Bears poised to finish 2025 with impressive NFL Power Rankings standing

Chicago Bears fans must be pinching themselves now that the calendar has turned to 2026.

After beginning the 2025 season with a long list of unknowns — a new head coach, a second-year quarterback, a completely rebuilt offensive line — the Bears have given their fans a team they can believe in again.

It’s been a long time since that was the case. The last Bears team that played at this level was in 2018, and that Matt Nagy-led squad felt more like smoke and mirrors than Ben Johnson’s squad.

Chicago’s QB back then was Mitch Trubisky, too. Sure, he had Bears fans excited about his potential long-term upside, but he pales in comparison to Caleb Williams, who feels very much like he’ll win an MVP (or two) at some point in his NFL career.

The confidence in this year’s Bears team has been reflected in their steady rise up the 2025 NFL Power Rankings, which enters their final regular-season week.

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Who would’ve thought that the Chicago Bears, a team that won only five games in 2024 and were one of the league’s true laughing stocks, would end 2025 in the top 10.

Yet, here we are.

Bears finish 2025 season with top 10 ranking

In The Athletic’s Week 18 NFL Power Rankings, the Bears enter the final Sunday ranked No. 8. It’s the same ranking they had entering Week 17, when they lost a nail-biter to the San Francisco 49ers.

“Ben Johnson has been just as good as everyone thought he’d be while he was coordinating the Lions offense,” The Athletic’s Josh Kendall and Chad Graff wrote. “The Bears clinched the NFC North before they played Sunday, and then proved they are legit Super Bowl contenders despite the loss. Chicago scored on five of its final seven possessions against the 49ers, Caleb Williams threw for 330 yards and the Bears came within 2 yards of a game-winning touchdown.”

Perhaps the most rewarding feeling for Bears fans is that Chicago is the NFC North’s highest-ranked team. Indeed, it’s what you’d expect for the division winner, but it isn’t always the case.

In The Athletic’s power rankings, it is.

The Green Bay Packers fell one spot from No. 12 to No. 13, while the Minnesota Vikings jumped three places from No. 19 to No. 16.

The biggest surprise? The Detroit Lions, who won the North in 2024, are the division’s lowest-ranked team at No. 17, down two spots from No. 15.

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