Can Matt Eberflus rally Chicago Bears against winless Denver Broncos?

LAKE FOREST – It’s a new week. The crises that derailed last week for the Bears are behind them, but the challenges on the football field aren’t going away.

The beauty of the NFL is that a new opponent is always right around the corner. The Bears have a new opportunity, and this week it’s the winless Denver Broncos. It will be a battle between two 0-3 football teams Sunday at Soldier Field.

That could be viewed as an opportunity. It can also be viewed as a must-win game. Whoever falls to 0-4 is essentially toast in terms of playoff hopes, although one could argue both teams already are.

Bears head coach Matt Eberflus said he met with the team’s leadership council, which consists of more than a dozen players, Wednesday to talk about how they can put this season back on track.

“It’s about the fight – to get this thing turned around and the determination and the fight you need to have as an individual person, as an individual, position group and a unit,” Eberflus said. “The guys were determined there, and I feel real good about the look in their eye.”

As of Wednesday, the Bears do not plan on appointing a new defensive coordinator. Eberflus will continue to call plays for the defense. He has done so the past two games since former defensive coordinator Alan Williams left the team because of personal reasons. Williams submitted his resignation last week, and ESPN reported it was related to inappropriate conduct at work.

Eberflus indicated the team has discussed promoting a defensive coordinator, but no changes to the coaching staff have been made.

“We’re looking at it,” Eberflus said. “We’ve discussed it. Where we sit right now, this is the best thing for us. The reason is because I’m the defensive coordinator, where I came from, and it’s a natural fit for us to do that right now.”

Before coaching the Bears, Eberflus was the defensive coordinator with the Indianapolis Colts for four years.

Eberflus’ abilities as a head coach are going to be tested more than ever over these next few weeks. The Bears are underdogs, according to sportsbooks, against a winless Broncos team that just gave up 70 points against Miami. After that, the Bears face another team that was beat badly last week, the Washington Commanders, followed by the Minnesota Vikings in Week 6.

The Bears have to pick up a win or two during this stretch. At the very least, things have to start to look much better than they do right now. Whether they win or lose, Eberflus’ team needs to make noticeable progress.

The Bears have lost 13 consecutive games dating to last season. That is clearly weighing on this team.

“A lot of times what happens is, with human nature, is you make excuses,” Eberflus said. “You blame this, you blame that, you blame injury, you blame circumstance, you blame all these things. You can’t do that. You’ve got to own up to what you’ve done. The circumstance is the circumstance.”

“A lot of times what happens is, with human nature, is you make excuses. You blame this, you blame that, you blame injury, you blame circumstance, you blame all these things. You can’t do that. You’ve got to own up to what you’ve done. The circumstance is the circumstance.”

—  Matt Eberflus, Bears head coach

Quarterback Justin Fields kept his comments brief Wednesday, a week after expressing his concerns about his own play and the offensive scheme. Asked if he felt like he played more free and less robotic – a criticism he made a week ago of his own play – Fields replied with a simple, “Yes, I did.”

But the numbers indicate continued struggles. Fields went 11-for-22 passing last week for 99 yards with one touchdown and one interception against Kansas City.

The Broncos allowed 726 yards against the Dolphins last week, including 376 passing yards. If the Bears can’t score against this defense, there’s a major problem.

Fields knows the Bears are in for a dogfight this weekend at Soldier Field.

“That’s ultimately what it’s going to come down to: Who’s going to execute more?” Fields said. “We’re both 0-3. We’re both wanting that first win of the season, so it’s going to be scrappy, and it’s going to come down to who executes more, situationally who has more takeaways.”