After back-to-back road games against the Philadelphia Eagles and Green Bay Packers, the Chicago Bears face another top-flight defense this weekend when the Cleveland Browns come to town.
Chicago has built its 9-4 record this season on the back of the NFL’s No. 2 rush attack, fueled by a much-improved offensive line, the running back tandem of seventh-round rookie Kyle Monangai and D’Andre Swift, and the elite run-game designs of first-year head coach Ben Johnson.
But the Bears will also need to move the football through the air on Sunday at Soldier Field if they hope to get to 10 wins on the season before a rematch with the Packers on December 20 that could ultimately decide the winner of NFC North Division. To do so, Chicago will need wide receiver Rome Odunze, who returned to practice Thursday for the first time in a couple of weeks.
“Odunze, who played against the Eagles but then was shut down because of a stress fracture in his foot, missed Sunday’s rivalry game against the Packers,” Patrick Finley of the Chicago Sun Times reported. “He was … a limited participant Wednesday in an estimated injury report, when the Bears held a walk-through rather than a practice.”
“[Odunze] was technically a limited participant Thursday, but the activity makes him at least a candidate to play Sunday against the Browns,” Finley continued.
Rome Odunze Leads Bears in All Major Receiving Statistics This Season
GettyChicago Bears wide receiver Rome Odunze.
Odunze, a second-year pro out of Washington and the No. 9 overall pick in 2024, leads Chicago in every major statistical category for receiving.
He has 44 catches on 90 targets for 661 yards (15.0 yards per reception) and six touchdowns. His chemistry with quarterback Caleb Williams is the best of any pass-catcher on the team, which shows up across the stat sheet week-in and week-out.
The Browns defense is first against the pass and 13th against the run through 14 weeks, with the league’s No. 2 defense in terms of total yardage surrendered per game. The way Cleveland attacks opposing offenses makes Odunze’s presence all that more critical for what will literally be a freezing game in Chicago on Sunday, with wind chill potentially dropping the temperature to 20-below zero at kickoff.
Last week in Green Bay was the first game Odunze has missed in his professional career.
DJ Moore Had Terrible Game Against Packers in Rome Odunze’s Absence
GettyWide receiver DJ Moore of the Chicago Bears.
With Odunze out against the Packers, wideout DJ Moore figured to be a focal point of the offense. However, the opposite proved true.
Moore finished the afternoon with just one catch for -4 yards. Williams went 19-of-35 on the day for 186 yards passing, two touchdowns and an interception in the end zone on Chicago’s final offensive play with less than 30 seconds remaining and down by just a touchdown.
Moore was visibly annoyed on the sideline in the wake of the contest and has dealt with frustrations for much of the season, as he projects to finish with career worst totals in receptions and yardage in 2025.
Odunze’s presence Sunday against the Browns is even more important if Moore and Williams continue struggling to get on the same page.
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