Chicago Bears News

Home

Quizzes

Watch

Newsletter

Power Rankings

David Banks-Imagn Images

2025 NFL Power Rankings, Week 1: Chicago Bears have a long way to go

Originally posted on Chicago Bears on SI
By Pete Martuneac | Last updated Sep 2, 2025 8:39 AM ET

The NFL offseason is finally over and Week 1 of the regular season is officially upon us. Meaningful football will be played on Thursday between the defending champion Philadelphia Eagles and their division rival Dallas Cowboys, who recently completed a blockbuster trade of Micah Parsons to the Green Bay Packers.

With that in mind, it's time to start the Bears on SI weekly power rankings with our preseason edition. Where do the Chicago Bears fall before their season opener with the Minnesota Vikings? Let's dive in.

1. Philadelphia Eagles

The defending champs start at No. 1. Them's the rules.

2. Kansas City Chiefs

The runners-up from last year begin at No. 2. That is also the rule.

3. Buffalo Bills

This feels like the year the Bills finally get past the Chiefs and return to the Super Bowl.

4. Baltimore Ravens

If there's one non-Chiefs team that can spoil Buffalo's season come January, it's Baltimore.

5. Cincinnati Bengals

If the Bengals' defense is even slightly improved from last year, they can easily make another Super Bowl run.

6. Los Angeles Chargers

Rookie running back Omarion Hampton could be this year's X-factor for the Chargers to finally get over the playoff hump.

7. Detroit Lions

I'll give the Lions the benefit of the doubt for now, but they are suffering some serious brain-drain from their coaching staff, and we all saw how that hit Philadelphia in 2023.

8. San Francisco 49ers

Aging stars are closing the Niners' Super Bowl window quickly. 2025 may be their last shot for a while.

9. Tampa Bay Buccaneers

The Bucs have proven capable of overcoming the loss of an offensive coordinator before, and I believe they can do it again to remain a playoff team.

10. Washington Commanders

As one of the final four teams left standing last year, the Commanders get a spot in the Top 10. But so much had to go right for them to make that run last season that a severe regression to the mean seems probable.

11. Green Bay Packers

Swinging a blockbuster trade for Micah Parsons was exciting, but it's so out of character for the Packers that you wonder if the head coach and GM's seats are warming up.

12. Houston Texans

What a change a season makes. One year ago the Texans were popular picks for a dark horse title contender. Now we're wondering if winning their division is too much to ask.

13. Los Angeles Rams

So much is riding on the health of an aging Matt Stafford, who will in fact start in Week 1, which makes ranking the Rams difficult. For now, they just sneak into the top half.

14. Minnesota Vikings

Another team that's tough to rank, the Vikings won 14 games last year and return almost everyone except for the most important position. By turning to quarterback J.J. McCarthy, whose NFL debut will come next Monday, their projection is murky.

15. Denver Broncos

Sensing a theme yet? Here in the middle we have teams who could be pretty good or pretty bad in 2025, and they all depend on their quarterback. Can Bo Nix build on a solid rookie season? We'll soon find out.

16. Chicago Bears

It feels like there's no middle ground for how the Bears' season will go: either Caleb Williams succumbs to his weaknesses and derails the season, or he lives up to his generational billing and carries the Bears to a deep playoff run. Knowing this, I have to put them right in the middle.

17. Las Vegas Raiders

Improved coaching and quarterbacking should carry the Raiders far in 2025, but both Pete Carroll and Geno Smith are in the twilight of their careers. Where Las Vegas goes in 2026 and beyond is uncertain.

18. Pittsburgh Steelers

Count me as a believer in Aaron Rodgers. The future Hall of Famer has one more great season left in him, and if he's locked in then the sky's the limit for Pittsburgh.

19. New York Giants

Russell Wilson may be well past his prime, but he's a huge step up from the Giant's QB situation last year. Russ plus a dangerous defensive front should make the Giants competitive this year and save head coach Brian Daboll's job.

20. Seattle Seahawks

Nothing about Seattle's roster excites me, not even the newly rejuvenated Sam Darnold. I think his success in 2024 was a result of Kevin O'Connell's coaching and that it won't carry over with a new team.

21. Miami Dolphins

I'm planting my flag right now: the bottom is going to fall out for Miami this year and head coach Mike McDaniel will be fired by Week 11.

22. Arizona Cardinals

In a make-or-break year, I see Kyler Murray putting up his best season yet and earning a new contract extension, but that defense is still mighty suspect.

23. Dallas Cowboys

Jerry Jones just traded away one of the game's most dynamic defenders because his ego got bruised during contract negotiations. The locker room all saw how that went down and it's going to sabotage this season before it even starts.

24. Jacksonville Jaguars

Apart from the 2022 season, Trevor Lawrence has been merely mediocre at best in the NFL, and the Jaguars already paid him a monster contract extension. He needs to start delivering results that match his compensation, or he could be looking for a new team before too long.

25. New England Patriots

There was a lot to like about Drake Maye's rookie campaign, but this roster is still nowhere near ready to compete. Best case scenario for Pats fans is another year of growth for their young quarterback while the team earns another Top 5 draft selection.

26. Carolina Panthers

I know everyone was excited about Bryce Young's "comeback" towards the end of last season, but he still wasn't all that good. Unless he gets much better this year, I think Carolina will be back in the quarterback market in 2026.

27. Atlanta Falcons

I was really high on Atlanta last year, but that was assuming a healthy Kirk Cousins under center. With Michael Penix Jr. now the QB1, this season could go any number of ways for the Falcons. Best to keep expectations low for now.

28. New York Jets

One of the most intriguing teams in 2025 will be Gang Green. Can Justin Fields finally become the franchise quarterback the Bears thought they were getting when they drafted him 11th overall in 2021? The odds have never been more in his favor.

29. Indianapolis Colts

The Colts announced to the world that GM Chris Ballard and head coach Shane Steichen are officially in job-saving mode the moment they named Daniel Jones their starting quarterback.

30. Tennessee Titans

Will rookie quarterback Cam Ward turn around a broken franchise? He certainly has his work cut out for him and won't get much help.

31. Cleveland Browns

Until the Deshaun Watson contract is off the books, the Browns cannot be taken seriously as an NFL franchise.

32. New Orleans Saints

The Saints are in real danger of becoming the first team ever to go 0-17 in a season. There's just nothing about this roster that the coaches can hang their hats on.

This article first appeared on Chicago Bears on SI and was syndicated with permission.

More must-reads: