By most power rankings, Broncos-Bears a battle of the worst

It’s Tuesday. That is power rankings day in the NFL media galaxy.

And after the Dolphins pulverized the Broncos 70-20 on Sunday, there was no chance of the reviews being kind to the orange and blue.

But by and large, the Broncos aren’t the worst team across the board. That dubious distinction belongs to their opponents on Sunday, the Chicago Bears.

It makes sense; the Bears are one of just two teams with a worse point differential than the Broncos’ minus-53. Chicago hasn’t played a one-score game yet; two of the Broncos’ defeats came by a combined three points.

A DETAILED LOOK AT THE WEEK 4 POWER RANKINGS

ESPN: Broncos 31, Bears 32

The Broncos are tied for 27th in the league with a minus-5 turnover margin in just three games. Some of that is because they don’t take the ball away from the opposition often enough (another story for another day), but they’ve lost three fumbles — two by Courtland Sutton in the disastrous 70-20 loss Sunday — to go with two interceptions by quarterback Russell Wilson. But Wilson is not the problem right now. This team is often running substitutions late in the play clock and has had more than their share of drive-stalling penalties on offense, including the pre-snap variety coach Sean Payton had promised to curtail.

NFL.com: Broncos 31, Bears 32

It’s hard to know where to start. Denver has lost games by one, two and 50 points. The talk has now temporarily shifted from the Sean Payton-Russell Wilson relationship to whatever in the world is happening with the defense. In Week 1, that unit played well enough to win. In Week 2, Sam Howell carved Denver up. Week 3 was just an ambush, the likes of which we’ve not seen in many, many years. Would you believe that the Broncos have the sixth-most-expensive defense in the NFL, per Over the Cap? Wilson and the passing game have done some nice things, but not nice enough to overcome that. The defense needs to straighten out fast.

(One quibble, though: The Broncos defense allowed 3.4 points per non-kneeldown possession in Week 1, so, in fact, the defense did not play well enough to win.)

Pro Football Talk: Broncos 31, Bears 32

Fortunately for the Broncos and their fans, weed is legal in Colorado.

USA Today: Broncos 31, Bears 32

QB Russell Wilson is 0-3 for the first time in his NFL career. Denver just became the first team to lose by 50 points in nearly nine years. But they go to Chicago this Sunday with the chance to prove they’re not the worst team in the league.

The Athletic: Bears 31, Broncos 32

The Broncos managed to at least briefly distract from their long-term Russell Wilson problem by giving up 70 points to the Dolphins and stealing last place from the Bears.

The 33rd Team: Broncos 31, Bears 32

Russell Wilson still has room for improvement, but he’s been much better this year. That said, the Denver Broncos gave up 70 points and lost by 50. The Broncos gave up 35 points to Howell and the Commanders the week before. Denver’s normally reliable defense has been a disaster the past two weeks.

Yahoo! Sports: Broncos 31, Bears 32

The Broncos had a good defense last season. They were seventh in the NFL in yards allowed and generally played well. There was no way to predict the disaster the defense has been this season. The Broncos didn’t play well in the first two weeks and then Sunday became the second team in NFL history to allow 700 yards in a game. Defensive coordinator Vance Joseph, who took over from last year’s coordinator Ejiro Evero, can’t be feeling too comfortable.

And finally, one power ranking where the Broncos are not among the bottom two:

CBS Sports: Broncos 30, Bears 32

Wow, 70 points given up in an NFL game? Sean Payton better talk to his players about quitting. That’s what it looked like in the loss to Miami.

Carolina cushions the Broncos from the next-to-last spot. Of course, the Panthers stomped Denver 23-10 last Thanksgiving weekend.

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