LAKE FOREST, Ill. (AP) — The Chicago Bears and Denver Broncos have a chance for a reprieve when they meet in a matchup of reeling and winless teams on Sunday.

The question is: Who is more tired of losing?

“You make excuses. You blame this, you blame that, you blame injury, you blame circumstance, you blame all these things," Bears coach Matt Eberflus said. "You can’t do that. You got to own up to what you’ve done. The circumstance is the circumstance. You’ve got to execute and do what you’re supposed to do. Do your job every single day. You never know when it’s right around the corner. That’s our attitude. We’re determined.”

The Bears (0-3) have lost 13 straight since a Monday night surprise at New England in Week 7 last season. They're coming off a 41-10 beating by Patrick Mahomes and the Super Bowl champion Kansas City Chiefs that capped a chaotic week.

Quarterback Justin Fields turned some heads with comments about his “robotic” play. He indicated the coaches might be feeding him too much information while also blaming himself for his struggles. Fields later said those comments were taken out of context.

The same day, defensive coordinator Alan Williams resigned, saying he needed to “take care of my health and my family.”

The Bears could have rallied with an inspired performance at Kansas City. Instead, they fell behind 41-0.

Then again, things could have gone worse. Just look at the Broncos (0-3).

Denver got crushed 70-20 at Miami and allowed 726 yards of offense in the franchise’s second-worst blowout of the Super Bowl era, behind only a 51-0 loss to the Raiders in 1967. The Broncos lost their first two games against Las Vegas and Washington by a combined three points.

“The reality is we have a couple of games we felt like we should have won," quarterback Russell Wilson said. "That’s the truth. The last game we didn’t play our best but the reality is that we’ll get to go again on Sunday. We get to strap on our pads and do what we love to do and hopefully put on a show.”

BREAKOUT TIME?

This would be a good time for Fields to have a breakout performance.

He comes in with a 5-23 record as an NFL starter, and a 67.7 passer rating this season that ranks among the league's worst. He also has just 109 yards rushing after running for 1,143 last season. The Broncos rank last both in total defense and stopping the run.

EMPTY CALORIES

Wilson is playing a lot better than last year, at least statistically, but the Broncos aren’t capitalizing on his rebound from a horrid 2022 season in which he threw for 16 touchdowns and 3,524 yards. This season, Wilson is on pace to throw for 34 TDs and a career-high 4,482 yards. But Wilson is just 4-14 in a Broncos uniform after compiling a record of 104-53-1 in Seattle.

“I think there’s some great things we’re doing but there are some things we’ve got to get better at,” Wilson said.

PRESSURE

The Bears have a league-low one sack after finishing last in the NFL a year ago with 20. By contrast, the Pittsburgh Steelers lead the league with 13.

Though Mahomes had all the time he needed last week, the Bears insist the opportunities for sacks are there. They’re just not finishing plays.

“We have a lot of quarterback hits, a lot of quarterback hurries. We just have to finish and maximize on those opportunities and bringing the quarterback down,” defensive end Yannick Ngakoue said.

MISSING TACKLES

The Broncos have had 11, eight and 24 missed tackles in their losses, according to Pro Football Focus.

“It’s a will thing, you know guys in the NFL are good, so it’s not even just one-on-one tackling, it’s 11 guys getting there to where if one guy does miss, we’ve got three or four guys right behind him backing him up," linebacker Alex Singleton said.

ON CALL

Eberflus reiterated he plans to call defensive plays for the remainder of the season.

He's been doing it the past two games in the absence of Williams. Eberflus was Indianapolis' defensive coordinator prior to taking the Bears' head coaching job last year.

Broncos' electrifying rookie receiver-returner Marvin Mims Jr. isn't sweating his paucity of snaps

Denver Broncos rookie Marvin Mims Jr. is so electrifying that he commands everybody's undivided attention whenever he gets his hands on the ball.

He already has a 45-yard punt return, a 99-yard kickoff return for a touchdown and a 60-yard TD grab from Russell Wilson.

“Marvin, he just makes big plays consistently each and every week, week in and week out,” teammate Patrick Surtain II said Thursday. “When we see a guy make big plays like that, it motivates the team. ... The sky's the limit for him. Obviously, he's a great player but it's crazy because I know he's still got more in the tank.”

Mims has 429 all-purpose yards on just 15 total touches (seven catches, three rushes, one punt return and four kickoff returns) through three games.

That ranks third in the NFL behind Vikings receiver Justin Jefferson (458 yards on 27 touches, all catches) and Saints receiver/returner Rashid Shaheed (450 yards on 25 touches: nine catches, three rushes, nine kickoff returns and three punt returns).

“I see a very mature rookie,” Broncos right guard Quinn Meinerz said. “He’s been doing a lot of things really well. He’s really fast. We’ve all seen how fast that guy is.”

Mims, a second-round pick out of Oklahoma, leads the Broncos with 195 receiving yards on just seven receptions. That's a whopping 27.5-yard average, way ahead of starters Courtland Sutton (189 yards on 17 catches) and Jerry Jeudy (106 yards on eight receptions).

Yet Mims' offensive snaps have confoundingly gone down every week, from 17 against Las Vegas to 16 against Washington to 15 against Miami.

Two weeks ago, Mims caught passes of 60 and 53 yards and didn't see another pass all afternoon as the Broncos frittered away an early 18-point lead in a 35-33 loss to the Commanders.

“Some of it's coverage-driven and some of it is just based on what we're in,” coach Sean Payton said of Mims' disappearance in the offense after the second quarter. “We ended up in a couple different personnel groupings. Part of that is coincidence, I would say. We had a number of guys we were trying to get the ball to, and we’ll keep doing that.”

