Sunday and do their part to help secure another consecutive victory.

Bears lose key defender for the remainder of the season

It’ll be a major loss for the unit.