The Chicago Bears have made it to their entirely-too-early bye at .500.
The Bears are far from a good or even a great team and I think they’d tell you that. But there have been encouraging signs of growth across the two wins.
Perhaps most crucially though, they seem to be buying into Ben Johnson’s culture of detailed perfection.
Let’s see how the Bears managed in this week’s power rankings.
20. Chicago Bears (2-2) Previous Week: 22
The season couldn’t have started much worse for the
Bears with a blown fourth-quarter lead and a Detroit Lions drubbing in Week 2. What felt like a surprise season for Chicago quickly turned to panic. Since that (0-2) start, they’ve reeled off two wins in a row. Quarterback Caleb Williams looks vastly improved over last year, but the defense doesn’t. First-year head coach Ben Johnson and his staff have plenty to figure out during their Week 5 bye if they hope to make a run at a playoff spot.
NFL.com – Eric Edholm
18. Chicago Bears (19) The Bears enter the bye with two critical victories to pull even at 2-2, thanks to a dramatic field-goal block. As thrilling as the win over the Raiders in Vegas was, it also provided plenty of teaching tape. Chicago struggled to stop the run outside of short-yardage situations, while the offense didn’t really move the ball consistently or finish in the red zone (1-for-4). Still, Caleb Williams made some big plays in key spots, and the pass protection held up, even with Maxx Crosby threatening to take over the game early. Ben Johnson benched left tackle Braxton Jones in the second quarter, leaving the Bears with two inexperienced bookend blockers (with RT Darnell Wright inactive for the game), and the offense was better for it.
19 (19): Chicago Bears (2-2)
Rome Odunze has made the second-year leap. He’s clearly the Bears’ best receiver and maybe even their best offensive player. He had a big touchdown against the Raiders on Sunday. Odunze had three touchdowns as a rookie and has five already this season. He’s a star in the making.
18. Chicago Bears (19): WR Rome Odunze has at least one TD in every game. The last Chicago player to open a season by finding the end zone in each of the first four games? Walter Payton … in 1986.
23. Chicago Bears (23) Chicago is getting little from running back D’Andre Swift and quarterback Caleb Williams within the structure of the offense on early downs, but it’s clear that Williams has the talent to get the offense out of the holes it digs itself.
Williams has been an effective scrambler, he’s excellent at recognizing blitzes, and appears to be gaining confidence as a downfield passer. Chicago’s go-ahead drive against the Raiders on Sunday was a showcase of his improvement. The next month provides an opportunity for Williams to keep up this hot streak against bad defenses.
19. Chicago Bears (21) Two straight victories has this Bears team showing signs of progress in Ben Johnson’s first season. Caleb Williams is improving.
The Athletic – Josh Kendall and Chad Graff
17. Chicago Bears (18) Sunday: Beat Raiders 25-24
Rookie spotlight: Luther Burden III
Ben Johnson is trying to scheme up touches for the second-round wide receiver, but it’s going slowly. Burden has seven catches for 99 yards and one carry for 7 yards. On Sunday, he had two catches on two targets, but they went for minus-4 yards. Using the 10th pick on tight end Colston Loveland (three catches, 43 yards) doesn’t look great considering Warren went four picks later, but seventh-round running back Kyle Monangai is third on the team with 17 carries for 62 yards.
19. Bears (No. 22; 2-2): Riding into the bye with two straight wins wasn’t expected.
What do you think of how the Bears rank this week?
