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NFL Power Rankings, Week 11: Bears’ season has gone off the rails

Week 11’s NFL Power Rankings are a sad sight for Chicago Bears fans.
Pete Martuneac

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1 year ago

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NFL Power Rankings, Week 11: Bears' season has gone off the rails (News)
Ashlee Rezin/Sun-Times

There’s eight more football games to be played, but I’m calling it. The Chicago Bears’ season is over and they will once again be picking near the top of the draft in 2025. Since their Week 7 bye, they’ve gone 0-3 in a stretch of games that many believed they could go 3-0, have scored just 27 points combined, and Caleb Williams is playing like he just got called up from a Division II school to play in the NFL. And to add insult to injury, they’ve just fired offensive coordinator Shane Waldron.

It’s basically been every Bears fan’s worst nightmare, and it won’t get better. This week they face the Green Bay Packers, a matchup that has been a guaranteed loss twice a year for the past five years. In fact, there’s a very real possibility that the Bears have already gotten their last win of the season when they beat Jacksonville in London, which feels like a lifetime ago already.

That’s why you’re going to see Chicago sit with dubious company in this week’s power rankings and, unless they go on a miraculous run here in November, don’t expect them to get much higher in the future.

1. Detroit Lions (Last week: 1)

Two weeks ago, the Lions won a game with Jared Goff attempting just 15 passes. This week, Goff threw an astounding five interceptions but the Lions still won, thanks to late game heroics by kicker Jake Bates. The Lions look unbeatable right now.

2. Buffalo Bills (Last week: 2)

As long as the Bills keep winning in convincing fashion, they’re going to stay at the #2 spot.

3. Baltimore Ravens (Last week: 3)

The Ravens also stick in the third spot after a controversial victory over the Bengals on Thursday Night Football. The refs might have blown a crucial call, but the scoreboard still says that the Ravens won.

4. Kansas City Chiefs (Last week: 4)

The football gods clearly love the Chiefs. Rookie quarterback Bo Nix drove Denver down the field to set up a game-winning field goal but the Chiefs blocked it. They remain undefeated in one of the wildest endings of the season.

5. Pittsburgh Steelers (Last week: 8)

A lot of people owe head coach Mike Tomlin an apology. When he benched Justin Fields in favor of Russell Wilson, despite the team’s 4-2 start, the outrage flew in from all sides. Since then, however, the Steelers are 3-0 and averaging over 30 points per game (compared to just 20 points per game with Fields starting).

6. Philadelphia Eagles (Last week: 10)

The Eagles appear to be proving me wrong. After starting the season 2-2, they’ve won five straight in convincing fashion. To be fair, they’re beating up against bad teams in that stretch, but you can only play who’s in front of you. With the Commanders, Rams, and Ravens up next, I think we’ll find out who the Eagles truly are soon.

7. Atlanta Falcons (Last week: 6)

Division games are always tough, as proven by the Falcons dropping one to a Saints team that had lost five straight. I won’t drop Atlanta too far down my rankings, but they need to get right back on the horse next week when they travel to Denver.

8. Washington Commanders (Last week: 7)

Losing a nail-biter to a good team never costs anyone a big drop in my rankings, so the Commanders get to stay well within the Top 10 for now.

9. Green Bay Packers (Last week: 9)

The Packers had a bye week so they stay put.

10. Minnesota Vikings (Last week: 5)

I hate to drop a team this far after a win but is anyone buying the Vikings at this point? Since their unexpectedly hot start when they zoomed out to 5-0, they’ve looked more like the mediocre team we expected to see this year. A 12-7 win over a listless Jaguars team just doesn’t inspire confidence.

11. San Francisco 49ers (Last week: 14)

Kickers are always either the hero or the goat, and Jake Moody very nearly played the goat after missing three kicks against the Buccaneers. A walk-off field goal for the win redeemed him.

12. Houston Texans (Last week: 11)

A banged-up Texans squad very nearly pulled off a major upset against the Lions, but they came up just short. They should be getting star receiver Nico Collins back for Week 11. We’ll see if he can get them back into serious contention.

13. LA Chargers (Last week: 15)

Make that three straight wins for the Chargers since that disastrous loss to Arizona. What was supposed to be a retooling year for the Chargers when they traded away their best receivers has turned into a step forward for the team. What a difference hiring the right coach makes!

