Bears’ offense smothered in 20-17 loss to Browns

CLEVELAND — The Bears didn’t lose Sunday because receiver Darnell Mooney failed to wrangle a tipped Hail Mary pass as his backside fell into the soggy turf.

‘‘It shouldn’t have to come down to those things,’’ Mooney said.

Rather, the Bears lost 20-17 to the Browns because their offense wasn’t something their defense could be proud of.

The Bears’ offense managed one touchdown drive. It was one yard long and amazingly required eight snaps. It produced 10 points — the Bears’ other touchdown came on a 45-yard interception return by linebacker Tremaine Edmunds in the third quarter — and averaged 3.4 yards per play.

The Bears’ defense intercepted three passes, becoming the fourth team since 2020 to post at least two in four consecutive games.

But the offense reverted to a familiar place: stuck in the mud. In the Bears’ last three games against teams not named the Lions, their offense has scored two touchdowns and eight field goals on 36 drives.

Against the Browns, the Bears went three-and-out on eight their 15 possessions.

At the center of it was quarterback Justin Fields, who went 19-for-40 for 166 yards and a 46.5 passer rating. Both his interceptions were on Hail Mary passes at the end of each half. It was his worst output since the debacle against the Chiefs in Week 3.

‘‘Defense did their job,’’ said Fields, who also had seven carries for 30 yards. ‘‘They gave us the opportunity to win by flying numbers. But as an offense, we didn’t get the job done. . . . We have to be better, and I have to be better.’’

Both are running out of time. It was impossible to watch the offense and think it’s headed the right way, even if Mooney argued otherwise. The Bears could pick first overall if the Panthers, who owe them their first-round pick next spring, keep losing.

‘‘Justin is the quarterback of the future; he’s the franchise quarterback,’’ Mooney insisted. ‘‘He’s been balling. I don’t understand why there’s any more questions about that. Obviously, we have the first pick because of Carolina right now. Justin’s a dog. If he’s not here, he’ll be somewhere else balling. I’m not the guy to make those decisions. Justin’s a dog. So wherever he’ll be — if he’s not here, somewhere else — he’ll still gonna ball.’’

It was the wrong day to make that case.

Fields’ final heave came after the Bears blew a 10-point lead in the fourth quarter. On the first play of the fourth, offensive coordinator Luke Getsy ran Fields around right end on fourth-and-one. He was tripped by cornerback Cameron Mitchell and fell short. The Browns marched for a 33-yard field goal to pull to 17-10.

On third-and-one on the Bears’ next drive, Getsy tried a jet sweep to rookie receiver Tyler Scott, who was stuffed for a loss. After the Bears punted, Browns quarterback Joe Flacco found receiver Amari Cooper on a crossing route with 3:17 left. He turned up the right sideline and ran in for a 51-yard touchdown to tie the score.

The response from the Bears’ offense? A handoff that lost five yards, an incomplete pass and a three-yard checkdown.

The Bears punted again, and the Browns drove for the tiebreaking field goal, a 34-yarder by Dustin Hopkins with 36 seconds left. The key play in that drive came when Flacco caught Bears coach Matt Eberflus in a third-and-15 blitz and threw to tight end David Njoku for 34 yards with 46 seconds left.

A Bears offense that had gained 18 yards on 13 plays to that point in the fourth quarter put up one last gasp. The team passed midfield when Scott tiptoed up the right sideline for a 30-yard gain, but Fields ended up having to heave a Hail Mary from the Browns’ 45 as the clock expired.

‘‘We’ve just got to do a good job of putting drives together in the fourth quarter on offense,’’ Eberflus said. ‘‘We’ve got to have sustained drives there to get in scoring position. We’re always behind.’’