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Hoge's Bears Things: Predicting a winner between two 0-3 teams

September 29, 2023

Good morning, Bears fans.

The Bears are about to play two games in five days and this seems like a crucial stretch for head coach Matt Eberflus.

Perhaps this will be the swing the Bears need to get the rebuild back on track. Two wins in five days would go a long way. Or it could just be two more losses leading into a mini-bye that might feel like months.

Unlike last week, when the Bears faced the defending Super Bowl champions in the midst of chaos, this time they face a team that gave up 70 points against the Miami Dolphins.

Seems like a “get right” game … right?

On the other hand, the Bears are definitely not the Dolphins, and the Broncos are sitting in Denver having similar thoughts — “Hey, at least we’re facing the only team that might be worse than us.”

And here’s the thing: The Broncos’ offense isn’t terrible. Russell Wilson has actually been pretty good through three weeks. If the Bears continue to fail at getting to the quarterback and/or can’t force turnovers, the Broncos should have plenty of offensive success at Soldier Field.

Meanwhile — theoretically — the Bears should also be able to have offensive success against the Broncos. But their offense is in a much different place, ranking 31st in offensive DVOA through three weeks (the Broncos are 14th). If I were Luke Getsy, I would put Justin Fields’ “development” on hold for a week, commit to the run and do everything I can to squeak out even the ugliest of wins. No one needs a win more than the Bears do right now.

Unfortunately, I don’t have much trust that that is going to happen. Neither of these teams is very good right now, but the Broncos have the better offense and that will be the difference.

My prediction: Broncos 24, Bears 20.

Up Next: Win or lose, we’re going to have a great tailgate Sunday morning. Even if you’re not going to the game, you can (and should) come out and join us at Cermak and Wabash. In the meantime, Will DeWitt and Nicholas Moreano will have you covered with a full preview episode of The CHGO Bears Podcast today at Noon CT. Sunday, our pregame coverage starts at 11 a.m. CT with postgame immediately following the game.