The season is rolling on, and the good and the bad teams are separating themselves.
For the Chicago Bears, it was great to get Caleb Williams and Kyler Gordon back. Who knew difference-making players impact games?
The Bears have a quick turnaround — facing the New England Patriots at Soldier Field Thursday. The Patriots themselves have bounced back from a slow start to start to the season and find themselves moving up the rankings too.
Let’s dive into this week’s rankings.
WCG – Aaron Leming
10. Chicago
Bears (4-2)
Trending: Up (Caleb Williams is back)
Chicago is now 2-1 with Caleb Williams as their starting quarterback, and 2-1 with their backups. Some might look at that as an indictment of Williams, but a deeper dive into the offensive numbers tells a much different story. Assuming he can stay healthy, the primary concern will be the defense. They’ve been about as Jekyll and Hyde as it gets through six weeks. The talent is there, but the consistency has lacked.
The Athletic – Chad Graff and Josh Kendall
8. Chicago Bears (4-2)
Last week: 11
Sunday: Beat Falcons 31-23
Fantasy focus: Luther Burden
No team has had a more frustrating group of pass catchers for fantasy managers than the Bears. There was preseason optimism about tight end Colston Loveland and wide receivers Rome Odunze and Luther Burden, but none ranks higher at the moment than Burden, who is 77th in fantasy points per game (12.2). The good news is Caleb Williams is back, and Burden had eight catches for 95 yards on Sunday.
NFL.com – Nick Shook
11. Chicago Bears (13) Caleb Williams was stellar in his return to the offense, opening up everything that was trapped behind padlocks in Green Bay. With the Iceman at the controls, everyone ate: Colston Loveland caught a touchdown pass, D’Andre Swift scored twice, Roschon Johnson bullied his way into the end zone, and the Bears could not be denied. That said, they need to clean up their penalties (12 for 133 yards on Sunday) and finish games more comfortably than they did in Atlanta.
Pro Football Talk – Mike Florio
Bears (No. 15; 4-2): A franchise quarterback makes all the difference.
CBS Sports – Pete Prisco
13. Chicago Bears (15) Bouncing back from the loss to the Packers by winning on the road at Atlanta is a good look for this team. Of course it helps to have Caleb Williams back.
ESPN NFL Nation – Courtney Cronin
9. Chicago Bears (4-2)
Week 6 result: Beat the Falcons 31-23
Week 6 ranking: 13Biggest issue on offense: Penalties
Quarterback Caleb Williams being back under center alleviates a lot of the issues the Bears struggled with in his absence, such as red zone execution, third-down efficiency and their downfield passing attack. One area that can stand to be cleaned up more is offensive penalties, which accounted for seven of the Bears’ infractions Sunday. Those offensive penalties helped generate Chicago’s most penalty yardage in a game since 2016 (133). The Bears are tied for the third-most offensive holding penalties (10). That’s an area they’ll want to fix so it doesn’t derail drives. — Courtney Cronin
Yahoo Sports – Frank Schwab
6. Chicago Bears (4-2, LW: 8)
The 31-23 win over the Falcons wasn’t really that close. The Bears let down in the fourth quarter, turning a 31-7 lead into a one-score game. That’s not ideal but the way they played through three quarters in Caleb Williams’ return was impressive.
Cornerback Kyler Gordon’s odd 2026 took a positive turn. Gordon had missed the offseason and the first five games due to a calf injury, prompting questions about his future with the team. In just 17 snaps on Sunday, Gordon had three sacks and two forced fumbles. He’s the first Bears defensive back with three sacks in a game since Todd Bell in 1983. He’s just the second defensive back in NFL history with three sacks and two forced fumbles in a game, joining Rod Kush of the Houston Oilers in 1985, according to the Bears’ site. His playmaking will be welcomed on the Bears’ defense.
What do you think of the Bears’ rankings this week? Fair or no?
