Windy City Gridiron
The Chicago Bears have made it to their entirely-too-early bye at .500.
The Bears are far from a good or even a great team and I think they’d tell you that. But there have been encouraging signs of growth across the two wins.
Perhaps most crucially though, they seem to be buying into Ben Johnson’s culture of detailed perfection.
Let’s see how the Bears managed in this week’s power rankings.
20. Chicago Bears (2-2) Previous Week: 22
The season couldn’t have started much worse for the Bears with a blown fourth-quarter lead and a Detroit Lions drubbing in Week 2. What felt like a surprise season for Chicago quickly turned to panic. Since that (0-2) start, they’ve reeled off two wins in a row. Quarterback Caleb Williams looks vastly improved over last year, but the defense doesn’t. First-year head coach Ben Johnson and his staff have plenty to figure out during their Week 5 bye if they hope to make a run at a playoff spot.
NFL.com – Eric Edholm
18. Chicago Bears (19) The Bears enter the bye with two critical victories to pull even at 2-2, thanks to a dramatic field-goal block. As thrilling as the win over the Raiders in Vegas was, it also provided plenty of teaching tape. Chicago struggled to stop the run outside of short-yardage situations, while the offense didn’t really move the ball consistently or finish in the red zone (1-for-4). Still, Caleb Williams made some big plays in key spots, and the pass protection held up, even with Maxx Crosby threatening to take over the game early. Ben Johnson benched left tackle Braxton Jones in the second quarter, leaving the Bears with two inexperienced bookend blockers (with RT Darnell Wright inactive for the game), and the offense was better for it.
19 (19): Chicago Bears (2-2)
Rome Odunze has made the second-year leap. He’s clearly the Bears’ best receiver and maybe even their best offensive player. He had a big touchdown against the Raiders on Sunday. Odunze had three touchdowns as a rookie and has five already this season. He’s a star in the making.
18. Chicago Bears (19): WR Rome Odunze has at least one TD in every game. The last Chicago player to open a season by finding the end zone in each of the first four games? Walter Payton … in 1986.
23. Chicago Bears (23) Chicago is getting little from running back D’Andre Swift and quarterback Caleb Williams within the structure of the offense on early downs, but it’s clear that Williams has the talent to get the offense out of the holes it digs itself.
Williams has been an effective scrambler, he’s excellent at recognizing blitzes, and appears to be gaining confidence as a downfield passer. Chicago’s go-ahead drive against the Raiders on Sunday was a showcase of...
