After a Week 3 win against the Houston Texans, the Chicago Bears trended up in the power rankings. The rushing attack and defense have looked solid in Chicago’s two wins – the passing attack has been a different story.
Despite Justin Fields’ struggling play through three weeks, the Bears are 2-1. If he can produce at a higher level, this team has the potential to hold their own against good teams.
Here’s where the Bears stand in the Week 4 power rankings:
ESPN
Current Ranking: 22nd
Last Week’s Ranking: 28th
Author: Courtney Cronin
Author’s Take:
Justin Fields’ early-season struggles were magnified in the Bears’ 23-20 win over the Houston Texans, as the second-year quarterback called his performance “trash” after completing 8 of 17 pass attempts for 106 yards, zero touchdowns and two interceptions. Chicago’s offense hasn’t been able to get its passing attack going, and much of that has to do with Fields missing wide-open throws, sailing balls past his receivers and generally appearing uncomfortable in the pocket. The Bears are trying to get a read on whether Fields is the answer at quarterback beyond this season, but it’s tough to evaluate him when he has only attempted 45 passes through three weeks.
Our Take:
The passing game has struggled for the Bears. So far, Fields hasn’t progressed as a passer as many hoped going into Year 2. It’s early, but the concerns are there. The good news is this defense looks solid and the run game will keep Chicago in many games this season. If it comes down to Fields in the fourth quarter to win games, so far, the confidence isn’t there. That can all change with a few solid performances going forward.
Pro Football Talk
Current Ranking: 22nd
Last Week’s Ranking: 28th
Author:
Author’s Take:
Ugly wins count the same in the standing as the pretty ones.
Our Take:
Running the football and playing well on defense wins ball games – and ugly wins count. The Bears are winning ugly, but those wins add up. As Nick Foles once said, “We’d rather win ugly than lose pretty.” I’m sure everyone in Chicago is happy with this team starting 2-1 after three games.
Bleacher Report
Current Ranking: 23rd
Last Week’s Ranking: 29th
Author: NFL Staff
Author’s Take:
The world is filled with mystery and unexplained phenomena. There’s Stonehenge, the Easter Island statues and the Chicago Bears being 2-1 three weeks into the 2022 season.
Make no mistake: Sunday’s last-second win over Houston says far more about the Texans being terrible than it does about the Bears being any good.
Yes, running back Khalil Herbert had a big game in place of an injured David Montgomery, rushing for 157 yards and two touchdowns on 20 carries. But Justin Fields and the Bears passing game were abjectly terrible once again. Fields completed only eight of his 17 pass attempts for 106 yards with a pair of interceptions and a passer rating under 30.
“I played terrible,” he told reporters after the game. I’m going to get better. We are going to get better as a whole.”
In fairness to Fields, the Bears haven’t exactly put him in position to succeed. Chicago’s passing-game weapons might be the worst in the league.
But Fields has continually been inaccurate and made poor decisions with the football. And if that continues, the Bears could be forced to weigh whether to punt on the quarterback they traded up to draft in 2021.
“The Bears may be the worst 2-1 team the NFL has ever seen,” Sobleski said. “Maybe the previous sentence is a tad hyperbolic. But Chicago isn’t particularly good in any specific area. The offense ranks dead last in total yardage through three weeks of play. The coaching staff seems reticent to even put the ball in Fields’ hands. The Bears rank among the bottom half of the league defensively.
“Chicago eked out a victory against the struggling San Francisco 49ers in a wet-and-wild affair in Week 1, and the Texans are pretty much the NFL’s worst team. Circumstances be what they may, the Bears do deserve some credit for winning those contests.”
Our Take:
Fields has struggled, and he knows it. He has a hard work ethic and is willing to admit his struggles. Sports fans have a short memory, if he can turn things around this season, everyone will forget his early struggles. If he continues to struggle, they’ll continue to lose faith. Chicago has two wins, both teams have losing records. It’s hard to tell where this team is.
CBS Sports
Current Ranking: 24th
Last Week’s Ranking: 28th
Author: Pete Prisco
Author’s Take:
They are 2-1, but have hardly looked like that type of team. The offense can run it, but Justin Fields continues to struggle.
Our Take:
Are the Bears for real? Without a passing attack, no, but this team is rebuilding. If Fields can progress throughout the season, the future is bright. If he doesn’t, this team is going to have more problems this offseason than expected. Still, the offense deserves credit, they’ve been more successful than many fans expected. Even if they can’t throw the ball down the field.
NFL.com
Current Ranking: 27th
Last Week’s Ranking: 30th
Author: Dan Hanzus
Author’s Take:
Eyebrows raised when Justin Fields came out of Chicago’s first two games with just 28 total pass attempts. You have a better idea of any trepidation Matt Eberflus may have after watching the second-year passer stumble through Sunday’s win over the Texans. Fields threw two interceptions, fumbled twice and generally looked uncomfortable piloting the Chicago attack. We knew this was going to be a season of growing pains for Fields and the Bears — but the early signs suggest those pains might be more severe than expected.
Our Take:
The passing attempts increased for Fields, but the production did not. For the second time this season, Fields threw for under 50% completion. That is unacceptable. He gets a pass for Week 1’s poor completion percentage due to how poor the conditions were. This week, no excuses for Fields. Along with the low completion percentage, the poor decisions in the air to throw two interceptions could have cost Chicago the game. If they didn’t have such a strong rushing attack, it could have been over early.
The Score
Current Ranking: 28th
Last Week’s Ranking: 31st
Author: The Score Staff
Author’s Take:
Are the Bears better than we all thought? A last-minute victory over the Texans isn’t enough for us to buy that, but wins are wins. We’ll learn who this team really is over the next few weeks.
Our Take:
The Bears are 2-1 but need to improve their passing attack. Everyone at Halas Hall knows that, including the one who is struggling. Chicago is winning games ugly, running the ball well, and playing solid defense. If a passing attack can join that, they’re going to be a lot better than we all thought.
