Poll Numbers Looking Up for Bears Across the Board

Power rankings have begun to give the Chicago Bears a little more respect than what they received following their Week 1 victory, with Sports Illustrated putting them all the way up at 14th overall

The Chicago Bears are on the rise, even in the view of a skeptical national media.

A week after they were ranked 22nd despite a season-opening win, the Bears have climbed all the way to 14th in the weekly Sports Illustrated power rankings. That's the top half of the league.

"Matt Nagy and his staff have done an admirable job keeping the Mitch Trubisky train in motion," SI's Conor Orr wrote. "The Bears could be good enough to remain in the hunt for a seventh playoff spot this year if the quarterback continues to develop."

ESPN has moved the Bears up to 17th from 20th and list Darnell Mooney as the under-the-radar fantasy standout. It might be too early for this considering he has't had more than three receptions in a game.

"The Bears are clearly high on Mooney, a rookie fifth-round pick out of Tulane who ran the 40-yard dash in 4.38 seconds at the NFL combine. Don't be surprised to see Mooney play a substantial role every week, especially since Miller, who is supposed to be Chicago's No. 2 wideout after Allen Robinson II, is still struggling in the consistency department," wrote Jeff Dickerson of ESPN.

CBS Sports has pushed the Bears up two spots to 18th a well.

"Mitch Trubisky is 2-0. Think about that. Now give him credit. He's done some good things to get them going to start the season," Pete Prisco wrote.

NFL.com seems less impressed, moving the Bears up from 22nd to 19th and even refusing to join the Mitchell Trubisky Love Train which is starting to roll.

"The Bears are never going to be world-beaters with Mitchell Trubisky under center, but so far, it's been good enough for 2-0. Trubisky threw two quick touchdown passes against the Giants, and when the offense stalled out in the second half, the defense took it home with a game-saving red-zone stand to secure the win," NFL.com's Dan Hanzus wrote.

Bleacher Report put the Bears at 18, up from 22, and just one spot ahead of the winless Vikings.

"I don't buy it yet," Bleacher Report's Dave Gagnon said. "They weren't sustainably good against Detroit, and they nearly blew a three-score halftime lead to the terrible, Saquon Barkley-less Giants. This is a mediocre team that has backed into a pair of wins to start the year."

The Bears are 16th in the Associated Press rankings, up one spot over last week.

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