The comeback was fun, but the Broncos still look like a 5-12 team

The Denver Broncos won a game.

It only took until October.

The thrilling comeback against the Chicago Bears was fun, but did it really change anyone’s mind about where this team is headed? They were down 28-7 to a group that might only win two or three games. The Bears are bad. You know that, I know that, and Sean Payton knows that. He said as much in his postgame press conference.

“We’re going to play a lot better teams on our schedule, and no disrespect to Chicago and Matt (Eberflus), what they’re trying to do,” Payton told reporters.

Darn right the Broncos are going to play tougher opponents. But, for now, they’ve temporarily saved their season.

How did the comeback go down and what were the biggest takeaways? Let’s dive into it with our fourth edition of the Good, the Bad and the Ugly of 2023.

The Good

It would’ve been easy in the third quarter to pack things in and go home. Down by 21 points, social media was ablaze with talk of star USC QB Caleb Williams in a Broncos uniform next year. Had Denver lost, they would’ve been in the driver’s seat for the No. 1 overall pick in the NFL Draft come April.

However, that didn’t happen. Russell Wilson threw touchdown passes to Brandon Johnson and Courtland Sutton, and then Vance Joseph’s defense finally showed up to the party. Nik Bonitto sacked Justin Fields and knocked the football out, freeing up Jonathon Cooper for a scoop and score.

That tied things at 28, and a key fourth-down stop followed by a long Wil Lutz field goal was enough to get the victory. For good measure, Joseph’s defense made one more play, with Kareem Jackson intercepting Fields to essentially end the game.

No one likes giving up four touchdowns to the Bears, but the defense did make several notable plays down the stretch. That was good. And Wilson hasn’t been the problem at all this year. He added to his already solid stats with three more TD passes and only took one sack. Jaleel McLaughlin also looks to be a potential star, averaging 10.3 yards per carry and scoring a nifty touchdown.

There was actually a lot to like in Chicago, but unfortunately, a lot not to like as well.

The Bad

Was that Fields or Patrick Mahomes out there for the Bears?

The QB, who had struggled mightily in his first three games, didn’t have an incompletion in the first half until a Hail Mary at the buzzer. His next one didn’t happen until the fourth quarter. Fields threw four touchdown passes, a career high.

The Denver defense looked like Swiss cheese until the switch was flipped in the final few minutes. Khalil Herbert went for 103 yards on the ground and wideout DJ Moore went for 131 yards through the air and a score. They met all the milestones, with a 100-plus yard rusher, 100-plus yard wideout and a 300-plus yard passer. The Broncos defense has given up 133 points over the last three games.

Yes, Denver definitely missed Justin Simmons, Josey Jewell and Frank Clark, but injuries happen to every team. That can’t be something they use as an excuse, and to be fair, it’s not like anyone inside team headquarters has pulled that card.

They have to get better in a hurry, but it’s unclear if Joseph is the guy to do that. Right now, effort looks like an issue at times. And for that to be happening less than a month into a season is concerning. Speaking of…

The Ugly

Edge-rusher Randy Gregory was benched to start the game, and his displeasure with the decision seemed apparent at times. Gregory took some plays off, where it looked like he wanted to be anywhere else than Solider Field. GM George Paton gave him a five-year, $70 million deal last offseason, something he certainly hasn’t lived up to.

Good on Payton for playing the younger and hungrier guys like Bonitto and Cooper, but that’s just a massive amount of money to have on the books for a guy who looks disinterested. The Broncos would be lucky to find a trade partner to take on Gregory’s huge contract, not even asking for hardly anything in return. It would simply be nice to move on.

And cornerback Pat Surtain II has been fine this year, but he doesn’t look like the best corner in football. While he wasn’t on Moore the entire game, it was the second straight year the receiver got the best of him. Surtain also gave up a long touchdown last week to the Dolphins. The Broncos need him to play like he’s capable of.

Finally, Denver needs more out of Zach Allen. He got a huge deal this past spring, and hasn’t popped off the screen at all. He did earn a half of a sack on Sunday, the first one he’s been credited with this season. But that’s another $45 million Paton dished out that isn’t looking great thus far.

The Broncos need their “star” defenders to play like stars. And while it was great to finally get a win, it’s hard to make any grand declarations that this team is going to be any better down the stretch. They went 5-12 last year, and look to be steamrolling toward that ugly number once again.

***