New NFL Power Rankings Have Chicago Bears (Finally) Moving Up

NFL power rankings are a fun, if mostly futile, exercise we get to experience each week of the season. You obviously want your team on top, but early-season results are often heavily biased. You know, like if you have Tom Brady as your quarterback.

The Chicago Bears have gotten absolutely no love from the pundits thus far because they were picked to finished last in the NFC Central and have been winning ugly. That seems to be giving them more motivation and the “they don’t think we’re good, so let’s prove them wrong” thing has served up quite a lot of humble pie in the past. And now it finally appears to be motivating the media to put a little more respect on their name.

To wit, the Bears were ranked 16th in the NFL power rankings heading into Week 6. Yes, at 4-1 with the only loss to being a close one against a pretty solid opponent in the Indianapolis Colts, the Bears were getting no love. If nothing else, they would at least get a bump from other teams losing.

Though it wasn’t a huge leap forward, the newest power rankings have the Bears in a more respectable position at No. 11 overall. For some reason, the Bucs are still towering over the Bears in the No. 6 spot after beating the Packers, who fell to No. 7 in the wake of their poor performance. Interesting concept to actually put one team ahead of another they just beat.

Either way, the Bears will have soon have their day(s) of reckoning. They’ll line up against the Los Angeles Rams, New Orleans Saints, and Tennessee Titans over the next three weeks. All three of those opponents are currently ranked ahead of the Bears at 10th, 9th, and 3rd, respectively.

Buckle up your seatbelts, this ride could experience some turbulence soon. Of course, if the Bears come out with at least two wins, expect things to smooth out the rest of the way.