There is something about Chicago sports teams that ESPN does not seem to like. In their power rankings going into the first week of the NFL Season, the Chicago Bears are ranked No. 12 with the Green Bay Packers and Detroit Lions ranked ahead of them.
The lack of confidence in the Bears going into this season is surprising. It is true that they could have done more in the offseason to boost their defense after how Chicago’s defense played last season. However, injuries are inevitable and unpredictable and unfortunately for the Bears, they have been hit with a lot of defensive injuries in training camp, particularly in the secondary.
Furthermore, Chicago has talent throughout the defense. They will have Pro Bowl and second-team All-Pro cornerback
Jaylon Johnson back this season; he missed most of last season due to injury. They also have a talented rookie safety in Dillon Thieneman and rookie corner Malik Muhammad showed promise throughout training camp and the preseason. On the defensive line, rookie Jordan van den Berg also had a really strong training camp. So, Chicago’s rookies should play a large role in their defense this season.
Offensively, this is still one of the best offenses in the league with quarterback Caleb Williams and the host of playmakers he has to get the ball to including wide receivers Rome Odunze, Luther Burden III, Jahdae Walker and rookie Zavion Thomas as well as tight ends Colston Loveland, Cole Kmet and rookie Sam Roush. The Bears also have a dynamic running back room with D’Andre Swift and Kyle Monangai.
All this is to say that the Bears are being severely underrated despite putting the NFL on notice last year, winning the NFC North and getting to the divisional round of the playoffs and taking the Los Angeles Rams to overtime. It is hard to believe Chicago should be ranked outside of the top 10, especially with two NFC North teams ahead of them.
In addition to the power rankings, ESPN also had a milestone to watch for each NFL team this season. For the Bears, ESPN’s Courtney Cronin predicted Williams will hit 4,000 yards this season, becoming Chicago’s first quarterback to reach this milestone. Here is what she had to say about why Williams will hit 4,000 yards:
“This feels like a slam dunk. Williams was 58 yards from reaching the 4K threshold in his first season under coach Ben Johnson, and he still managed to set the Bears' single-season passing record (3,942 yards). Williams threw for less than 200 yards in four games in 2025, so if he has one or two fewer instances of that, he should be at 4,000 yards by mid-December. One focus for Williams this offseason has been improving his accuracy (58.1% completion percentage). That not only will assist the offense's ability to stay on the field but also increase his production in the passing game. -- Courtney Cronin”
It would be a shock if Williams did not hit 4,000 passing yards this season. He is definitely capable of it and has a lot of talent on the roster to make it happen. His journey to 4,000 yards starts with the season opener against the Carolina Panthers on Sunday.
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This article originally appeared on Bears Wire: Where Bears rank in ESPN power rankings ahead of Week 1
