Chicagoland Browns Backers

Hi Browns fans, it’s time for the 2026 NFL draft. The first and second rounds of the draft will begin on Thursday April 23rd at 7:00 CST. The Browns currently hold the 6th, 24th and 39th picks in the first 2 rounds of the draft giving our team a much needed opportunity to fill several holds in their roster. As is our custom for years, the ChicagoLand Browns Backers will be gathering at Burke’s Public House 5401 N. Broadway starting at 7:00 CST to watch and of course discuss the Browns draft picks and potential trades. According to almost all draft experts the Browns biggest draft needs are at wide receiver and offensive tackle and they are expected to draft for those 2 positions with their 2 first round picks. However, with GM Andrew Berry running the draft room and a new head coach running the team, who knows what the team will do with its picks. So come on out next Thursday to experience all the fun and sometimes drama of the NFL draft.
See You Thursday

We interrupt our regular feed for this piece of gloating at both the Ratbirds and the Raiders … HAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHA (breathe) HAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHA!!!!

BREAKING: The Raiders announce that the Ravens have backed out of the trade agreement for Maxx Crosby.

Trades are not official until the new league year begins.

… anyway, what are people eating when the Bears play?

BREAKING: Bo Nix will miss the rest of the season after suffering a broken bone in his ankle on the second-to-last play of the game, coach Sean Payton said.

Anyone want to revise their New Coach Want List? (Me, I'd tell Haslem to give him a piece of the team if that's what it takes ...)

Ravens fire head coach John Harbaugh after 18 seasons Hired in 2008, Harbaugh was only the Ravens' third head coach in their 30-year existence.

Oh look - Washington won!

So the Browns got the win AND kept the #6 pick!

Garrett!!!!!!!

Happy New Year Browns Fans and welcome to the last week of an admittedly disappointing season for our Browns. Sunday the 4-12 Browns end their 2025 season with a trip to Cincinnati’s Paycor Stadium to take on the 6-10 Bengals who are also capping off a disappointing season, missing the playoffs for the third consecutive year. Game time is 12:00 noon CST and of course the ChicagoLand Browns Backers/Northside Dawg Pound will be meeting up at Burke’s Public House 5401 N. Broadway to cheer the Browns onto victory. The Browns players come into the game following their upset 13-6 victory over the Pittsburgh Steelers unsure about who will be their coach next season, as ownership ponders whether to keep Kevin Stefanski after his fourth losing season in his six years as head coach. The Bengals are currently riding a 2 game winning streak after being shutout by Baltimore 24-0 in week 15. During the winning streak the Bengals outscored the Dolphins and Cardinals 82-35 with QB Joe Burrow completing almost 78% of his passes for 614 yards with 6 TD’s and no interceptions for an outstanding QB rating of 139.3. Back in the Bengal’s week one 17-16 win over the Browns, Burrow completed 14 of 23 passes for 113 yards with 1 TD. During his 7 games this season he’s completed 65.5% of his passes averaging 7.2 yards per pass with 14 TD’s and 4 interceptions with 15 sacks for a 100.1 QB rating. Sunday Myles Garrett will get his