The Cleveland Browns lost their final game of the preseason to the Chicago Bears by a final score of 28-20. With starting quarterback Brandon Weeden and many other starters having the night off, Colt McCoy made the start and had the opportunity to shine.
Unfortunately, the offense was very stagnant during his three drives in the first quarter. One of those drives ended in an interception when McCoy tried to force a third-down pass to Jordan Norwood amidst several defenders. On the very next play, Bears quarterback Josh McCown capitalized and connected with wide receiver Dane Sanzenbacher on a 30-yard touchdown pass. There was great coverage by cornerback Trevin Wade on the play, but Sanzenbacher made a great one-handed catch as he was falling down, giving Chicago a 7-0 lead.
RELATED: Check out our final 53-man roster projection (updated after the team's loss to the Bears)
Seneca Wallace came in during the second quarter to replace McCoy. After his first drive stalled, the Bears got the ball back and, with the assistance of a pass interference call, put another touchdown on the board to go up 14-0. Then, just like magic, the Browns started clicking on Wallace's second drive. On first down, he hit Joshua Cribbs for 16 yards. On the next play, Wallace scrambled for 20 yards. The next four plays featured a surge from Brandon Jackson, who carried the ball for gains of 12, 10, 6, and 8 yards. Two plays later, Wallace connected with wide receiver Rod Windsor on a two-yard touchdown pass to bring the Browns to within 14-7 heading into the second half.
It looked like things would be bright for the Browns in the second half when CB Tashaun Gipson intercepted a pass, leading to a Phil Dawson field goal to make it 14-10. That's when the Browns started to run into a couple of costly mistakes. WR Josh Gordon did another poor job on a comeback route, and Cleveland paid the price. After a double deflection, a Bears defender intercepted the pass and took it 15 yards for a touchdown. On Cleveland's next series, Reggie Hodges had another punt blocked after WR Rod Windsor was pushed back by his man. The loose ball was taken into the end zone for another Bears touchdown. Suddenly, it was a 28-10 lead for the Bears.
The Browns made things interesting in the fourth quarter. After running into his own blocker, RB Adonis Thomas bounced back to the right sideline where there was nothing but green. He gained 64 yards before being taken down from behind. A few plays later, he leaped into the end zone for a 1-yard touchdown, making it 28-17. One more Dawson field goal made it 28-20, but time ran out before the Browns could get the ball back again.
Final cuts are due by 9:00 PM EST on Friday, but they could come at any time. Here is the final version of our 53-man roster projection, as well as a few notes on how some of the bubble players did in this game.