Sunday | 1:00 ET
This may be the most pathetic matchup of the season. The 0-3 Denver Broncos will visit the 0-3 Chicago Bears in Soldier Field on Sunday, in a gut-check game for both teams. The winner will be able to brag they they at least aren’t the worst team in the NFL, while the loser will reach the lowest of lows (although they will be in prime position to draft Caleb Williams). The fact that the Bears are 3.5 point underdogs at home to a team that just gave up 70 points is a stark reminder of the spot that the franchise is at right now. Vegas has absolutely no faith in the Bears, and why should they? The players are speaking out against coaching strategies, the quarterback can’t see wide open receivers, there are four DBs missing the game due to injury, the defense can’t force any type of pressure, and the team literally has no defensive coordinator. Need I add that they haven’t won since a football game October 24, 2022. Both teams are desperate for a victory.
It will be interesting to see how many points are scored in this game. Both defenses are horrible, but offenses have tremendous issues as well. The Broncos are 32nd in overall defensive PFF grade. If Luke Getsy and Justin Fields can’t get it together this week, then it really may be time to move on. Mike McDaniel just put up 70 on the Denver defense. They are certainly a susceptible unit. The Bears need to establish the running game. It’s what they did best last season, but they haven’t been hammering the run game this season like they should be. Miami was able to rush for over 300 yards against them last week. Either Roschon Johnson or Khalil Herbert need to have a big game. I don’t expect DJ Moore to do too much, as he will face a top-three cornerback in Pat Surtain II. However, Justin Fields needs to find his other weapons and put together a real stat line on Sunday. If the offense doesn’t click this week, I don’t know if they ever will.
The Chicago defense, though not graded as badly, is not much more impressive than Denver’s. Russell Wilson has bounced back this season, and will probably be able to exploit the weak unit. He has many weapons to work with. Rookie WR Marvin Mims has been a big play machine through three games, and is bound to catch a long touchdown on Sunday agains a banged-up secondary. Eddie Jackson and Jaylon Johnson’s injuries are both massive blows to what was the strength of the Chicago defense. Their secondary won’t be able to cover for long, and the pass rush is nonexistent. If Russ doesn’t put up at least a few touchdowns, he should hang em’ up.
With both defenses being as pathetic as they are, this matchup comes down to the offenses. Who’s do you trust more to take advantage of a terrible defense? Justin Fields and Matt Eberflus, or 2013 Super Bowl Champion QB Russell Wilson and 2009 Super Bowl Champion head coach Sean Payton. It’s tough to bet against the Broncos.