last opportunity to get the 1 sack he needs to break the NFL single season record. In the Browns week 1 loss to the Bengals he collected 2 sacks giving him 12 career sacks of Burrow. While the Browns will undoubtedly move Garrett around on the D-line his primary match-up will be against Bengal LT Orlando Brown Jr. who’s given up 8 sacks and 41 QB pressures this season. Over Burrow’s 9 career games against the Browns, he and the Bengals are 4-5 with Burrow completing 64% of his passes averaging 6.5 yards per pass with 16 TD’s against 5 interceptions for a 92.6 QB rating. Burrow’s favorite targets continue to be WR’s JaMarr Chase and Tee Higgins. Chase is currently 3rd in the NFL in receptions with 117 and 4th in receiving yards with 1,316 yards. Higgins has 53 catches averaging 14.7 yards per reception with 10 TD’s 5th most in the NFL. Burrow also loves to dump it off to his primary running back Chase Brown who has 65 catches gaining an average 6.5 yards after the catch. Chase Brown has also gained 947 yards on the ground with 6 rushing TD’s averaging 4.3 yards per carry. Overall, the Bengals average almost 25 points per game 12th in the NFL and 5th in third down conversions despite ranking 31st in rushing yards per game. Statistically, Cincinnati has one of the worse defenses the Browns have faced this season. They are 31st in scoring defense allowing over 29 points per game, last in total defense giving up over 393 yards per game and last in rushing defense allowing almost 149 yards per game on the ground. Their pass defense isn’t much better ranking 29th in yards per pass allowed and 28th in pass yards per game. With 4 time Pro Bowl DE Trey Hendrickson out for the game, the Bengals defense is led by DE Myles Murphy’s 8 sacks and CB D.J. Turner II’s 13 pass break-ups and 2 interceptions. Despite the Bengals problems on defense, the Browns offense could still struggle with both their top receiver TE Harold Fannin Jr. and leading running back Quinshon Judkins injured and out for the game. They are both part of the Browns outstanding 2025 rookie class with Judkins leading the team in rushing yards and total yards from scrimmage, Fannin Jr. leading in receptions and receiving yards, WR Isaiah Bond leading in yards per catch, Sanders leading in passing yards and total TD’s, QB Dillion Gabriel leading in completion percentage and LB Carson Schwesinger leading in total tackles, solo tackles and tied for the lead in interceptions. Sunday’s game also represents Shedeur Sanders’ final rookie year exam for the starting QB job and a rare opportunity to affect his competition for the starting job for next season. Currently the Browns sit at #6 in the 2026 draft order and a win could move them down to #7. Most NFL draft analysts list only 2-3 first round level QB’s in the draft with the Cardinals, Raiders and Jets all drafting ahead of the Browns and needing new QB’s. So, a 5th Browns win on Sunday could potentially move the team out of the running for one of the projected first round QB’s unless the Browns want to repeat their previous franchise altering mistake of giving up multiple 1st round draft picks for a potential starting QB. Sanders’ quest to impress the Browns will be hampered by the loss of his favorite receiver TE Harold Fannin Jr. and TE David Njoku who are both out for the game along with LB Carson Schwesinger.
GO BROWNS……GO CAVS

