Caleb Williams sends Bears plunging in NFL Week 9 power rankings

Stop me if you've heard this one before: the 4-2 Chicago Bears played an awful game that dropped them to 4-3 on the season and snapped an impressive winning streak. This is where the Bears found themselves last year prior to losing ten games in a row, and they are once again in that exact same situation. This isn't to say that the Bears are about to lose out the rest of the season, but yet another dud from Caleb Williams should be deeply troubling for Bears fans.

Not all of Chicago's problems stem from Williams, of course. The defense proved that its high rate of takeaways is simply wallpaper over some serious structural flaws, and the team's persistent penalty issues, while concerning, are less a problem than red zone execution. While consistent penalties are generally seen as a coaching problem, Ben Johnson has put it on the Bears players themselves to clean up their act, and he's probably right.

I don't want to overreact to one bad game for the Bears, but they still have to take a steep drop in this week's rankings after losing to a 1-5 Ravens squad that didn't even have Lamar Jackson.

1. Kansas City Chiefs (Last week: 1)

The Chiefs just keep rolling, even with Patrick Mahomes throwing two first half picks. The way things look right now, there may be just one team who could send the Chiefs packing in the playoffs, and they're up next.

2. Indianapolis Colts (Last week: 2)

Can you imagine if Daniel Jones leads the Indianapolis Colts past Mahomes and the Chiefs in the AFC playoffs? That would have to go down as one of the greatest single-season storylines in recent memory, and at the rate the Colts are going it sure seems likely.

3. Detroit Lions (Last week: 3)

The Lions stay put for their bye week.

4. Los Angeles Rams (Last week: 4)

The Rams stay put for their bye week.

5. Tampa Bay Buccaneers (Last week: 5)

The Bucs got a nice bounce-back win over the Saints to go into their bye at 6-2, but a much tougher test awaits on the other side when the surging Patriots come to town. That game will determine whether I bump them back into the Top 3 or drop them out of the Top 5.

6. Buffalo Bills (Last week: 6)

The Bills did what they were supposed to and crushed the lowly Panthers, but I can't move them up just yet. I need to see another win, preferably against a stronger opponent, before putting them back in the Top 5.

7. Philadelphia Eagles (Last week: 7)

The defending champs avenged their humiliating Week 6 loss to the Giants by returning the favor. The Eagles took a 7-0 lead just 17 seconds into the game when Saquon Barkley broke free for a 65-yard rushing touchdown.

8. Green Bay Packers (Last week: 9)

It was dicey at halftime, but Jordan Love put together one of the best games of his career to defeat his predecessor on prime time as the Packers keep rolling.

9. New England Patriots (Last week: 10)

It's time to have a very serious discussion about whether Drake Maye belongs in the MVP conversation. It's still early, but the Patriots appear to have finally found their successor to Tom Brady.

10. Denver Broncos (Last week: 13)

Denver carried the momentum from their historic win over the Giants into Week 8 and put on a clinic against the red hot Cowboys. Can they be the ones to finally topple the Chiefs in the AFC West?

11. Los Angeles Chargers (Last week: 15)

By dismantling the Vikings on prime time, the Chargers looked like the dominant version of themselves that put the NFL on notice to start the season, but I need to see more before I can regain my confidence in this squad.

12. Seattle Seahawks (Last week: 12)

The Seahawks stay put during their bye week.

13. San Francisco 49ers (Last week: 8)

The Niners are going to give me whiplash the way they seem to go back and forth from week to week. Are they a good team or bad? The world may never know.

14. Pittsburgh Steelers (Last week: 14)

Despite the loss, I won't ding Pittsburgh for this week but if the defense doesn't figure itself out soon they're going to take a steep dive down these rankings.

15. Baltimore Ravens (Last week: 23)

A healthy Ravens squad is looking dangerous, and they still don't have Lamar Jackson back yet. With the rest of the AFC North floundering, the Ravens have a prime opportunity to get to 3-5 on Thursday Night Football against the Dolphins and suddenly get within striking distance of first place in the division.

16. Chicago Bears (Last week: 11)

As aforementioned, we can't overreact to one bad game, but the Bears are on a knife's edge between putting it all together and stumbling to another losing record. Caleb Williams has to be much, much better than he's been and the defense has to figure out how to stop opponents without relying on three takeaways per game.

Caleb William — Tommy Gilligan-Imagn Images

17. Houston Texans (Last week: 22)

Can this dominant win be a turning point for the Texans? It's too early to say, but CJ Stroud looked like his 2023-self against what has thus far been a good defense.

18. Carolina Panthers (Last week: 16)

The Panthers with Bryce Young are bad, but without Young they are somehow even worse. That shouldn't stop them from trying to find their franchise quarterback next year, however.

19. Dallas Cowboys (Last week: 17)

Jerry Jones may be skeptical that single move will help the Cowboys' defense, but you know what move would definitely help? Building a time machine to go back and stop himself from trading away Micah Parsons.

20. Atlanta Falcons (Last week: 18)

The Falcons seem to be a much worse version of the 49ers in that we know they're bad, but we don't know just how bad they are.

Bijan Robinso — Brett Davis-Imagn Images

21. Washington Commanders (Last week: 19)

Washington's front office made a massive blunder by going all-in on this current iteration of the team. Yes, 2024 was a magical run but it was painfully obvious that it could not be repeated. From injury luck to Jayden Daniels' inevitable regression, this roster has serious structural flaws that must be addressed with a mini-reset, and even Daniels should not be considered a surefire, long-term piece of the puzzle.

22. Minnesota Vikings (Last week: 20)

The Vikings have far too much talent up and down the roster to lose like that on prime time. Yes, Carson Wentz was awful at quarterback, but this game never felt close and the Vikings are now the sole NFC North team without a winning record.

23. Cincinnati Bengals (Last week: 21)

I wanted to drop the Bengals farther for losing to a hapless, winless Jets team, but I can't justify putting them below the following teams. They still have potential to improve throughout the season.

24. Jacksonville Jaguars (Last week: 24)

The Jaguars stay put during their bye week.

25. New York Giants (Last week: 25)

Standout rookie running back Cam Skattebo dislocated his right ankle on Sunday, leaving the Giants devastated. As he is almost certainly out for the season, an already bad Giants team is set to be even worse.

26. Cleveland Browns (Last week: 26)

After losing by a score of 32-13 despite getting 5 sacks on the day, you have to think Myles Garrett is regretting signing that contract extensions this offseason. Or maybe not. He's filthy rich now, after all.

27. Arizona Cardinals (Last week: 27)

The Cardinals stay put in their bye week.

28. Miami Dolphins (Last week: 30)

Credit to the Dolphins for finally looking like a competent team, but this bump won't last long.

Tua Tagovaioloa — Brett Davis-Imagn Images

29. Tennessee Titans (Last week: 28)

At least Cam Ward looked alright against Indy's stingy defense, but nothing else is going right for a rudderless Titans team.

30. New Orleans Saints (Last week: 29)

Rookie Tyler Shough made his NFL debut on Sunday but looked no more competent than Spencer Rattler. Few teams have a dimmer future than New Orleans.

31. New York Jets (Last week: 32)

For one week, I'll allow the Jets to climb up out from the last spot on this list thanks to their incredible win over the Bengals, but this is still a 1-7 team with deep flaws up and down the roster.

32. Las Vegas Raiders (Last week: 31)

The Raiders drop to the very bottom during their bye week, which is where I wanted to put them after getting shutout in Week 7 anyway.

Pete Carrol — Jay Biggerstaff-Imagn Images

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