The Chicago Bears (1-5) were unable to snap their home-losing streak, with a 19-13 loss to the Minnesota Vikings (2-4), on Sunday. Chicago has now lost 10 straight home games.
Another not-so-fun fact: With that loss to the Vikings, the Bears are now 0-8 against NFC North teams in the Ryan Poles/Matt Eberflus era.
Potentially the biggest loss from that game was quarterback Justin Fields, who left the game in the second half due to a dislocated thumb on his throwing hand. Fields leaving the game opened the door for the Bears undrafted rookie quarterback Tyson Bagent, who brought a little life into a dying offense.
The timetable for Fields’ return is unknown — although he’s doubtful for Sunday against the Las Vegas Raiders (3-3) — and we haven’t seen Bagent play an entire game yet. This week will be interesting.
With that said, here’s where the Bears stand in the power rankings going into Week 7.
CBS Sports
Current Ranking: 27th
Last Week’s Ranking: 24th
Author: Pete Prisco
Author’s take:
The Justin Fields injury is a concern, but they didn’t play well against the Vikings. Is it time to start thinking about next year?
Our take:
The thoughts of next year have been crossing the minds of Bears fans since halftime of Week 1. Each week, fans are looking at mock drafts and getting their jersey edits ready, hoping that Chicago can hit the 2024 draft out of the park. There are still 11 games left in this season. It’s not likely, but crazier things have happened in the sport of football. Maybe this team wins a few games and makes it interesting with undrafted rookie Tyson Bagent under center.
Bears Wire
Current Ranking: 28th
Last Week’s Ranking: 28th
Author: Brendan Sugrue
Author’s take:
Are the Bears closer to the team that struggled to get any offense going over the first few weeks? Or the team that launched an offensive assault against two teams in the span of four days? It’s clearly the former after their Week 6 performance.
Our take:
Who’s to blame after this week? Justin Fields, Luke Getsy, the offensive line? I feel like each week, that’s the topic, who to blame. There are some obvious issues, but on Sunday, it appeared that Fields didn’t seem comfortable, held on to the ball too long, and didn’t make the proper reads. When Tyson Bagent came into the game, he went through his progressions a lot quicker and the offensive line seemed to improve. Bagent gave that team a spark. I’m curious to see what happens going forward.
USA Today
Current Ranking: 29th
Last Week’s Ranking: 26th
Author: Nate Davis
Author’s take:
Two steps forward, one step back for QB Justin Fields, whose dislocated thumb threatens to send this squad back into hibernation.
Our take:
Potentially a step back, or could Tyson Bagent be the replacement needed for this football team? Obviously, Justin Fields has been the starter for a reason, but the Bears will get a chance to see what they have with their undrafted rookie quarterback. What if he’s that missing piece to take this team out of hibernation?
ESPN
Current Ranking: 29th
Last Week’s Ranking: 29th
Author: Courtney Cronin
Author’s take:
Justin Fields looked better in Weeks 4 and 5, having completed 43 of 64 passes for eight touchdowns and an interception against the Broncos and Commanders. Fields struggled against Minnesota’s ferocious blitz before exiting the game with a dislocated thumb. Unfortunately, those two previous performances for Fields look like a byproduct of playing two bad defenses when the circumstances around him on offense were close to perfect. Depending on how long Fields might be sidelined, the 25-year-old quarterback might not have enough time to prove he’s Chicago’s long-term answer given the team’s 6-25 record over three seasons with him as a starter. As it stands, the Bears currently own the No. 1 pick in 2024 thanks to Carolina’s winless start. General manager Ryan Poles might have no choice but to take one of the top quarterbacks of the 2024 class based on how this season is playing out.
Our take:
If Ryan Poles is back next season, he’s going to pick a quarterback. He has no choice. This season hasn’t worked out. Justin Fields, unfortunately, didn’t pan out the way fans thought he would. It might be crazy to say, but there’s a chance he has already taken his last snap as the Bears’ starting quarterback.
Yahoo! Sports
Current Ranking: 29th
Last Week’s Ranking: 29th
Author: Frank Schwab
Author’s take:
There has been a strange excitement in Chicago for undrafted rookie quarterback Tyson Bagent ever since the preseason. It looks like he’ll get his chance to start with Justin Fields healing from a dislocated thumb. The reality is Bagent is probably going to help only the Bears’ 2024 draft position, which isn’t the worst outcome.
Our take:
Is it a strange excitement for Tyson Bagent or is the city of Chicago ready for a change? Maybe it’s a mixture of both, but it doesn’t make sense to kick the can on a quarterback who continues to struggle in the same areas week after week, and now force him to play while he’s injured. The Bears could have something with Bagent, or he could be another Caleb Hanie.
