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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 Chicago Bears are not the worst team in football.
I repeat.
The Chicago Bears are not the worst team in football.
That felt good to say, but just how far up the rankings will the Bears move after beating the Detroit Lions in Soldier Field by just three points?
There is still a winless team playing in the NFL, the Cleveland Browns, so we'd have to assume Chicago leapfrogs them. There are also 12 other 1-3 teams that are technically tied with the 1-3 Bears, so just how far will Power Rankers move the Bears?
Let's find out!
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 | 32 | Chicago didn't just beat the Lions, Chicago held a top scoring team without an offensive TD for the game. Not an earth shattering win, but one that moves the Bears well out of the rankings basement. |
| SB Nation | 28 | 32 | The Bears are ahead of Detroit, whom they just beat and the Colts whom they play next, so a win this Sunday may not move the SB Nation needle. ~ Lester |
| Mile High Report | 25 | 32 | Not much snark from our friends over at MHR, just a congrats to Coach Fox and a GIF of him clapping in Denver gear. ~ Lester |
| NFL.com | 30 | 32 | The Bears' 17-14 triumph over the Lions was the out-of-nowhere win of this past weekend, hands down, no contest, more shocking than the Bills blanking the Patriots. A defense that was run over by the Cowboys in Week 3 made mincemeat of the Lions' run game (66 rushing yards on 18 carries) while reducing Detroit's Matthew Stafford to "second-best quarterback on the field" status Sunday. How about Jordan Howard, who rushed for over 100 yards, bank-rolling every 0-3 fantasy owner who used their waiver priority on the Bears' starting running back? |
| ESPN | 28 | 31 | The Bears won their first game in Week 4, but if they want more wins they'll likely need a stronger defense. The Bears are averaging 15.5 points per game this season, tied for worst in the NFL with the Titans. |
| CBS Sports | 25 | 30 | Should Brian Hoyer stay in as the starter if Jay Cutler is healthy? That's absurd. |
| USA Today | 30 | 31 | They broke 363-day drought between wins at Soldier Field. Things are looking up ... now that Brian Hoyer is in the lineup. Go figure. |
| Yahoo | 31 | 31 | Seems weird to consider starting Brian Hoyer even when Jay Cutler is healthy. Perhaps they're just done with Cutler and this is the signal that he'll never be the Bears starter again. Possible. But it doesn't seem like a move that will make your franchise better. |
| FOX | 29 | 32 | The Bears beat the Lions to notch their first win of the season, surprisingly limiting Detroit's high-powered offense with a depleted secondary. Brian Hoyer may never surrender the starting job, which John Fox alluded to on Monday. |
CBS and USA have dueling hot takes about the Cutler/Hoyer debate, and Yahoo tries to get logical about it.
What do you guys think about the Bears this week?