The Chicago Bears lost again, falling to 4-3 on the season. They also lost their starting signal caller and captain on each side of the ball. The next few weeks could get ugly for the Bears.
We'll start our Power Ranking trip like we do each week, with the SB Nation.
12. Chicago Bears
Marc Trestman has his hands full. Can the bespectacled Bears head coach use the same magic on Josh McCown as he did Jay Cutler? Maybe. The bigger question is whether or not this defense, now missing Lance Briggs for a stretch, has any hope of holding opponents to less than 30 points.
Staying in the SBN Network, Cincy Jungle has the Bears dropping to 11.
After a great start, the Bears are crumbling. Without Jay Cutler this team is going to suffer.
Over at the Phinsider, they have Chicago sticking at 10.
Jay Cutler tore his groin muscle. I'll give you a second to stop wincing.
The Bears are at 15 according to Blogging The Boys.
The Bears, much like they did in 2012, started quickly but have begun an October fade. If Cutler misses any extended time, that fade could well turn to a plummet.
Would 4 weeks minimum constitute "extended time"?
Also dropping the Bears to 15 was Behind The Steel Curtain.
For me, four weeks of knowing Jay Cutler is at home, putting ice in the junk drawer is just the kind of thing I giggle about, because I have the sense of humor of publicly educated 10 year-old. But for the Bears, Cutler's groin injury might be a little more disheartening. Josh McCown played pretty well in Cutler's absence, but remember, they were playing Washington, so it doesn't really count.
SBN's Philadelphia Eagles site Bleeding Green Nation dropped the Bears to 11.
Losing to Washington in a barn burner on the road hurts, but not as much as losing their starting QB Jay Cutler does.
I'm sensing a theme throughout the Nation. Not a lot of faith in a Cutlerless Bears team.
Pat Kirwan of CBSSports has Chicago falling all the way to 17!
Jay Cutler is out at least four weeks (groin) and that's trouble. The Bears go to Green Bay, where the Bears have lost five straight while scoring only 10 points per game -- and that was with Cutler.
Brian Billick of FOX Sports sees the Bears as the 13th ranked team.
Not only did the Bears lose the game on Sunday, but they also lost Jay Cutler for at least four weeks and Lance Briggs for the next six. Not sure the Bears can keep pace with the Packers or Lions in the division at this point.
Boo-Ya! ESPN is pointing out the fall off from Lovie's D, as they rank the Bears 13.
Jay Cutler is out at least four weeks and the defense is struggling. The Bears have allowed 29.4 PPG this season (17.3 last season).
Yikes, that's a precipitous fall.
Truth be told, I just wanted to used the word precipitous.
Over at Fanspeak they drop the Bears all the way down to 16.
The Bears nearly knocked off the Redskins in a shootout on the road where they were banged up due to injuries. As much as the loss hurts, the injuries are going to be a factor going forward. Both Jay Cutler and Lance Briggs are expected to miss significant time and the Bears will need to find options to replace them.
The Shutdown Corner from Yahoo also has Chicago at 16.
Lost in the Jay Cutler injury news is that the defense has now been completely exposed. Without Cutler or linebacker Lance Briggs for at least the next four weeks, the Bears might slip fast.
I'm just throwing the Sporting News in here to point out their caption.
Chicago Bears wide receiver Devin Hester turns and looks at his teammate free safety Anthony Walters after scoring this 19th touchdown on a kickoff return during the first half of a NFL football game against the Washington Redskins in Landover, Md.
Unless they have some intel that isn't privy to most of us, Devin Hester isn't a wide receiver.
By the way, they ranked the Bears 13th.
How do you see the Bears this week, and how far do you think they'll fall in the coming weeks?