NFL Power Rankings: How far will the Bears fall?

The Chicago Bears went with a new play caller... and the offense was the worst it’s been in years.

They were forced to play third string quarterback Tyler Bray — much to the delight of some fans... and he went 1 for 5 with the Vikings playing prevent defense.

Cordarrelle Patterson finally got more touches in the ground game... and he averaged 2.5 yards per carry.

The Bears were facing a quarterback that has never won on Monday Night Football in his life... and Kirk Cousins completed 25 of 36 (69.4%) for 292 yards, 2 TDs, and a passer rating of 100.7 while leading his team to a 19 to 13 win.

It was a brutal night of football as the Bears lost their fourth straight game, and after weeks of holding fairly steady in the Power Rankings, there’s no sugarcoating what these Bears are anymore.

Let’s see what the experts think about the 5-5 Bears in our Power Ranking round-up.

NFL.com dropped the Bears from 17 all the way down to 23rd overall.

Nick Foles looked dejected and hopeless as he was carted off the field late in Monday night’s loss to the Vikings. It was a sad image that neatly summed up the entire Bears experience after a fourth consecutive loss, this time a 19-13 setback against Minnesota. This latest defeat was especially frustrating, as Chicago got an especially strong performance out of its defense and more special teams mastery from Cordarrelle Patterson, but still couldn’t get a win because the offense is completely overmatched. The Bears managed just six points and 149 yards of total offense in Bill Lazor’s debut as play-caller. As for Foles, Matt Nagy said after the game that the quarterback suffered a leg or hip injury. Turning this offense over to Tyler Bray is the stuff of nightmares.

The Bears are down 3 spots to 19 according to CBSSports.com.

The offense is so limited - no matter who calls the plays. They can’t move the ball. Nick Foles isn’t the answer and now he’s hurt.

Here’s how Athlon Sports has it.

21. Chicago Bears - Last week: 18

Nick Foles’ injury may have solidified this slide and Matt Nagy’s coaching tenure in the Windy City. A once-promising start has now forced the fan base to pay a bit more attention to draft season now as they continue to waste a good defense with such an inept offensive output.

Bleacher/Report has the Bears at 17.

High: 16
Low: 20
Last Week: 16
Week 10 Result: Lost vs. Minnesota 19-13

Just when things couldn’t get any worse for the reeling Chicago Bears, they did.

It was bad enough that the Bears were about to lose their fourth straight game after starting 5-1. That Chicago managed just 149 yards of offense against a Minnesota defense no one is going to confuse with the Purple People Eaters is even worse. That Nick Foles missed Anthony Miller only minutes before on a long pass that could have won the game is worse still.

But then Foles was slammed to the ground while attempting to release a pass and had to be carted off the field.

The Bears head into their bye week as a .500 team that has been exposed in every way a team can be exposed. The defense is good, but it can’t do it all. The offense has been unbelievably bad, and it hasn’t really mattered who’s been under center.

At least when the Bears get back after it, they won’t have to go to Lambeau to get embarrassed by a clearly superior Green Bay Packers team.

Oh…wait.

No movement from the Sporting News this week?

16. Chicago Bears 5-5 (16)

The Bears have traded 5-1 for a four-game losing streak and Nick Foles, now dealing with a scary injury, hasn’t really provided the true upgrade at QB from now a shelved Mitchell Trubisky. The offense became more one-dimensional and less complementary to the defense without David Montgomery.

Here’s how the USA Today has it.

20. Bears (16): Unfortunate to see QB Nick Foles go down Monday night ... while pondering ways a punchless offense might have actually just gotten irretrievably worse.

Here’s how Yahoo Sports wrote it up.

18. Chicago Bears (5-5, LW: 16)

In the first 29 minutes of the second half, the Bears had 14 yards of offense and one first down. It was indescribably ugly. Nick Foles’ injury looked bad and you feel for him, but from a football standpoint, Foles or any other quarterback the Bears turn to next isn’t going to be the answer.

ESPN has a ‘what if’ do-over for the Bears,

16. Chicago Bears (5-5)

Week 10 ranking: 15

What would they take back: Signing Robert Quinn

The Bears spent lavishly on the veteran defensive end to the tune of $30 million guaranteed. Quinn has one sack in nine games. To make room for Quinn, the Bears released former first-round pick Leonard Floyd in the offseason. Floyd, who now plays for the Rams, recorded three sacks versus the Seahawks in Week 10, giving him seven sacks in nine games for Los Angeles. Talk about your all-time backfires. — Jeff Dickerson

And that’s about all I can take this week. I’m surprised at how many still have the Bears in the teens.

What are your thoughts on the Power Rankings?