It’s safe to say the Chase Claypool experiment in Chicago has not gone to plan.

After acquiring the wide receiver from the Pittsburgh Steelers midseason last year, the Bears have yet to win a single game since bringing him in. The decision from Bears GM Ryan Poles to trade for Claypool looks worse and worse by the day, as his struggles from his final days as a Steeler have followed him to Chicago.

Compound that with what the Bears gave up: a second round pick that, thanks to Chicago’s consistent losing, ended up being the 32nd overall pick that was used to select Joey Porter Jr., and you just might have one of the biggest fleeces in recent memory.

Albeit a very small sample size, Porter looks to be an absolute stud for the Steelers, just as his father was years prior.

Meanwhile, Claypool has continued to somehow use his own size against him. Claypool has made his 6′ 4 self look 5′ 6 when trying to catch any type of contested pass, and has been criticized for his lack of effort on several plays with the Bears.

Claypool has made it clear that he doesn’t believe the Bears are using him correctly, but his stats show a player that simply can’t catch the ball. Claypool has 18 catches on 43 targets over his entire Bears run (10 games in total), for a measley 41.9% catch rate and 191 yards.

Chicago hasn’t seen a win since October 24, 2022, when they destroyed the New England Patriots on the road 33-14. On Sunday, it will have been 342 days since the Bears last celebrated a win. But for Claypool, it will have been even longer.

Claypool hasn’t been a part of any win since October 16, 2022, when he dramatically rose his stock in his heroic performance against the Tampa Bay Buccaneers while still a Steeler. For Claypool, he’s going on 350 days of no wins.

But, as fate might have it, the Bears now have a perfect chance to end that miserable curse.

Sunday features a matchup for the ages: the 0-3 Chicago Bears hosting the 0-3 Denver Broncos.

The Broncos are coming off a historic loss to the Miami Dolphins in Week 3, where Miami shellacked the Broncos, handing them a 50 point loss by a final score of 70-20.

Quarterback Russell Wilson has had an extremely difficult time establishing any time of winning atmosphere in Denver, and will desperately want to turn the ship around in any way possible. For the Broncos, this matchup presents itself as a last ditch effort for success this season.

If you can’t win this game, you might as well punt on the entire 2023 campaign.

But the exact same thing can be said for the Bears.

QB Justin Fields has not had an easy go at all in Chicago, and despite his incredible athletic talent, many are still skeptical of his real ability to play the quarterback position.

The Bears would effectively be calling it on another season if they let the 0-3 Broncos come in and win on their home turf.

And for Chase Claypool, Sunday provides yet another chance for him to back up what he says about himself and his talents. There’s no doubt he is an incredibly talented player, but historically he has thought too much of himself, with little to nothing to show for it on the field.

It also provides him a chance to turnaround what has been a dreadful 2023 so far. Claypool has juts 4 catches on 14 targets for 51 yards. That lands him sixth on the Bears in receiving yards, including behind two different running backs.

Will Chicago finally see their first win in the Claypool era? Or does that losing streak live on, and come dangerously close to a calendar year?

It’s a true shame that game is on at the same time as the Steelers.

(Featured photo by Ashlee Rezin/Chicago Sun-Times)