Left, Chicago Bears wide receiver Brandon Marshall (15) and next to him Chicago Bears quarterback Jay Cutler (6), after Cutler was sacked for the second time during the first quarter of their game against the Carolina Panthers at Soldier Field, in Chicago, on Sunday, October 28, 2012. (Nuccio DiNuzzo/Chicago Tribune)
Here are the Week Nine Bears power rankings from various sites around the web:
Analysis, “The offense is still not consistent, but fortunately for the Bears, their defense is a scoring machine.”
Sports Illustrated: #5 (Last week: #5)
Analysis, “The Bears improved to a cool 4-0 at home this season with that escape job against Carolina, but their next four games at Soldier Field ultimately will tell the story of their season: against Houston in Week 10, Minnesota in Week 12, Seattle in Week 13 and Green Bay in Week 15. That’s a clear-cut step up in competition in the second half of their schedule, and it’ll take more offensive rhythm and consistency from Chicago to run that gauntlet and match its success rate of September and October.”
Analysis, “The Chicago Bears eked by in Week 8, at least on the surface. But it’s not abnormal for this team to prevail with a big play on defense and a clutch kick from Robbie Gould. Sometimes, that’s just the winning formula in Chicago. It was an “upset” that the Carolina Panthers put up 22 points on the Bears‘ defense. When it’s a surprise that an NFL offense scores 22 points on you, that’s saying something.”
CBS Sports: #2 (Last week: #3)
Analysis, “It wasn’t pretty against the Panthers, but good teams find ways to win games like that. The defense made the big play — as usual.”
Fox Sports: #3 (Last week: #3)
Analysis, “Tim Jennings’ 25-yard interception return for a touchdown against the Panthers was the sixth such score for the Bears defense this season. For comparison, the legendary 1985 Bears only had five defensive TDs all season and the NFL’s all-time single-season record for interceptions returned for a TD is nine”
Pro Football Talk: #4 (Last week: #3)
Analysis, “Jay Cutler, because he’s got the Superfans saying “Da Bears” again before taking a drink.”
Pro Football Weekly: #4 (Last week: #4)
Analysis, “Jennings bailed out Bears, saving them from a letdown loss.”
Best ranking: CBS Sports (#2)
Worst ranking: ESPN: (#5)
Thoughts on this week’s power rankings?
Jake Perper is the owner and head writer for Bearsbacker.com. Follow him on Twitter, @Bearsbacker and on Facebook for up to the minute news about the Bears.
