Yahoo Sports NFL power rankings: Where experts have the Bears in Week 17
The Chicago Bears are now losers of nine straight football games following their 34-17 loss to the Detroit Lions in Week 16. After starting the season 4-2, they are now 4-11 and firmly can be called one of the worst teams in the NFL.
The fact that there are plenty of teams that folks consider worse shows how bad the bottom of the league is right now. There’s a chance that they might not even get a top-five pick despite this terrible run that they’re on.
How does this recent stretch of nine straight losses affect the Bears on power rankings across media? Well, we ranked them 27th out of 32. Here's where they landed among other power rankings.
NFL.com
Current Ranking: 24
Last Week’s Ranking: 24
Author: Eric Edholm
Author’s Take: "We're in the silver-lining portion of the season for the Bears, who lost their ninth straight game and were eliminated from the playoffs last week. But if this game was a pre-interview audition for the Bears' head-coaching job this offseason, Lions offensive coordinator Ben Johnson certainly walked out of Soldier Field with no regrets. Johnson figures to be someone the Bears will want to talk to if they don't retain interim coach Thomas Brown, and the Lions moved the ball up and down the field with ease Sunday. The fake-stumble touchdown pass was a nice touch, too, the type of creativity we haven't seen around Soldier Field in a minute. Brown earned some points for keeping his team competitive, even if another defeat theoretically makes it that much tougher to convince management he's the man to lead Chicago forward. Caleb Williams never mailed it in and kept firing away, all while extending his interception-less streak. Williams has had trying moments as a rookie, but anyone who thinks he's not a talent is fooling themselves. He's also 568 yards from overtaking Erik Kramer for the most passing yards by a Bears QB in a season."
Our Take: The Chicago Bears staying at 24 on Eric Edholm's power ranking is a bit surprising. However, everyone seems to have a silver lining when it comes to the Bears this season. That usually isn't the case when the team is this bad but people are seeing the greatness in Caleb Williams. His ability to throw the ball a lot and avoid interceptions is starting to be noticed.
NBC Sports (PFT)
Current Ranking: 24
Last Week’s Ranking: 24
Author: Mike Florio
Author’s Take: "It all fell apart the moment they misplayed a Hail Mary."
Our Take: Mike Florio's one line each week is usually pretty spot on when it comes to the Chicago Bears and the rest of the teams around the NFL. He is correct in his analysis of the Hail Mary play ruining the season for Chicago. However, they took no action to avoid that and it cost them the season. Them being 24th on his ranking shows how he thinks of the teams below them.
USA Today
Current Ranking: 25
Last Week’s Ranking: 24
Author: Nate Davis
Author’s Take: "Meanwhile, No. 1 pick Caleb Williams hasn't served up an INT in his past 326 passes, a rookie record. He's also the first quarterback in the Super Bowl era to go winless over a nine-game stretch during which he wasn't picked off."
Our Take: The take from Nate Davis perfectly explains how underrated Caleb Williams has been while telling how inept the team around him is. To go that long without being picked off and not winning is truly incredible.
ESPN
Current Ranking: 25
Last Week’s Ranking: 24
Author: Courtney Cronin
Author’s Take: "The No. 1 pick has been a bright spot in a disappointing season for the Bears. Williams became the first rookie in franchise history to throw for 3,000 yards and is on pace to finish with the third-most passing yards (3,707) in a season by a Bears quarterback. While it hasn't always looked pretty amid a nine-game losing streak, he has raised a very low bar for quarterback play in Chicago and generated optimism for the future."
Our Take: ESPN's theme this week is naming each team's Rookie of the Year when ranking them. Of course, Courtney Cronin correctly identified Caleb Williams as that guy. He is the best rookie QB in franchise history and has the makeup of the best QB the Bears have ever had in general.
The Athletic
Current Ranking: 25
Last Week’s Ranking: 25
Author: Josh Kendall
Author’s Take: "In two games against Detroit this year, the Bears rookie quarterback has passed for 590 yards, five touchdowns and run for 73 yards. He also has lost both games because the Bears are the Bears, and they’ve now lost nine straight. Johnson, the Lions’ offensive coordinator and one of the league’s top head coaching prospects, has to be thinking he could work with that."
Our Take: Josh Kendall brings up a great point about how Ben Johnson has to like the potential opportunity to work with Caleb Williams as the Bears head coach. One thing that folks need to remember is that the Detroit Lions offensive line isn't coming with Johnson wherever he goes. That doesn't mean he won't succeed, it just means that expectations need to be tempered if he does decide to come to Chicago.
This article originally appeared on Bears Wire: NFL power rankings: Where experts have the Bears in Week 17
