3 Keys to a Broncos Victory Over Bears

How can the Denver Broncos notch their first win of the season?

Welp, here we are again, stuck in a pathetic and all too familiar rut as the Denver Broncos continue the search for their first victory in Week 4 of the 2023 season.

Not only did Denver get humiliated in Miami to the tune of 70-20, but the Dolphins set 13 team records on Sunday and scored the most points in an NFL game since 1966. Denver's most recent loss spells arguably the worst defeat in franchise history, depending on the margin of victory or overall product that spelled 24 missed tackles on defense, in addition to the team being outscored 102-32 over the last six quarters of football.

On Sunday, the Broncos wrap up their second consecutive road game in the Windy City, as they’ll square off against the 0-3 Chicago Bears at Soldier Field. Chicago is reeling from a 41-10 beatdown of their own at the hands of the Kansas City Chiefs and has recently endured distracting headlines from their former defensive coordinator Alan Williams resigning amid reports of inappropriate activity.

Some have already deemed this the Caleb Williams Bowl, as the Broncos and Bears compete for the right to draft the presumed No. 1 overall pick. Others have suggested less-than-appealing names for this game as these two bottom-feeder teams battle for their first win.

Usually, this is where I describe the Broncos’ best chances to beat their opponent, but this team desperately needs to earn back the respect of its fan base. Here's how the Broncos can right some of their most recent wrongs against the Bears.

Maneuver Mims as WR1

Broncos rookie wide receiver Marvin Mims Jr. might have been one of the only players on the team roster who didn’t quit or give up in live game-action against the Dolphins last week. The second-rounder out of Oklahoma caught three passes for 73 yards and posted a 99-yard kick return for a touchdown as his team was buried 63-20 late in the fourth quarter.

In three games, Mims leads the team with 195 receiving yards despite being tied for the fourth-most number of targets on Denver’s offense. He’s currently the 24th leading receiver in the NFL for yards with just nine targets all season. 

Explosive plays are described as any pass that gains 20 yards or more or any rush that gains 10-plus yards, and the Broncos have only logged six total explosive plays in three games. Mims accounts for five of them.

It’s no stretch to say that Mims has outperformed the highest-paid receiver room in the league, including his teammates Jerry Jeudy and team captain Courtland Sutton. The 5-foot-11, 177-pound Mims will face a Bears defense whose 8.7 passing yards per attempt ranks second-worst in the NFL (only behind the Broncos at 9.0). 

Chicago is also the fourth-worst team with seven total passing touchdowns allowed, which could point to Mims being priority No. 1 for Sean Payton and Russell Wilson this Sunday.

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Commit to the Williams Ground & Pound

I’m not quite sure why the Broncos rushed Javonte Williams back from his 2022 season-ending knee injury, if they don’t plan on utilizing him in Payton’s offense.

In three games, the third-year running back from North Carolina has logged 36 rushes for 138 yards, averaging 3.8 yards per carry, and has caught eight passes for 42 yards and a touchdown. You’d think that the former Angry Runs star, who has earned a bruising reputation for his aggressive running style, would’ve scored a rushing touchdown by now, especially if running the football is truly as important as Payton has proclaimed.

But the fact of the matter is that Williams hasn’t scored a rushing touchdown since Week 16 of the 2021 season. Heck, ‘Pookie’ hasn’t rushed for 100 yards since Week 13 of that same year which was also his rookie season in a 22-9 loss to the Chiefs. The Broncos just haven’t committed to running the football with one of the league’s most dynamic ball carriers, no matter the coaching staff or the offensive line.

When the Broncos allowed Williams to carry the ball for his career-high 17 attempts against the Dallas Cowboys back in 2021, he logged 111 rushing yards, averaged 6.5 yards per carry, and the Broncos won, 30-16.

This ho-hum nature of calling run plays with the hope of them setting up a dynamic passing play is costing the Broncos big time. It may not be flashy or fun, but running the football controls the clock and keeps the opposing offense off the field.

Let’s be honest; Denver's defense needs all the help it can get, and this week, that should start with Payton handing the offensive workload to Williams.

Defense Must Thump Fields

Broncos Country will always utter the proverbial ‘what if’ when it comes to Fields, as the Ohio State QB was on the 2021 draft board when Broncos GM George Paton selected Patrick Surtain II instead. Surtain has earned All-Pro and Pro-Bowl honors, while Fields has struggled to settle into his role as QB1 with the Bears.

The former No. 11 overall pick has approximately 30 starts and has struggled to complete 60% of his throws in addition to averaging more than a fumble per game as well as a TD-to-INT ratio of 27-to-25. In three games this season, he’s thrown for 526 yards, three touchdowns, and four interceptions while averaging six yards per attempt, while being sacked 13 times. 

As a ball carrier, Fields has logged 24 rushes for 109 yards and a score, with three fumbles. Whatever the reason, the Bears' starting QB can’t seem to shake his sporadic and unpoised style of play thus far.

The Broncos failed at everything on Sunday against the Dolphins, including failing to sack QB Tua Tagovailoa. This marked the second game in three weeks that Broncos defensive coordinator Vance Joseph’s pass rushers failed to record a single sack, which is as unacceptable as relinquishing 70 points.

Fields took a blow to the head against the Chiefs last Sunday and was sidelined for medical evaluation before returning to the game in the final minutes of the 41-10 loss. Since coming into the NFL, he has sustained multiple injuries that include the groin, ribs, shoulder, and hip. 

The Broncos would be wise to bruise and batter the 24-year-old scrambler, which could tip the already volatile relationship between Fields and the Bears to a new breaking point. Frustration, losing, and pain tend to do that, as Broncos Country knows well by now.

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