NFL Week 10 Power Rankings Featuring Windy City Gridiron’s Three Bears

After losing a third straight contest, this time to the Tennessee Titans, the Bears are searching for answers. The Bears are home underdogs, making this their 8th consecutive game where the opponent is favored to win. The record stands at 5-4, but this team needs to turn things around if they want to contend for a playoff spot in a tough NFC race.

Elsewhere in the NFL, the Steelers stayed undefeated, the Bills beat the Seahawks to stake their claim as a Super Bowl contender, and the Patriots beat the Jets in a Monday Night Football game. That last one was more fun than the teams’ combined 2 (now 3) wins would suggest it should have been.

To place the Bears in their proper place in this week’s power rankings, we’ll call upon our friends Optimistic Bear, Pessimistic Bear, and Realistic Bear:

Optimistic Bear (Patti): This Bears ranking is too hot.

Pessimistic Bear (Jack): This Bears ranking is too cold.

Realistic Bear (Jeff): This Bears ranking is just right.

We’ll average the combined rankings for the Bears and fit them into our list of the rest of the NFL, providing reasons why we believe the Bears deserve to be ranked accordingly. If the Chicago climbs to #1 on Sunday, February 7, 2021 you can go back and read through the rise and fall of your beloved Bears through these power rankings.

We’ll pair these rankings with a player from each team we would love to see in the Navy and Orange. Salary cap be damned, a team with a few of these players would be fun to watch at Solider Field!

Week 10 NFL Power Rankings, with a player we would love on the Bears:

32. New York Jets (0-9, LW 32): WR Jamison Crowder. Excellent route runner with a high motor opposite Allen Robinson? Yes please.

31. Jacksonville Jaguars (1-7, LW 31): C Brandon Linder. Usually ranked in the top-5 at his position, he’s under-the-radar because of the team he plays for.

30. Washington Football Team (2-6, LW 26): WR Terry McLaurin. Top-15 fantasy WR because he regularly threatens 100+ receiving yards.

29. New England Patriots (3-5, LW 27): S Devin McCourty. Pair him with Eddie Jackson and it’s over for teams trying to throw the ball.

28. New York Giants (2-7, LW, 30): RB Saquon Barkley. Stability at the running back position? Wouldn’t that be something.

27. Dallas Cowboys (2-7, LW 29): QB Dak Prescott. Unlike some others, I don’t actually think Prescott is in the cards for the Bears this offseason. I love quarterbacks who outperform their draft position, though.

26. Houston Texans (2-6, LW 28): LT Laremy Tunsil. I still can’t believe the Dolphins ever traded him.

25. Los Angeles Chargers (2-6, LW 25): DE Joey Bosa. Very disruptive in the pass rush. Even if he doesn’t get home, he affects the play.

24. Denver Broncos (3-5, LW 23): LB Von Miller. Excellent leader on and off the field.

23. Detroit Lions (3-5, LW 24): QB Matthew Stafford. His loyalty to the Lions is admirable. I’ve always wondered what he would look like with a solid team around him. We may never know.

22. San Francisco 49ers (4-5, LW 18): CB Richard Sherman. He’s very good at getting in the heads of receivers without committing stupid penalties.

21. Carolina Panthers (3-6, LW 22): RB Christian McCaffrey. There are a few Panthers who would be great fits in Chicago, but we can’t miss the layup and say we wouldn’t want the best non-quarterback in the NFL to be on the Bears.

20. Atlanta Falcons (3-6, LW 21): C Alex Mack. Perennial pro bowler with little to no injury concerns.

19. Minnesota Vikings (3-5, LW 20): WR Adam Thielen. He has all the traits and he doesn’t take plays off.

18. Philadelphia Eagles (3-4-1, LW 19): WR Alshon Jeffery. Miss you, bud.

17. Chicago Bears (5-4, LW 12):

Photo by Frederick Breedon/Getty Images

Optimistic Bear: I’m not blind. I can see the Bears are struggling on the offensive line and that’s limiting their offensive mobility. But the defense is starting to settle in to mid season form, and even the near-bear strength of Derrick Henry wasn’t able to run through them. I’ll give them a dip to be fair given their three game losing streak is likely to have an effect on morale, so I’ll place them right behind the unsuspecting Packers... ready to pounce.

Pessimistic Bear: There are four teams with worse losing streaks than the Bears current 3-game skid: the Jets (9), the Jaguars (7), the Cowboys (4), and the Panthers (4). The Panthers actually have an offense, and just took the Chiefs to the wire in Kansas City. Therefore put the Bears at 26, just above the Cowboys. The two of them can have a bidding war for Uncle Rico at quarterback.

Realistic Bear: Hello, Darkness, my old friend. I’m not sure why some fans thought that Titans game would be anything less than a disaster with a depleted offensive line and no real QB talent on the roster. I still like the defense, hard to rank them below the Eagles but starting to envy the Bengals, which is a crazy place to be.

16. Cincinnati Bengals (2-5-1, LW 16): QB Joe Burrow. You know who doesn’t have a great offensive line? The Bengals. You know how they make up for it? Great quarterback play.

15. Tampa Bay Buccaneers (6-3, LW 8): WR Mike Evans. Such a deep threat. One on one down the sideline, you lose.

14. Cleveland Browns (5-3, LW 15): CB Denzel Ward. The Bears aren’t exactly hurting at corner right now, but Ward is still a lot of fun to watch. Locks it down.

13. Los Angeles Rams (5-3, LW 14): DT Aaron Donald. Another layup. Best defensive player in the league.

12. Indianapolis Colts (5-3, LW 7): LG Quenton Nelson. Well-balanced. Disciplined. Has all the traits. Just a rock solid offensive lineman.

11. Las Vegas Raiders (5-3, LW 13): QB Derek Carr. He’s a cold-killer, man.

10. Arizona Cardinals (5-3, LW 5): QB Kyler Murray. Dual-threat quarterback with an outstanding ability to read NFL defenses. He’s only 23 years old.

9. Miami Dolphins (5-3, LW 17): CB Xavien Howard. Interception machine. He would fit in so well with Kyle Fuller and Eddie Jackson.

8. Tennessee Titans (6-2, LW 11): RB Derrick Henry. A good way of covering quarterback deficiencies is pounding the rock. Henry is probably the best rock-pounder in the league.

7. Seattle Seahawks (6-2, LW 6): SS Jamal Adams. I know I mentioned not missing layups, and I understand Wilson is there and a top contender for MVP. Adams is just one of those defenders who is always in on the play. It looks like there’s two of him out there.

6. Green Bay Packers (6-2, LW 10): QB Aaron Rodgers. There’s the layup.

5. Buffalo Bills (7-2, LW 9): DT Ed Oliver. Pair him with Akiem Hicks and Eddie Goldman and this defensive line becomes lethal.

4. Baltimore Ravens (6-2, LW 4): LT Ronnie Stanley. Huge bummer about his season-ending injury. He’s arguably the best offensive lineman in football, and was essential to Lamar’s MVP season last year.

3. New Orleans Saints (6-2, LW 3): RB Alvin Kamara. He was selected with a draft pick that the Bears traded away. In another reality...

2. Kansas City Chiefs (8-1, LW 2): TE Travis Kelce. Put the best tight end in the league on the Bears and watch a lot of quarterback issues disappear.

1. Pittsburgh Steelers (8-0, LW 1): OLB TJ Watt. He might be second only to Aaron Donald for best defensive player in the league. Opposing signal-callers have to account for him on every play. He’s at the center of the Steelers defensive resurgence and will be a force for years to come.