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Before going through their final preparations for the regular season opener on September 12th at Raymond James Stadium against the Tampa Bay Buccaneers, the Browns must meet a familiar foe in the Chicago Bears Thursday night at Cleveland Browns Stadium.

It is the final game of the preseason for both teams and marks the seventh straight year in which the Browns (1-2) and Bears (0-3) have ended the exhibition schedule against one another.

The Browns are 16-9 and 8-2 in true home games against the Bears during the preseason. They are 7-5 on the road and 1-2 in neutral site match-ups. The Browns and Bears have previously met in Akron, South Bend, Indiana and in the 1990 Pro Football Hall of Fame Game in Canton, Ohio.

In last year’s 26-23 preseason loss to the Bears in Chicago, Browns running back Chris Jennings led the team in rushing and was one of the top receivers. Jennings gained 59 yards on the ground and another 42 on six receptions.

Defensively, Brian Schaefering gave a solid effort and was second on the team in total tackles. Schaefering also paced the Browns with two quarterback sacks. On special teams, Phil Dawson remained sharp by kicking three field goals, the longest of which was a 50-yarder in the second quarter.

The Browns struggled with penalties against the Bears, committing eight infractions for 76 yards, while Chicago drew five flags worth a total of 25 yards.

With it being the fourth preseason game, the Browns will give quarterbacks Jake Delhomme, Seneca Wallace and other starters more rest and leave the game in the hands of the younger players. Even though they have started in the previous preseason games, first-year players, including safety T.J. Ward, cornerback Joe Haden and offensive lineman Shawn Lauvao, will line up across from the Bears.

“It’s important for them to get time,” said Coach Eric Mangini. “They’ve really had a limited exposure to the league and to what we’re doing so this is an opportunity for them to get some more experience. I think that is always a valuable thing. Then, there’s some guys that have a chance to make a push one way or the other and also it’s tape for them should they not make it here for other people to evaluate and say, ‘Okay this guy looks like someone we might want on our practice squad or someone we might want to have on our 53 (-man roster).’”

Quarterback Colt McCoy is another rookie expected to see extended time against the Bears. He and Brett Ratliff will split the snaps after the announcement that Delhomme and Wallace will not play in the preseason finale.

In three games this preseason, McCoy has completed 15-of-26 passes for 101 yards with two interceptions. While McCoy has been sacked three times, he has completed nearly 58 percent of his attempts.

Ratliff, a fourth-year professional, is 8-of-19 for 61 yards in 2010. Though he has not thrown a touchdown, Ratliff led the Browns on a game-winning drive in the opener at Green Bay.

The Browns come into the Bears game at 1-2 after a 35-27 loss to the Detroit Lions at Ford Field last Saturday. They won the time of possession, third down conversion and total yardage battles, but three fumbles that turned into 21 Lions points doomed the Browns.

The Bears are 0-3 following a 14-9 home loss to the Arizona Cardinals. Though starting quarterback Jay Cutler struggled, completing just 10-of-20 passes for 129 yards with two interceptions, back-up Dan LeFevour went 10-of-12 for 100 yards and one touchdown.

Fans can watch Thursday's game at 8:00pm ET on local NBC affiliate WKYC-TV 3. Jim Donovan (play-by-play) and Bernie Kosar (color analyst) will provide the coverage.

The game is also available along the Browns Radio Network with Mike Snyder, Doug Dieken and Jamir Howerton on the call. The Countdown to Kickoff pregame show hosted by Bob Frantz and Mike Pagel begins at 6:30pm. The game will be streamed live on WMMS.com, the website for the Browns Radio Network’s flagship station, 100.7 FM/WMMS.