Chicago Bears climb to No. 4 in ESPN's Week 10 power rankings as the NFC North race tightens
The 7-2 Chicago Bears rose one spot to No. 4 in ESPN's Week 10 power rankings, and the Christmas Day game against Green Bay looms as the key date.
The Chicago Bears moved up one spot to No. 4 in ESPN's Week 10 power rankings after holding off Tampa Bay 27-24. At 7-2, Chicago is now ahead of Denver and behind only Buffalo, San Francisco and Jacksonville. The ranking is more praise than protection, though. The Bears play in what ESPN calls the first division in NFL history to have all four teams at least three games over .500 through Week 9.
That division race explains why ESPN's panel did not point to the Bears' next opponent as their biggest game. Each NFL Nation reporter named the most important game left for their team, and Bears reporter Courtney Cronin chose the Christmas Day rematch with Green Bay at Soldier Field. She wrote that the game "carries significant tiebreaker implications" because Chicago already lost to Minnesota and Green Bay early in the season. The Packers game starts a run of three straight NFC North games to close the regular season. Cronin's view is that the Bears will be well placed to defend their division title if they win two NFC North games in their next six, starting with the Thanksgiving trip to Detroit.
The rest of the division is close behind. ESPN has Minnesota (6-2) at No. 8, Detroit (6-2) at No. 10 and Green Bay (6-3) at No. 11, which puts all four NFC North teams in the top 11. The Packers come in on a run of five wins in six games, including a 45-27 win at New England on Sunday. The Bears also have a nonconference game left against Jacksonville at Soldier Field in Week 13. ESPN framed that matchup as a meeting between two of the league's best offensive playcallers.
What it means for the Saints game
The schedule now gives the Bears a break. NBC Chicago reports that the Tampa Bay win led into the bye week, and Chicago returns with two games in four days. New Orleans visits on Sunday, Nov. 22, on Fox, and the Bears play at Detroit on Thanksgiving.
The Bears go into the bye on a four-game winning streak. In that stretch they beat Atlanta 31-23 on the road, New England 30-24 at home, Seattle 34-17 on the road and Tampa Bay 27-24 at home. Since a 31-7 loss at Green Bay, they have scored at least 27 points in every game. Across nine games they have scored 241 points and allowed 184. Both losses came in division games: the 9-3 home loss to Minnesota and the defeat at Lambeau Field.
New Orleans is 3-5 and No. 26 in ESPN's rankings. The Saints are coming off a 23-22 overtime win over Cleveland and host Carolina this week. The NFC South is crowded at the bottom: ESPN notes it became the first division to have every team at least two games under .500 through Week 9. Saints reporter Katherine Terrell circled the Week 17 game at Atlanta as New Orleans' biggest remaining date, not the trip to Chicago.
On paper, the Saints game is the kind a division contender has to win, and the short week makes it more important. With Detroit four days later and the NFC North this tight, a home loss to a losing team could cost Chicago the cushion it has built over the last month.