12. Chicago Bears
Last week: 12th
Bears play on Monday night vs. Eagles, and their ranking will be updated after the result of the game***
After the first week of the season, we thought Ben Johnson might be able to make his dream of out-scoring the 2013 Denver Broncos (606 total points) become a reality. The Bears scored 59 points in an impressive win over the Carolina Panthers, and we didn’t even see much from guys like Colston Loveland and Luther Burden in that game.
In a weather-impacted Week 2 loss against the Vikings, Caleb Williams was injured, the Bears only scored 3 points, and now they are facing the grim reality of a 1-2 start to the season when it looked like they might just run all over everyone.
But thankfully for the Bears, Williams’ injury isn’t going to require even a stint on injured reserve. He’s out 3-4 weeks, and the Bears now just have to weather the storm in his absence. They are playing at home, and could be relying on third-string QB Case Keenum.
Even though Tyson Bagent has been cleared from concussion protocol, Keenum got the full week of practice with the starters, so we’ll see how long his leash is on Monday night.
11. Minnesota Vikings
Last week: 10th
Against all odds, the Minnesota Vikings have started the season 3-0.
It’s yet another impressive job of coaching being done by head coach Kevin O’Connell and defensive coordinator Brian Flores. And if Flores’s unit can keep playing like this in 2026, there’s no way he’s not going to be one of the most coveted coaches in next year’s head coach cycle.
That Vikings’ defense puts quarterbacks in an absolute blender, and they’ve been doing it all year even with a lot of major changes on that side of the ball personnel-wise.
Just how good is the Vikings’ defense?
Against the Buccaneers, the Minnesota offense lost Justin Jefferson to injury early on. Kyler Murray was making his return to the field after missing most of the first two games due to a concussion. They had 9 first downs the entire game and were just 2-of-15 on 3rd downs.
The defense held the Buccaneers’ offense to just 2-of-17 on 3rd downs, and 0-for-2 on 4th downs. They finished this game with an outrageous 12 QB hits and 6 sacks. With a stretch upcoming against the Dolpins, Saints, and Colts, a 6-0 start to the season is not out of reach for this Vikings team.
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