Myles Garrett lived in Aaron Rogers’ head like a bad hit of ayahuasca!!

Merry Christmas and Happy New Year Browns Fans and welcome to week 17 of the season. Sunday the Browns return to Huntington Bank Field to take on the much disliked, OK hated, Pittsburgh Steelers, game time is 12:00 noon CST and the ChicagoLand Browns Backers/Northside Dawg Pound will meet up at Burkes’ Public House 5401 N. Broadway to cheer the Browns on to victory. This is the second meeting of the season with Pittsburgh, in week 6 the Browns lost to the Steelers 23-9 with Dillion Gabriel completing 29 of 52 passes for 221 yards with no TD’s or interceptions and the Browns rushing for just 65 yards on the day. Steelers QB Aaron Rogers completed 21 of 36 passes for 235 yards with 2 TD’s and no interceptions or sacks. This will be Shedeur Sanders’ first experience working against the Steelers 3-4 defense which will challenge his ability, post snap, to identify who’s rushing him, where they are coming from and what type of coverage are they playing. To have a chance to be successful against Pittsburgh’s pass rush, ranked 16th in sack rate, Sanders will need to continue to reduce his time to throw from his league high average of 3.25 seconds to the 3.0 seconds he had last week against Buffalo. Fortunately for him, 4-time All Pro and 2021 Defensive Player of the Year T.J. Watt will miss the game as he recovers from a collapsed lung. Watt was responsible for 8 of the Steelers 47 sacks on the season. The game will feature an interesting contrast in NFL experience between important players for both teams. The Steelers will start at least 5 players with 10 years or more experience in the NFL including QB Aaron Rogers (20 seasons), TE Adam Thielan (12 season), DT Cameron Heyward (15 seasons), S Jalen Ramsey (10 seasons) and OG Isaac Seumalo (10 seasons). While the Browns are expected to play at least 7 rookies including QB Shedeur Sanders, TE Harold Fannin JR., RB Dylan Sampson, WR Isaiah Bond, LB Carson Schwesinger, DT Mason Graham and RB Raheim Sanders. The Steelers come into the game riding a 3 game winning streak during which they’ve scored 27, 28 and 29 points, however they are 0-3 over their last 3 games against the Browns at Huntington Bank Field. DE Myles Garrett will be looking to get the 1 sack he needs to break the single season sack record against a Steelers offense that’s given up 27 sacks so far this season. Garrett has a league leading 22 sacks and 32 tackles for loss (TFL) this season and 13 sacks in his 15 games against the Steelers in his career. Rogers currently has the 2nd quickest time to throw among starting QB’s (2.6 seconds) and 69% of his completions are for 9 or less yards with only 3.4 air yards per pass, lowest in the NFL. His average depth of throw is only 6.4 yards per pass and only 24% of his completions have been for 10 or more yards. Overall, Rogers is completing 66.7% of his passes averaging 6.9 yards per pass with 23 TD’s against 7 interceptions for a QB rating of 98.2. He will be missing his #1 receiver DK Metcalf who’s serving a 2 game suspension after apparently hitting a fan in the stands during last week’s game. Metcalf has 59 catches for 850 yards (twice as many as any other Steeler) with 6 TD’s while averaging 14.4 yards per catch this season. With Metcalf out for the game Rogers will be relying even more on RB’s Kenneth Gainwell who leads the team with 62 receptions averaging 6.6 yards per catch with 3 TD’s and Jaylen Warren who has 35 receptions with 2 receiving TD’s along with TE’s Darnell Washington who is massive at 6.6” 311 lbs. and Pat Freiermuth who has 35 catches with 4 TD’s. Pittsburgh’s rushing game has undergone a dramatic recent improvement. After averaging 89 rushing yards per game over their first 12 weeks they’ve averaged 228.5 yards rushing in their last 2 games against Miami and Detroit. Jaylen Warren who’s averaging 4.5 yards per rush and Kenneth Gainwell who’s averaging 4.9 yards per rush handle most of the running duties. The Browns 2nd ranked defense (277.8 yards per game) will need to consistently tackle well in space with Washington, Gainwell and Warren all averaging more than 7 yards after a catch. Despite last week’s loss to Buffalo the Browns are still #1 in pass defense, giving up 164 yards per game and #1 in sack rate at 10.7%. Overall Pittsburgh is 11th in scoring averaging 24.3 points per game and 27th in total offense gaining 302 yards per game. Opponents are converting 42% of their 3rd down attempts. If Shedeur Sanders can figure out the Steelers defense he has a chance for some big gains against a Steelers defense ranked 30th in the NFL giving up 250.5 yards per game through the air. They are also 28th in total defense surrendering 364 yards per game. With TJ Watt out for the game Pittsburgh will be relying on DE/LB Alex Highsmith (6.5 sacks 37 QB pressures and 11 TFL), DE/LB Nick Herbig (6.5 sacks 42 QB pressures and 12 TFL), 3 time All Pro DT Cameron Heyward (4 sacks 48 QB pressures) and CB Joey Porter Jr. ( 47% completions allowed and 11 pass break-ups) to anchor their defense. They are also #4 in takeaways averaging 1.6 per game. One interesting potential aspect of this game is if the Steelers lock up the AFC North title with a Baltimore loss or tie against Green Bay on Saturday they may start Mason Rudolph at QB against the Browns, giving Garrett the opportunity to set the sack record against Rudolph who you’ll remember got into an end of game scuffle with Garrett who hit him on the head with his helmet and Garrett later accusing Rudolph of using a racial slur during the game.
SEE YOU SUNDAY

