SI power rankings give Bears a surprising spot post-Packers loss

The growing national love for the Bears didn't waver after last Sunday's defeat against the Packers.

Dec 7, 2025; Green Bay, Wisconsin, USA; Chicago Bears tight end Colston Loveland (84) celebrates a touchdown in the fourth quarter against the Green Bay Packers at Lambeau Field. Mandatory Credit: Jeff Hanisch-Imagn Images | Jeff Hanisch-Imagn Images

The Chicago Bears lost the game against the Green Bay Packers. But they seemingly haven’t lost any of the good will they’ve curried with pundits throughout the last month.

The latest Sports Illustrated power rankings from NFL writer Connor Orr reflect that.

Despite the 28-21 defeat at Lambeau Field last week, the Bears only dropped one spot in Orr’s rankings, from six down to seven. The reason: Johnson and the Bears actually made this round of the Bears-Packers rivalry interesting after years of embarrassment. The Packers, meanwhile, jumped one spot up to fourth behind the LA Rams, Seattle Seahawks, and Buffalo Bills.

Now, this doesn’t actually mean anything substantial for the Bears on the field. This isn’t the College Football Playoff Selection Committee, after all. They still have to win more games to lock in their playoff appearance in an extremely tight NFC field, and going up against the Packers, 49ers, and Lions to finish out the season will be no cakewalk.

But Sunday’s gutsy performance against the Packers has apparently done a lot for the Bears’ street cred.

Beating the Eagles, who look hapless after a brutal overtime loss to the Los Angeles Chargers, is one thing. You can poke holes in that game after seeing Jalen Hurts throw the game away and the Eagles’ talented roster sputter and burn out down the stretch. Coming back in the second half against a Packers team that has owned you for the last 30 years, on the other hand, reinforced all the resilience the Bears have shown and then some. They’ve changed, even if they’re imperfect, and people are noticing.

It’s not just Bears fans. It’s all the others who watch the game for a living seeing the same thing. Even Packers running back Josh Jacobs mentioned it after the game.

If nothing else, the Bears have shown they’re not backing down from the grind as the playoffs draw near. They’re here to stay. Now, it’s a matter of how many more minds they can change before the end of this season—and how far they can go if they make the playoffs.

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