Can Bears beat Broncos?
The Chicago Bears looked like one of the worst teams in the National Football League when they were sitting at 0-3, but times have changed. Chicago is now 4-5 and on the fringe of the playoff race in the NFC, sitting two games behind both the Green Bay Packers and Atlanta Falcons in the wild card.
Chicago has a huge chance to make some noise on Sunday afternoon, returning from a two-game road trip to take on the Denver Broncos. Typically, the Broncos would be overwhelming favorites, but this is a team in massive flux. Denver is giving Brock Osweiler a start at quarterback over the injured Peyton Manning, who is coming off a game in which he completed 5-of-20 passes for 35 yards and four interceptions in a 29-13 loss to the Kansas City Chiefs.
The Bears will be getting Osweiler in his first start in the NFL. Drafted out of Arizona State University four years ago in the second round, it stands to reason that this is a crapshoot. Osweiler has been anything but proven at this point, becoming somewhat of a rusty hinge on the bench.
Osweiler could be something spectacular, but the odds are that he plays poorly. Most quarterbacks drafted outside of the first round are not franchise guys, save the rare exception such as Tom Brady or Tony Romo. Osweiler has been sitting behind Manning but doesn’t have the advantage of being in a system for years, just now trying to grasp the rollout-heavy playbook of head coach Gary Kubiak.
The Bears don’t have a great defense by any measure, but it is an attacking defense led by distinguished defensive coordinator Vic Fangio. Chicago will likely be trying to disguise coverages and bring blitzes from multiple angles, hoping to confuse a quarterback with very little experience. Playing in the second half against Kansas City last week, Osweiler threw an interception and looked hesitant even with open receivers.
The other question is can the Bears score against Denver? The Wednesday injury report shows us that DeMarcus Ware did not practice and it appears he will be out for Sunday. With Ware out of the picture, the Broncos still have ample firepower in the form of Von Miller but do lose their most productive pass-rusher. The rest of the unit should be healthy, and it is a great group.
If the Bears can scheme ways to score some points – namely off turnovers and short fields – they would be in great shape. Denver can’t score, so 20 points would more than likely do the trick.
With a win, the Bears would be in great shape to at least compete for a playoff spot into December. So far, folks in the Windy City have to be thrilled with first-year head coach John Fox and the job he has done.
