NFL Power Rankings: Chicago Bears keep slipping

Every week we'll peek in around the interwebs to see where the Chicago Bears are ranked in the eyes of the various Power Rankers out there.

The Chicago Bears were finally eliminated from playoff contention after losing to the Minnesota Vikings in what I feel was their worst game of the season.

The coaching staff was able to keep things interesting for a stretch of games, but the lack of depth and overall talent caught up with the Bears. These next two games the Bears could let it all hang out and go for broke as they evaluate some of the younger players on the roster. We already saw the Bears take an extended look at inside linebacker John Timu against the Vikings, and I would expect a few more youngsters to receive more playing time against the Tampa Bay Buccaneers this week and the season finale against the Detroit Lions.

SB Nation has the Bears sitting at 22, down from 19 last week.

NFL.com dropped the Bears 3 spots to 23rd.

All the promise of three weeks ago has crumbled, with successive losses to the 49ers, Redskins and Vikings. Each defeat has gotten progressively worse, congruent with the increased quality of the opponent. The trend also reflects the notion that the Bears were succeeding with smoke and mirrors, making big plays at the end of games that could've gone either way. While Jay Cutler might be the poster child for the losing, the pass defense has done more harm than the passer over the past three weeks. First, there was Blaine Gabbert's home run ball to Torrey Smith. Then Kirk Cousins put on his best road performance (and earned his only road win) of the season. This past Sunday, Teddy Bridgewater fell a few pitches short of a perfect game with a 154.4 passer rating. This just in: Gabbert, Cousins and Bridgewater are not exactly a murderer's row of QBs.

That's a fair assessment.

ESPN has the Bears down 5 to 24.

Jay Cutler really isn't to blame for the Bears' recent swoon. This season, for the first time in his career, Cutler is averaging at least two touchdown passes for every interception thrown.

Yahoo sports has it like this,

22. Chicago Bears (5-9, LW: 20)

The Vikings had some huge defensive injuries, and still the Bears did nothing. That four-week stretch in which the Bears looked like a good team seems like it never happened.

The USA Today has the Bears holding steady at 19.

We wouldn't blame free-agents-to-be Matt Forte and Alshon Jeffery if they wanted to shut it down these last two weeks.

If they are healthy enough to play the Bears will play them. I could see them going easy on Jeffery's snaps a bit if the plan is to bring him back in 2016 and Jeremy Langford should see at least half the snaps at running back these last two games.

The Bears actually went up a spot, to 23rd, according to FOX Sports.

The Bears have hung around all season for the most part, but in Week 15 they allowed opposing QB Teddy Bridgewater to throw for more touchdown passes (four) than incomplete passes (three).

CBS Sports dropped the Bears down 1 to 19th.

After a nice midseason, they've fallen on hard times. They just don't have the talent.

And speaking of acquiring talent, the Bears are currently creeping up on a top 10 draft pick. Would you believe there's a scenario where the Bears have a shot at the #1 overall selection?