Bear Digest

Chicago Bears player power rankings: Caleb Williams' dominance moves him to the top

If the Chicago Bears are going to contend for a playoff spot, they're going to need this version of Caleb Williams week in and week out.
Pete Martuneac|
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Chicago Bears

It took longer than most fans had hoped, but the Chicago Bears finally get a win in the 2025 NFL season, marking Ben Johnson's first win as the head coach. The game was a back-and-forth affair for the first 20 minutes or so, but the Bears rattled off 17 unanswered points en route to a dominant Week 3 win over the Cowboys.

With a win like that, there's no shortage of praise to go around but these five players in particular deserve the lion's share, starting with the man of the hour.

1. Caleb Williams (Last week: 2)

If all goes well for the Bears, Williams will retain this top spot in the weekly player power rankings for the rest of the season. That's exactly what Chicago needs from their young quarterback if they're going to live up to their preseason hype, especially after digging themselves an 0-2 hole.

Williams put on a masterclass, finishing with arguably his best game as a pro as he racked up 298 passing yards and 4 touchdowns. Most importantly, he went without a single sack for the first time in his NFL career and didn't turn the ball over. This game offered a proof of concept for the Bears' offense going forward. Now it's up to Williams, Johnson, and the whole team to build on this win and prove they're no flash in the pan.

2. Luther Burden III (Last week: 5)

The rookie had a huge day on Sunday, hauling in 3 catches for game-high 101 yards and his first NFL touchdown. This came on a bit of trickery from the offense, with Caleb Williams and D'Andre Swift executing a flea-flicker maneuver before Williams launched the ball to Burden who made a good catch and scampered into the endzone.

3. Tremaine Edmunds (Last week: Not ranked)

There's been some questioning from NFL analysts and Bears fans whether Tremaine Edmunds has a future with the Bears after this season. Well, if he can stack more games like Sunday's, the 27-year-old linebacker most certainly does. He finished the day with a game-high 15 tackles and two pivotal interceptions to help ice the game.

4. Rome Odunze (Last week: 1)

Rome dropping three spots in the power rankings isn't a reflection on him so much as it is recognition of other players who seriously helped their stock. Odunze was not quite so spectacular this time, finishing with three catches for 62 yards and touchdown, but his overall game was hurt by dropping a potential touchdown pass on third down.

It would have been a tough catch as Williams threw a pretty wobbly ball that time, but it's still a catch that Odunze needs to make if he's going to surpass DJ Moore as the WR1 in Chicago.

Rome Odunz
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5. Tyrique Stevenson (Last week: Not ranked)

Credit where credit is due. The much-maligned cornerback entered Sunday with an astonishingly bad reputation across two games; he had allowed a perfect passer rating of 158.3 when targeted so far in 2025. On Sunday, Stevenson played like a man who had nothing to lose and everything to gain, and it showed. Right from the jump, when the Bears' opening drive went nowhere for a three-and-out and the Cowboys appears to be charging full steam ahead for a touchdown, Stevenson saved the day with a crazy fumble recovery, creating what was likely a 10 or 14-point swing.

Hopefully Stevenson keeps this level of play up. With Jaylon Johnson and Kyler Gordon still not playing, Chicago's secondary is woefully thin.

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Pete Martuneac
PETE MARTUNEAC

A former Marine and Purdue Boilermaker, Pete has been covering the Chicago Bears since 2022 as a senior contributor on BearsTalk. He lives with his wife, two kids and loyal dog.

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