After going 3-0 during the preseason, the Chicago Bears find themselves among the bottom of the NFL in the power rankings going into Week 1.
There are many question marks on both sides of the ball, which is why there should be no surprise with where Chicago is ranked.
It’s time to take a look at where the Bears stand in Week 1 power rankings before round two of Justin Fields vs. the 49ers takes place this Sunday.
ESPN
Ranking: 25th
Author: ESPN NFL reporters and analysts
Author’s take:
Breakout player: Cole Kmet, TE
Kmet more than doubled his targets, catches and yards from his rookie season to Year 2. The chemistry he has built with Justin Fields has consistently been on display throughout the offseason and only projects to increase as he becomes one of the quarterback’s top options in 2022. With Jimmy Graham gone, the third-year tight end can expect to inherit those red zone opportunities and cement himself as a foundational player in the Bears’ offense. — Courtney Cronin
The season will be a success if … Justin Fields shows tangible signs of improvement.
The Bears have a lot of work to do in building around the former first-round pick, and they won’t truly know whether he’s their long-term option until the end of this season. Chicago hasn’t put Fields in position to succeed yet, but if he can prove he is the right player to build around, the Bears will take a step toward solving their chronic quarterback issues. — Cronin
Impact newcomer: Kyler Gordon, CB
The Bears’ top draft pick is in line to start at nickel corner in Week 1. The notoriously difficult position is one Gordon assumed immediately in training camp, and he has shown off his incredible range playing both inside and outside. Gordon provides clarity at a position that has been rife with uncertainty. The Bears will be leaning on his contributions to turn around a secondary that struggled mightily last season. — Cronin
Fantasy breakout candidate: Justin Fields, QB
Fields has an opportunity to produce lower-end QB1 numbers in a new offensive system that will cater to his dual-threat traits. In 2021, Fields rushed for 420 yards — and two scores — in just 12 games played. And with more play-action and misdirection concepts, the Bears can set the table for Fields on schemed throws to the second and third level of the defense. — Matt Bowen
Over or under 6.5 wins? Under
The Bears hired a first-time head coach (Matt Eberflus) and didn’t help Fields by adding playmakers or upgrading the offensive line. There will be few games this season in which the Bears won’t be underdogs. — Eric Moody
Bold prediction for 2022: Safety Jaquan Brisker will lead all rookies in interceptions.
In Eberflus’ system, Brisker can play top down on the ball and create disruption in the middle of the field. The second-round pick out of Penn State brings a playmaking element to Chicago. — Bowen
Our take:
ESPN having Chicago ranked 25th going into the regular season is quite surprising. Yes, the team went 3-0 in preseason, but a good amount of those players who won those three games aren’t starters.
ESPN having Cole Kmet as the Bears’ breakout player of the year is exciting. If experts are expecting big things from the third-year tight end and he can deliver, that is another key weapon for Fields. Young quarterbacks need a good safety blanket and if Kmet can do that, Fields will be successful this season.
Yahoo! Sports
Ranking: 29th
Author: Frank Schwab
Author’s take:
Tight end Cole Kmet had a nice preseason. It would help the Bears offense immensely if he had a breakout season. They need someone other than Darnell Mooney to catch the ball.
Our take:
28th or 29th would seem to be the right spot to have the Bears going into the 2022 regular season. Yahoo!Sports nailed it.
With a nice preseason from Kmet, the hype of a potential breakout season for him is real. Adding Kmet to Mooney, and potentially getting one more target to step up, would tremendously help Fields.
Sports Illustrated
Ranking: 30th
Author: The MMQB Staff
Author’s take:
It’ll be hard for Justin Fields to take that second-year leap given the supporting cast around him. Few are expecting much from the Bears this year.
Our take:
Sports Illustrated has the Bears ranked 30th. Again, this team continues to be pushed to the bottom of the rankings because of the question marks surrounding their offense. A young quarterback, a rookie head coach, and not much star power to compliment Fields.
Still, maybe Fields will take a big second-year leap like many others before him. Of the drafted quarterbacks in his draft, the biggest leap is likely coming from Trevor Lawrence and then Mac Jones, but Fields is a close third with Davis Mills. Mills played well in 2021, but he is in a very similar situation to Fields. There’s still Zach Wilson and Trey Lance to account for when you bring up second-year leaps.
The Athletic
Ranking: 31st
Author: Bo Wulf
Author’s take:
The good news: There’s real Justin Fields optimism after an impressive preseason showing. If Fields can cement himself as a starting-caliber quarterback this season, that’s really all that matters.
The bad news: Man, is it going to be hard for Fields to do so given the talent around him. The offensive line is in transition, and the No. 2 wide receiver behind Darnell Mooney is either someone who wasn’t able to look good with Mahomes as his quarterback (Byron Pringle) or someone who wasn’t able to look good with Rodgers as his quarterback (Equanimeous St. Brown). Or maybe it’s the 25-year-old rookie (Velus Jones Jr.). Yikes.
Nugget to remember: Fields is one of four Week 1 starting quarterbacks with a full-sentence name, joining Jalen Hurts, Davis Mills and Josh Allen.
Our take:
Fields understands the struggles his offense will endure this season. It’s no secret his team isn’t loaded with talent, like other young quarterbacks in his position. Still, 31st? That seems low.
There should be some optimism though when you look at the new players on the team. Pringle and Jones Jr. have the potential to star in Chicago. It’s all up to them and their work ethic to make it happen.
Pro Football Focus
Ranking: 31st
Author: Sam Monson
Author’s take:
New general manager Ryan Poles inherited an ugly situation in Chicago and has done what he can to set the team on the right track in his first offseason. The only issue is that very little of that has had an immediate impact on the short-term prospects of quarterback Justin Fields, who flashed big talent as a rookie but has pass protection and a receiving corps that rank among the league’s worst on paper. Fields also had his own issues in Year 1, so this could be a painful year for Chicago as it tries to put solid foundations in place for the future.
Our take:
PFF pointing out the ugly situation Ryan Pace left the Bears in should be noted. New general manager Ryan Poles has tried his best to get this team ready for the season, but there’s only so much he could have done to turn things around in one offseason.
Block for Fields and get open, and this offense will be just fine. The issue is that Chicago hasn’t had a halfway decent offensive line since 2018. It’s 2022, and they have the same ley issue they had in 2019. It’s going to be a long year if something isn’t fixed by their new veteran offensive line signings.
NFL.com
Ranking: 32nd
Author: Dan Hanzus
Author’s take:
Has Justin Fields been set up to succeed? We didn’t learn much about Fields in his rookie season, as a poor offensive game plan and injuries kept the talented first-round pick from making the big splash the organization had hoped for. Things remain murky ahead of his second season: The offense has some nice pieces in Darnell Mooney, David Montgomery and Cole Kmet, but the O-line projects to be among football’s worst, while the defense is a shell of its mighty former self. Perhaps Fields is truly special, allowing him to take a big leap and put the Bears on his back for four months. God knows Chicago could use some pro football excitement. But there’s the unfortunately more-plausible scenario that, at this time next year, we’re still asking when Fields will get a fair shot at this thing.
Our take:
With very valid questions surrounding Fields and the Bears offense, NFL.com has them ranked dead last at 32nd. Is 32nd too far? Maybe. They should start towards the bottom of the league, but there are a few other teams that are arguably in worse situations than Chicago.
The fear of not having enough talent around Fields could be the factor in how many games the Bears win this season. After an impressive finish to preseason, Fields looks ready to go. That could all change once the regular season ramps up. Chicago could very well end up starting the season off 0-2, with games against the 49ers and Packers.
