4 matchups to watch as the Chicago Bears host the Denver Broncos in Week 4

Soldier Field will be the site of a meeting between 0-3 teams on Sunday as the Broncos visit the Bears. Both teams were embarrassed last week on the road, but what matchups will determine which team can secure their first win? Let's take a look.

Chicago Bears, Roschon Johnson, Justin Fields
Chicago Bears, Roschon Johnson, Justin Fields | Michael Reaves/GettyImages
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Chicago Bears, Caleb Williams
Chicago Bears, Caleb Williams | Christian Petersen/GettyImages

The Bears 2023 season vs. the 2024 NFL Draft

I can't believe we're talking about this in Week 4, but there's no overstating how bad the Bears have looked. Thanks to last offseason's trade with the Carolina Panthers, the Bears have two selections in the 2024 draft, and with Carolina also at 0-3, many Bears fans are already turning their attention to the possibility of pushing the reset button on the entire franchise with a haul like USC quarterback Caleb Williams and Ohio State receiver Marvin Harrison, Jr.

Bears fans bit the bullet last year and got on board with the tank, but that didn't occur until late in the season when all hope was already lost. 0-3 is not where any team wants to be, but with a 17-game season and no team in the NFC North undefeated, it isn't the death knell that it used to be. Lose to the hapless Broncos, though, and the tank talk will be hard to ignore, and the pitchforks and torches that are aimed at Matt Eberflus and his staff will only multiply.

The Bears have lost 13 straight games dating back to last season. There's only so much that fans can take, and signing up for another season from hell, even if someone like Williams is waiting at the end (and though reports have come out that he could be willing to return to school rather than be drafted by a bad team, I can't see a scenario where he snubs the Bears), is going to be a tough sell, especially when there's no trust between the fanbase and the leadership of the team. Win on Sunday and that talk will subside, at least for a bit.

We're not very far from the Bears reaching historic levels of ineptitude once reserved for the Lions and Browns. This city, these players, and these fans badly need a win. The Broncos lost by 50 last week. If not now, when?

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