14. Arizona Cardinals (Last week: 17)

It’s time to recognize the Cardinals as a good team. Their identity is beginning to crystallize, Kyle Murray is reminding everyone of how dangerous he is, and they’ve now won four in a row with a margin of victory of +48.

15. Cincinnati Bengals (Last week: 13)

What a gut-punch for the Bengals. After playing so well lately and nearly pulling even to 5-5 on the season, they fall to the Ravens on a failed 2-point conversion attempt. Now sitting at 4-6, the playoffs seem out of reach barring a perfect run of the table.

16. Denver Broncos (Last week: 16)

Speaking of heartbreaking losses, the Broncos were inches away from being the toast of the town by taking down the undefeated Chiefs. Instead, a blocked field goal will now be playing on a loop all week long.

17. LA Rams (Last week: 12)

For a while there it looked like the 2021 Rams were back in town, but an ugly loss to Miami on Monday night slammed the brakes on that hype train. At 4-5 in a competitive division, the Rams don’t have much margin for error remaining.

18. Miami Dolphins (Last week: 22)

As I said last week, the Dolphins probably won’t make the playoffs this year due to their ugly start and Tua’s injury, but now that Tua is back they are a dangerous spoiler.

19. Tampa Bay Buccaneers (Last week: 20)

Few teams have suffered more heartbreak this season than the Buccaneers. Since losing their two best receivers (one, Chris Godwin, for the season), they’ve lost three straight one-score games. One play going the other way in each of those games is what separates them from being 7-3 right now. Instead, they’re 4-6 and likely to miss the playoffs.

20. New England Patriots (Last week: 23)

It wasn’t pretty, but ugly wins count just the same as pretty wins and the Patriots got a win.

21. Seattle Seahawks (Last week: 21)

The Seahawks had a bye so they stay put.

22. Indianapolis Colts (Last week: 19)

Head coach Shane Steichen says that they benched Anthony Richardson in favor of Joe Flacco because Flacco gives them a better chance of winning. Since then the Colts are 0-2 while Flacco has thrown 4 interceptions to just 2 touchdowns. I’m curious as to what he thinks Richardson is learning from the bench during this time, and what he thinks “winning” looks like.

23. Chicago Bears (Last week: 18)

After just nine weeks, the Bears have fired offensive coordinator Shane Waldron. More firings should have happened already but I suppose Bears fans will have to be thankful for at least a half-hearted attempt at change.

24. Carolina Panthers (Last week: 29)

Somehow, the Panthers/Giants game in Germany ended up being one of the most entertaining of the week. The Panthers got the overtime win in dramatic fashion thanks to a recovered fumble and an Eddie Pineiro field goal.

25. New Orleans Saints (Last week: 32)

The Saints get a nice bump up the standings thanks to an exciting win over the Falcons, but it likely won’t last.

26. Jacksonville Jaguars (Last week: 25)

I have no idea how Doug Pederson is still the head coach in Jacksonville after a putrid 7-point performance on Sunday. It’s a disgrace what he’s done to this team.

27. Las Vegas Raiders (Last week: 27)

The Raiders had a bye so they stay put.

28. New York Jets (Last week: 26)

Perhaps it was a mistake to expect Tom Brady to be the new standard of quarterbacking instead of the exception. He went to a new team in his 40’s and saw immediate success. Aaron Rodgers went to a new team in his 40’s but has seen nothing but injuries and losses.

29. New York Giants (Last week: 28)

The Giants are heading into their bye week with the appearances of a QB controversy. I don’t know if “controversy” is necessarily the right word though since everyone except owner John Mara has been calling for Daniel Jones to be benched for weeks.

30. Dallas Cowboys (Last week: 24)

With Dak Prescott likely done for the season, the Cowboys are officially done. They might not win another game all year (and they still have yet to sign star pass rusher Micah Parsons to an extension).

31. Cleveland Browns (Last week: 31)

The Browns had a bye so they stay put.

32. Tennessee Titans (Last week: 30)

Head coach Brian Callahan may very well be a one-and-done coach in Tennessee. Despite improvements to the roster, the team has gotten demonstrably worse under his tenure.

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