The Chicago Bears are making the wrong kind of franchise history during what’s been a disastrous start to their 2023 campaign.
But this time, their Week 4 outcome placed them in the franchise record books on Sunday.
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Bears Tie New Franchise Mark in a Bad Way
The Bears have now dropped to 0-4 overall, this time falling to a previous winless Denver Broncos team 31-28.
Worse for the Bears, it was more than a game that involved a Broncos defense that infamously surrendered 70 points to the Miami Dolphins; they blew a 21-point lead to fall to Denver.
Now, Chicago has tied an infamous franchise mark: It’s the third time in franchise history they’ve blown a 21-point lead, making it the largest lead the Bears have lost.
Against the San Francisco 49ers in October 1953, the Bears jumped out to a 21-0 lead before falling 35-28. And that was a game that saw the Niners score 35 unanswered points.
Then, in November 2022, the Bears had a 27-6 lead over a Tom Brady-led New England Patriots team. That contest ended with the Pats scoring the final two receiving touchdowns by Kevin Faulk and David Patten to win 33-30.
This time at Soldier Field, the Bears erased an early 7-0 deficit to outscore Denver 21-0 in the second quarter. DJ Moore and Cole Kmet were responsible for the second-quarter surge, with the latter scoring two receiving touchdowns.
Then, Khalil Herbert added one more receiving score from the arm of Justin Fields.
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But that would be the last time the Bears scored as the Broncos scored 24 unanswered to win 31-28. And a Will Lutz 51-yard field goal gave Denver the lead for good with 1:46 left.
Afterward, the social media commentary became relentless toward the Bears.
Bears Compared to Falcons as Part of Social Media Trolling
The reactions on social media were immediate after the Bears’ collapse.
One notable reaction came from NFL Memes, who gave the Bears the Atlanta Falcons Super Bowl 51 treatment for blowing their own lead.
The Bears blew a 28-7 lead pic.twitter.com/NKJS5YvIKm
— NFL Memes (@NFL_Memes) October 1, 2023
Rich Eisen of the NFL Network was another critical of the Bears.
3 minutes left
4th and short.
Tie game
Bears try to get Broncos to jump. They don’t
Call timeout
Go for it anyway instead of a 35 yard field goal
Dont get it
Give up a 47 yard pass
Then a field goal
Then lose
0-4 pic.twitter.com/2vpDlvJ3KA— Rich Eisen (@richeisen) October 1, 2023
Meanwhile, one with a harsher take was Aaron Leming of the Bears Report on 247Sports/CBS. He believes a certain change needs to be made.
“I know they won’t & it probably wouldn’t even be logical but I’d fire Matt Eberflus tomorrow,” Leming posted on X. “We saw the same mistakes all of last year in a ‘tank year.’ Seeing them again this year equates to him just being bad at his job.”