Merry Christmas and Happy Chanukah Browns Fans and welcome to week 16 of the season. Sunday the 3-11 Cleveland Browns will face arguably their biggest challenge of the season when they welcome the 10-4 Buffalo Bills to Huntington Bank Field. Game time is 12:00 noon CST and as usual the ChicagoLand Browns Backers/Northside Dawg Pound will gather at Burke’s Public House 5401 N. Broadway to cheer the Browns and share some holiday cheer. The game will mark the first of 3 opportunities for 4 time All Pro and 2024 Defensive Player of the Year Myles Garrett to get 1.5 sacks to break the NFL single season sack record of 22.5 sacks. Shedeur Sanders will also have another opportunity to show progress in his 5th QB start of the season. In his previous 4 starts he’s completed 55.7% of his passes for 899 yards averaging 7.4 yards per pass and 224.8 yards per game with 5 TD passes and 1 rushing TD against 5 interceptions for a QB rating of 75.8. He’s thrown for a TD on 4.1% of his pass attempts and been intercepted on 4.1 % of his passes. Sanders’ per game stats compare favorable to the per game stats for Dillion Gabriel and Joe Flacco who combined to average 5.1 yards per pass while completing 59% of their passes and throwing TD’s on 2.6% of throws while averaging 175 yards per game. Sunday the Browns will be without TE David Njoku, CB Denzel Ward, RB Dylan Sampson, TR Jack Conklin and DT Sam Kamara.
The Bills offense led by 2024 league MVP quarterback Josh Allen will present the biggest challenge of the season for the Browns defense. Buffalo currently ranks 3rd in total offense (381 yards per game) 4th in scoring (29.4 points per game), 2nd in TD’s per game (3.7 TD’s), 5th in yards per play (6.0 yards), 1st in rushing yards per game (158.5 yards) and 4th in third down conversion rate. Bills QB Josh Allen is having another MVP worthy season, ranking 2nd in completion percentage (70%) 4th in TD passes (25), 5th in yards per pass (8.1) and 4th in QB rating (104.3). He’s thrown 10 interceptions and been sacked 33 times, 6th most in the league. When pressured Allen completes 51.4% of his passes averaging 7.5 yards per pass with 6 TD passes and 7 interceptions for a QB rating of 67.7. Allen’s running ability can be as dangerous as his passing. This season he’s rushed 98 times averaging 5.5 yards per rush with 12 rushing TD’s giving him a total of 37 TD’s in 14 games. The entire Browns team has combined for only 25 TD’s in their 14 games. Allen’s favorite targets are WR’s Khalil Shakir, 62 receptions averaging 10.5 yards per catch with 5 TD’s and Keon Coleman, 36 receptions with 4 TD’s along with TE Dalton Kincaid who’s caught 36 balls averaging 14.5 yards per catch with 5 TD’s. As if Josh Allen wasn’t enough on the Bills offense, they also feature RB James Cook who’s 1,415 rushing yards are 2nd most in the NFL. Cook isn’t real big at 5’11’ 190 lbs. but he’s one of the most durable and elusive running backs in the league with the 2nd most rushing attempts and 4th most missed tackles in the NFL. He has 10 rushing TD’s to go along with 2 receiving TD’s and 8 games with 100 or more yards rushing. His 1,686 combined rushing and receiving yards are 4th in the NFL. Buffalo has an above average offensive line with all 5 linemen grading in the top 50% for their positions according to the stat gurus at Pro Football Focus (PFF). The Browns defense will need to regain their early season form when they dominated offenses before their recent 3 game losing streak if they’re going to contain a Bills offense that scored TD’s on 5 consecutive possessions during their comeback win against the Patriots last week. The Browns offense will have an opportunity to improve their running game against a Bills defense ranked 2nd to last in rushing defense giving up 5.4 yards per rush and 143 yards per game. If the Browns offensive line can protect him, Shedeur Sanders will need to consistently push the ball down the field to open up the line of scrimmage for Quinshon Judkins who currently faces more 8 men in the box defenses than any other running back in the NFL. The Buffalo defensive line features DE’s Joey Bosa and Greg Rousseau who both have 5 sacks and DT DaQuan Jones who has 3 sacks. Their secondary includes S Cole Bishop who has 3 interceptions, CB Christian Benford who has 2 interceptions and 2 TD’s along with former Brown S Jordan Poyer.
GO BROWNS

We are welcoming Browns fans who decided the wind chill wasn’t worth heading to Soldier Field - and we outnumber the rest of the bar (so we’re beating the Bears on that frontt!)!