Winless War: Broncos At Bears Is What It Looks Like When Hapless Meets Hopeless
If you tune in to this game you like watching car accidents. You're one of those people.
The Denver Broncos travel to Chicago to play the Bears on Sunday as two winless and generally hapless teams hope to find a sliver of optimism for continuing their 2023 NFL seasons.
So this one is a matchup for the ages. The dark ages.
CHICAGO, ILLINOIS - SEPTEMBER 10: Head coach Matt Eberflus of the Chicago Bears reacts against the Green Bay Packers during the second half at Soldier Field on September 10, 2023 in Chicago, Illinois. (Photo by Quinn Harris/Getty Images)
Bears Got Blown Out, Too
This clash of clunkers offers some great storylines. All of them filled with gloom and woe.
The Broncos, you see, are this week trying to pick themselves up from the NFL's worst and most embarrassing defensive showing since the league merged in 1970 -- a 70-20 loss to the Miami Dolphins which set all sorts of records. And none of them good for the Broncos.
The Bears are showing up fresh off their own blowout loss, a 41-10 whipping against the Chiefs in which Chicago trailed 41-0 late in the game.
Yes, a clash of titans this one.
And not to mock (well, maybe to mock a little bit) but both these teams are desperate to escape the clutches of gloom.
MIAMI GARDENS, FLORIDA - SEPTEMBER 24: Head coach Sean Payton of the Denver Broncos looks on during the second half of the game against the Miami Dolphins at Hard Rock Stadium on September 24, 2023 in Miami Gardens, Florida. (Photo by Megan Briggs/Getty Images)
Broncos Desperate For Success
"We need a win," Broncos coach Sean Payton brilliantly noted Wednesday. "...A win would mean a lot for us right now."
A victory for either team is not a chance at any sort of redemption. Both are too far gone for that already based on their 0-3 starts to the season.
But it's a chance to escape their distress. A chance to break from their bleak outlook.
And, yes, it is grim right now for these guys.
Take the Bears. Please.
They are 31st in points allowed while giving up 35.3 points per game. They're answering that terrible defensive showing with only 15.7 points per game on offense, which is 27th in the league. And those statistics only suggest the large and troubling problems the team is having.
CHICAGO, ILLINOIS - SEPTEMBER 10: Justin Fields #1 of the Chicago Bears reacts after fumbling the ball against the Green Bay Packers during the second half at Soldier Field on September 10, 2023 in Chicago, Illinois. (Photo by Quinn Harris/Getty Images)
Justin Fields Has A Chance At Success
Problem No. 1: Quarterback Justin Fields, the franchise's hope before the season began, has been pretty bad. He's completing only 58 percent of his passes. He's thrown more interceptions (4) than touchdowns (3) and his quarterback rating of 67.7 is tied for fourth-worst in the NFL.
This is a player who was supposed to blossom in his third NFL season after an encouraging 2022.
"I just know all the adversity I go through is going to make me stronger as a person and as a player,” Fields said Wednesday. "So just got to look at the bright side of things and think of yourself as going through adversity for a reason, so that’s what I’ve been doing."
The bright side is Fields has previously been an outstanding running quarterback, having rushed for 1,143 yards last season. And this game offers him a chance to play a Denver team that gave up 350 rushing yards to the Dolphins.
The Broncos are the NFL's worst rush defense, yielding 177.7 yards per game.
So Chicago's quarterback could conceivable have an, excuse me here, field day running the football.
MIAMI GARDENS, FLORIDA - SEPTEMBER 24: Emmanuel Ogbah #91 of the Miami Dolphins sacks Russell Wilson #3 of the Denver Broncos during the second half of the game at Hard Rock Stadium on September 24, 2023 in Miami Gardens, Florida. (Photo by Megan Briggs/Getty Images)
Broncos Face Terrible Bears Defense
But that probably won't help the Bears defense much. The Bears spent tons of resources to upgrade the defense in the offseason and the front seven is intact and healthy. But that unit comes to Sunday's game with only one sack and 26 missed tackle.
That and Chicago's third-down conversion rate rank worst in the NFL.
Maybe that's the reason the Broncos are actually favored over the Bears. Well, that and the fact the Bears have lost 13 consecutive games dating back to last season.
So this one will unmask people.
The Broncos defense has been, ahem, struggling. Did I mention last week the unit yielded 70 points in a display that merited coaches getting fired and players getting released? That didn't happen but that didn't soothe the embarrassment.
When Payton spoke with reporters on Wednesday, signaling the start of a new week and new outlook, the best thing the coach could say about the butt whipping in his rear view mirror is that no one died.
"No one passed away," Payton said while discussing texts from friends and family meant to support him amid the current crisis.
MIAMI GARDENS, FL - SEPTEMBER 24: Miami Dolphins quarterback Tua Tagovailoa (1) leads a dance line to celebrates a touchdown in the first half during the game between the Denver Broncos and the Miami Dolphins on Sunday, September 24, 2023 at Hard Rock Stadium, Miami, Fla. (Photo by Peter Joneleit/Icon Sportswire via Getty Images)
Broncos See Sunday As 'Fresh Slate'
No one passed but someone should have been fired or gotten released. Somebody should answered for a defensive performance in which the Dolphins college yards -- all 726 of them -- as if by multiplication.
And if that sounds bad consider that the Denver defense really seemed to stop trying late in the game. There was one running play in which no less than five Broncos defenders found themselves blocked to the ground. And none was making any urgent effort to get up.
Despite all that, the outlook is a bit brighter in Denver this week. Remember, they're playing the Bears.
“Sunday is a fresh slate," safety Justin Simmons said.
"To come in here and hang your head three games into the season is crazy to me,” Broncos offensive lineman Mike McGlinchey said. “We’re trying to figure this thing out ... But to come in and act like the sky is falling or the season is over after three weeks is absolutely insane."