NFL Power Rankings: The Bears are getting a little respect

Even though there were two teams that had yet to play with Tuesday Night Football pitting the Buffalo Bills against the Tennessee Titans (the Titans rolled in that game last night), some NFL power rankers trotted out their week 6 rankings early. Since both of those teams were undefeated, I suppose the experts felt they have a good handle on how they’d rank them regardless.

But after the Titans absolutely demolished the Bills 42 to 16, I’d bet some of the early birds want a do-over.

With the Chicago Bears moving up to 4-1 this week, I wonder how they see Matt Nagy’s team after the big win back on Thursday night.

Let’s take a peek around a few rankers and see what they’re saying about the Bears.

These first few experts had their rankings in yesterday morning...

Pro Football Talk moved the Bears up two after they beat the Tampa Bay Buccaneers back on Thursday Night Football.

12. Bears (No. 14; 4-1): If the offense could put it together for four quarters, they’d run the table.

ESPN also moved the Bears up two spots, while taking a look at each team’s weakness.

13. Chicago Bears (4-1)

Biggest weakness: Rushing offense

The Bears have yet to establish a consistent rushing attack under coach Matt Nagy, who doubles as the offensive playcaller. The Bears enter Week 6 ranked 26th in total rushing yards (477) and dead last in rushing touchdowns (one). For his part, Nagy is eternally optimistic about the prospects of running the football effectively. “I have a lot of faith in our run game, I really do,” Nagy said. “I feel good about that. There is no panic at all. I know for me that part is exciting to figure out ways to get it back on track because that is ultimately going to help our offense.” — Jeff Dickerson

Yahoo Sports has it like this.

11. Chicago Bears (4-1, LW: 17)

The Bears have failed to exceed 18 first downs or 269 yards in either of their last two games. You won’t hear as much griping after a win though, and Chicago got a quality victory over Tampa Bay. Still, they need to figure out a way to generate some offense.

These next few rankers waited to see how the Bills vs Titans would play out...

CBS Sports has the Bears in the top ten at number 9, which is up a full 5 spots.

They are 4-1. Nobody can take that away from them, even if it hasn’t always been pretty. Beating Tampa Bay was a nice victory.

Here’s how the USA Today has it.

14. Bears (18): One of Week 5’s best images was Tom Brady looking up from the turf with that “You again?” expression upon realizing Khalil Mack had bagged him yet again.

But the USA Today’s Touchdown Wire has it like this.

15. Chicago Bears (4-1. Last week: 16)

For the Bears, the hope was that benching Mitchell Trubisky and promoting Nick Foles would usher the team into a new era of quarterback greatness not seen by the franchise since… well, you’d have to go back to Sid Luckman to find a time when the Bears had a quarterback above league average. In any event, the plan didn’t last long before Foles proved to be what he has generally been — a great reliever, and a so-so-starter. So, in a 20-19 victory over the Buccaneers, the Bears’ winning archetype was what it has always been — hide your quarterback’s limitations and expose the opposing quarterback’s limitations with your defense. As great as Tom Brady has always been, pressure is his Kryptonite — especially pressure up the middle. The Bears harassed Brady on 17 of his 44 dropbacks, forcing him to look more mortal than Brady would have liked.

This is how the Bears are going to win. In 2020, in 2000, in 1985, in 1963. Accept the inevitable.

NFL.com has the Bears up 6 sports to 16th overall.

“There’s something special about this team.” That was Bears coach Matt Nagy after his team’s 20-19 win over the Bucs on Thursday night, Chicago’s third victory this season in which it’s overcome a double-digit deficit. I’m not sure these Bears are special — that’s actually one of the last words I’d use to describe them — but 4-1 is 4-1, and they possess a commendable closer’s mentality. While we’re tossing out some faint praise, how about some love for Jimmy Graham , who’s become something of a punching bag in recent years as his skills have receded from All-Pro levels? His one-handed touchdown catch against the Bucs marked his fourth score in five games, a reminder that he remains a solid red-zone option at age 33.