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We take our weekly trip around the interwebs to see where various NFL "experts" rank the Chicago Bears in their NFL Power Rankings.
The Bears are bad.
We've known it for a few weeks now, but that damn win against the Lions tricked some of us into thinking the Bears were close to turning the corner.
Then again, just like Alshon Jeffery said, the Bears are technically still in the playoff hunt (insert eye roll GIF here). All they have to do is sweep their five games left against the NFC North (for starters) then pick up at least 4 wins out of the other 5 games to finish at 10-6. I think 10 wins should be enough to sneak into the playoffs, then again, the last time the Bears won 10 (2012) they were on the outside looking in.
Damn...
Someone tell Alshon the Bears will have to just win out to make the postseason.
Here's how a few reputable sites around the interwebs have the Bears ranked. The Skinny is from each site unless otherwise indicated by a "~ Lester," in which case that's me chiming in.
| PUBLICATION | THIS WEEK |
LAST WEEK |
THE SKINNY |
| WCG* | 29 | 29 | The Bears lose another close game to a mediocre (at best) team. There were bad things and there were good things. The 29th spot in the rankings shows that the bad things are far outweighing the good things. |
| SB Nation | 30 | 30 | The Cleveland Browns, Chicago Bears, and Indianapolis Colts all kept things close, but couldn't quite find a way to get a win. In the case of the Bears and the Colts, it was the classic case of snatching defeat from the jaws of victory. |
| Mile High Report | Huh? | WTH? | Even thought the Broncos lost, MHR still did a Power Ranking, and they put their home team at #1. The other problem this week was they forgot to even mention the Bears. In fact their Power Ranking only has 27 teams mentioned. ~ Lester |
| NFL.com | 31 | 30 | So last time Jake Arrieta (18-8, 3.10 ERA) threw in the late afternoon at Dodgers Stadium, he tossed a no-hitter. His counterpart on the mound for the Dodgers will be Rich Hill (12-5, 2.12 ERA) in what should be an intriguing rubber match, even if Hill has not been up to snuff in the postseason. The NLCS is tied 1-1, and, as we all know, whoever steals Game 3 with their "other" pitcher often dictates the series. Oh, the Bears got beat Sunday by a wide receiver who hadn't scored a touchdown since 2012. |
| ESPN | 30 | 28 | Probably nobody is paying attention to what the Bears are doing after their 1-5 start, but Brian Hoyer has yet to throw an interception since taking over for Jay Cutler. His 189 passes are the most in the NFL without a pick this season. |
| CBS Sports | 30 | 29 | This is going to be a long season. For all the talk about Brian Hoyer, he scored 16 points. Oh, boy. |
| USA Today | 30 | 29 | Offense now ranks seventh after averaging well over 400 yards under Brian Hoyer's direction. Yet they've scored league's fewest points. Da Bears. |
| Yahoo | 30 | 30 | The NFL Media Research Group said Brian Hoyer is the first Bears quarterback since at least 1960 with 300 passing yards in four straight games. Hoyer has played 16 regular-season games the last two seasons, and here are his stats: 4,002 yards, 25 touchdowns, seven interceptions with a 63.4 completion percentage. That's a 94.5 rating. He's a free agent after this season. |
| FOX | 30 | 29 | Despite being mostly unable to lead the Bears to wins, Brian Hoyer has been spectacular. He has four straight 300-yard games, which hasn't been done by a Bears quarterback since at least 1960. By comparison, Jay Cutler has never even had three consecutive 300-yard games. The Bears have several problems, but Hoyer might be the answer at quarterback. |
What do you guys think about the Bears this week?
*The reason Ken does our WCG Power Rankings a day later than the rest is he ACTUALLY watches all the games!