Mims followed up that 168-yard performance with a 164-yard day at Miami last Sunday, when his 99-yard kickoff return for a touchdown was just about the only highlight for Denver in its historic 70-20 shellacking.

On Thursday, offensive coordinator Joe Lombardi was asked if Mims has earned an expanded role.

“Yeah, I think so. I mean, he's in on a lot of plays as it is and you know I think we've got a number of good receivers," Lombardi said. “You could say Courtland's earned an expanded role, Jerry, everyone's doing pretty good. But obviously we see the plays that he's making and hope that continues for sure.”

If the trend holds, however, Mims may end up with fewer snaps Sunday at Chicago than he's had in any game so far — or he may find himself a lot more involved in the game plan as the Broncos try to bounce back from their worst loss since a 51-0 shutout at the hands of the Oakland Raiders in 1967.

Mima isn't sweating it either way. He's just ready to deliver whenever he gets his hands on the ball.

“It’s kind of with the coaching and different personnel groups,” Mims said. “We basically work in all of our receivers who suit up, so it’s just personnel groups and the situation of the game, situation of the downs, whether it’s third-and-long, first-and-10. Different plays and different situations.

"It’s really all up to the coaches and what formations and personnel groups they decide to put on the field at certain times.”

Bears, Broncos meet in a matchup of winless and reeling teams

DENVER (0-3) at CHICAGO (0-3)

Sunday, 1 p.m. EDT, CBS

BETTING LINE: Broncos by 3 1/2, according to FanDuel Sportsbook

AGAINST THE SPREAD: Denver 0-3; Chicago 0-3

SERIES RECORD: Series tied 8-8.

LAST MEETING: Bears beat Broncos 16-14 on Sept. 15, 2019, in Denver.

LAST WEEK: Broncos lost 70-20 at Miami; Bears lost 41-10 at Kansas City.

BRONCOS OFFENSE: OVERALL (15), RUSH (20), PASS (8), SCORING (T15)

BRONCOS DEFENSE: OVERALL (32), RUSH (32), PASS (29), SCORING (32)

BEARS OFFENSE: OVERALL (29), RUSH (17), PASS (31), SCORING (27)

BEARS DEFENSE: OVERALL (T29), RUSH (20), PASS (30), SCORING (31)

TURNOVER DIFFERENTIAL: Broncos minus-4; Bears minus-4

BRONCOS PLAYER TO WATCH: Rookie WR Marvin Mims Jr. is about the only Bronco worth keeping an eye on right now. The second-round draft pick from Oklahoma has totaled 332 all-purpose yards on just 11 touches over the past two games. That’s a whopping 30.2 yards per touch. Against the Dolphins, he had a 99-yard kickoff return for a touchdown. A week earlier he had a 45-yard punt return and had two catches for 113 yards, including a 60-yard TD reception on a Russell Wilson audible against the Commanders.

BEARS PLAYER TO WATCH: QB Justin Fields. Fields indicated last week he’s being fed too much information by the coaches and thinking too much as a result, then threw for 99 yards in another rough outing. Fields — 5-23 as a starter — has a 67.7 passer rating that ranks among the worst in the NFL. If he can't get going this week, then when can he?

KEY INJURIES: Star safety Justin Simmons (hip) was sorely missed in Week 3 when his absence meant the Broncos were down to their fourth string safety if Delarrin Turner-Yell. K'Waun Williams and P.J. Locke are on IR. … ILB Josey Jewell suffered a groin injury against the Dolphins and is expected to be replaced in the starting lineup by rookie Drew Sanders. … OLB Frank Clark (hip) is still out. … DT Mike Purcell (ribs) got hurt last weekend. … The Bears are missing the left side of their offensive line, with LG Teven Jenkins (leg) and LT Braxton Jones (neck) on injured reserve. ... S Eddie Jackson (foot) missed last week's game. ... CB Jaylon Johnson (hamstring) left the Kansas City game.

SERIES NOTES: Eddy Pineiro kicked a 53-yard field goal as time expired, giving the Bears a wild win in 2019 after the Broncos took the lead 31 seconds earlier on a gutsy 2-point call by then-coach Vic Fangio, Chicago's former defensive coordinator. The teams are meeting at Soldier Field for the first time since 2015, when Denver won 17-15.

STATS AND STUFF: Denver gave up 726 yards in the franchise’s second-worst blowout of the Super Bowl era, behind only a 51-0 loss to the Raiders in 1967. ... Mims has had 168 and 164 all-purpose yards over the past two games despite touching the ball just 11 times total. … QB Russell Wilson has had back-to-back 300-yard games for the first time since 2020, but although he is off to a good start statistically he’s just 4-14 as the Broncos’ starter. … Head coach Sean Payton can match Fangio’s futility record with a loss Sunday. Fangio started his first season in Denver with four losses in 2019. That’s the worst start ever by a first-year Broncos head coach. … With two touchdown catches so far, WR Courtland Sutton has already matched his total from each of the past two seasons. However, his performance last week in which he caught eight passes for 91 yards was marred by his two fumbles that led to Miami touchdowns. ... Chicago has lost 13 straight since a Week 7 win at New England last season. ... The Bears have a league-low one sack after finishing at the bottom of the NFL in 2022 with 20. League leader Pittsburgh has 13, by comparison. ... Chicago has two interceptions, both coming against Blaine Gabbert last week after Patrick Mahomes left the game. ... The Bears have had some success running the ball, averaging 4.3 yards per carry. ... Rookie RB Roschon Johnson is averaging 5.3 yards per attempt.

FANTASY TIP: The Bears haven't called many designed runs for Fields. Maybe that changes this week, considering the Broncos rank last against the run. Fields rushed for 1,143 yards in 2022 and just missed the single-season record for a quarterback of 1,206 by Baltimore’s Lamar Jackson in his 2019 MVP season.