The Chicago Bears are beyond “in the hunt” for a playoff spot, as they are leading the NFC North.
It gives them an upper hand, but we know there is still so far to go. With three division games remaining,
all against the teams immediately behind them in the standings, anything can happen.
But with eight wins, a strong finish with two or three more wins all but guarantees them a spot in the postseason.
The writers doing the rankings see the flaws, though.
Now, it’s up to the Bears to start passing the tests and make the writers rethink.
9. Chicago Bears (8-3) Previous Week: 11
The Cardiac Bears live to win another week! This team, especially the defense, has been marred by injury, and it doesn’t seem to be getting any better. Despite coming into the game without five key defensive starters, including both linebackers and two of their three starting cornerbacks, they keep finding ways to stack wins. Is this team a threat to get to the Super Bowl? Probably not, but any time teams find ways to win games (no matter the opponent), it’s not something many teams want to see down the stretch of the regular season. Buckle in, Bears fans, you’re heading into a second week of sole possession in first place.
The Athletic – Chad Graff and Josh Kendall
12. Chicago Bears (8-3)
Last week: 12
Sunday: Beat Steelers 31-28
One big question: Is this sustainable?
Caleb Williams had one of the ugliest plays of any quarterback this season — yet also threw for three touchdowns on Sunday. The defense also let the Steelers convert more than half of their first downs, raising legitimate questions about how real this eight-win team is.
12 (12): Chicago Bears (8-3)
Montez Sweat is having a very good season without much fanfare. He had two sacks Sunday, bringing his season total to 7.5. He can make a big difference for a Bears defense that has dealt with numerous injuries
11. Chicago Bears (14) Sunday wasn’t a work of art, but the Bears battled some adversity against the Steelers, took control of the game and finished it off. That’s all you can really ask. The defense keeps forcing takeaways, minus two top DBs and without five linebackers by game’s end. Caleb Williams had some funky misses but also some clutch throws. The run game didn’t cook, but the Bears kept on schedule and produced a touchdown in all four quarters. It was pretty good complementary football, even if we were robbed of Aaron Rodgers facing his old foes in Chicago. I’m still not ready to vault the Bears to the NFL’s upper reaches, but they’ve shown enough late-game clutchness in their DNA to earn proper respect.
10. Chicago Bears (11) They keep finding ways to win close games, which is why they sit atop the NFC North. The schedule does toughen up the rest of the way.
7. Bears (No. 7; 8-3): The biggest test yet is waiting in Philly on Friday.
USAToday – Nate Davis (Save the jokes, I see them every week. Be original!)
15. Chicago Bears (16): How balanced is this offense? It has four players (D’Andre Swift, Rome Odunze, Kyle Monangai and DJ Moore) with at least 500 yards and four TDs from scrimmage.
14. Chicago Bears (16) The Bears have won seven of their last eight games, four of which have come on the road, and they have a legitimate path to the playoffs in the NFC. Head coach Ben Johnson has made good on his promise to build a system that combines his playcalling ingenuity with quarterback Caleb Williams’s rare talents, and I’ve reached a point now where I expect Chicago to convert every key third down and score every time it reaches the red zone.
Now comes the ultimate test of Williams’s second-year leap, with back-to-back games against the Eagles and Packers. If the Bears win either, they’ll be in great shape to make the postseason and cement the year as a huge success.
What do you think of this week’s rankings? Are the writers ranking them properly?
