Breaking down NFL weather for Bears vs. Browns in Week 15, and what it means for fantasy and betting

The 9-4 Chicago Bears welcome the 3-10 Cleveland Browns to bitterly cold Soldier Field this Sunday. The Bears are big favorites at 7.5-points. The Bears loss to the Packers last week knocked them way down the playoff list from the No. 1 seed to the No. 7 seed. Of course, there are five games remaining, so just about anything can happen in a season where parity reigns supreme.

Like any team in the playoff hunt, every game is a must win game at this point in the season. The Browns are a team they should beat at home, but the weather is going to put up some barriers for both teams this Sunday. We’ll take a look at the forecast and how the weather might impact the game.

Bears vs. Browns weather updates from Chicago

The Chicago lakefront will be brutally cold on Sunday with a high of 14 for the day. With the game starting at noon local time, the temperature will likely be lower than that but we can expect low teens for a high during the game. The wind is always tough to gauge, especially pinpointing its impact on the field for three hours, but it does look like it will be 10-15 mph with gusts into the 20s. Those winds will push the feels-like temperature down below zero with ease.

What it means for fantasy football, betting

Strong sustained winds above 20 mph are the true bane for passing games, but extreme cold can also slow things down in the scoring department. The Bears have a good run blocking offensive line and they will hope to get running backs D’Andre Swift and rookie Kyle Monangai going, while the Browns will look to get rookie RB Quinshon Judkins going in the brutal cold.

The over/under on this game is currently set at 38.5 points after starting out at 40.5 — tying it with the lowest over/under of the week. Browns rookie QB Shedeur Sanders helped the Browns to 31 total points last week against the Bills, which tied for the most points the Browns have scored all season, giving some hope the offense can be more productive with him behind center.

Overall, the cold should put a bit of a damper on scoring, but not enough to completely get away from these players in fantasy, especially the running backs.