Saturday, October 31, 2020

Chicago Bears Week 8 NFL Power Rankings Roundup

Throughout the 2020 NFL season, we will compile a consensus NFL Power Rankings that averages the rankings of all 32 NFL teams.

Here is where the Chicago Bears rank in terms of average, best and worst:

  • Average ranking: 14.8 (15th)
  • Best ranking: 12th (ESPN)
  • Worst ranking: 17th (USA Today)

Below you will find a Week 8 roundup for the Bears in our consensus 2020 NFL Power Rankings.

The Athletic -- Rank: 15

I wish I loved anything as much as Matt Nagy loves giving the ball to Cordarrelle Patterson in short-yardage situations. Over the past two seasons, Patterson has six short-yardage carries that have netted 2 yards. He picked up the first down on two of them. Patterson was stopped on fourth-and-1 at the end of the third quarter against the Rams. Chicago's offense went 11 drives without a touchdown in a 24-10 loss.

CBS Sports -- Rank: 14

The offense is awful. Nick Foles isn't good. They can't move the ball. They can't win games playing the way they do.

USA Today -- Rank: 17

The Bears are who we thought they were ... and we're not letting them off the hook.

ESPN -- Rank: 12

Who needs to step up: QB Nick Foles

Chicago is positioned for a playoff run. The Bears have a championship-caliber defense and a better-than-expected kicker, Cairo Santos, but the offense is suspect. Coach Matt Nagy benched Mitchell Trubisky in favor of Foles to smooth out the rough edges and play a more consistent brand of football. The results have been average. The Bears are winning, but the offense under Foles doesn't look a ton better than it did when Trubisky ran the show. Foles is under pressure to elevate his game. The season hinges on it. -- Jeff Dickerson

NFL.com -- Rank: 16

The Bears had an opportunity on Monday night to show America their fast start wasn't a fluke. Instead, a 24-10 loss to the Rams reinforced everything the doubters assumed: This is an average team with a very good defense and a deeply mediocre offense. That combination was good enough to get Chicago to 5-1, but all the team's deficiencies are laid bare when the competition jumps up. Nick Foles was a sitting duck all game, pressured into a series of low-percentage throws and pointless checkdowns. His inability to make plays with his legs jumps out in the modern NFL -- if the Bears can't scheme anyone open and his receivers don't win one-on-one, darkness descends. Matt Nagy deserves some flak for an unimaginative attack, as well -- this is just a drab offense. The surging Saints are up next.

Previous update: Chicago Bears Week 7 NFL Power Rankings Roundup

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