3. Chicago Bears (5-2)
Chicago plays on Monday Night Football
The Chicago Bears play on Monday Night Football and are one of the best teams in the NFL right now. The Bears made a major trade deadline move in adding defensive tackle Jeffery Simmons from Tennessee for two first-round picks.
While that does seem like very rich compensation, the Bears are in a win-now window, and if they win it all this year, no one is really going to care about those two first-round picks. Chicago clearly feels like this year could be the year, so you can’t fault them for making a big move.
On both sides of the ball, the Bears are stout. The run game is excellent, and the defense has played a lot better this year. Caleb Williams is as efficient as ever and might be approaching elite status, and when you take an aerial view of the Bears, you struggle to find much of anything wrong.
That doesn’t mean they’ll make a deep run, but this team is for real and can absolutely win it all this year.
2. Denver Broncos (6-2)
What is there left to say about the Denver Broncos that we already have not said at this point? Once again, the team came alive in the second half, putting up 15 points in the fourth quarter en route to one of the more dramatic victories we have seen from a team this year.
The Broncos were down by 11 points heading into the fourth quarter against Kansas City, a team known for big game performances. The defense was rather awful in Week 8, but we have seen the defense step up in big-time situations all year, and for much of 2025. Bo Nix played his tail off when his team needed him to, and now, all of a sudden, the Broncos are 6-2 on the season and in first place in the AFC West. This was a monumental win for the Broncos and another late-game, one-score victory.
1. San Francisco 49ers (6-1)
San Francisco was on the bye in Week 8
I can’t imagine how rough it must have felt for the San Francisco 49ers to lose the game before their bye. While the 49ers are still 6-1 and sit pretty in our power rankings, dwelling on that game for two weeks is likely far from ideal.
The 49ers, though, did need to break, as this team is again quite banged up. While the 6-1 record might make you believe they aren’t that hurt if you weren’t paying attention, this is honestly not out of the ordinary, unfortunately.
The biggest thing with the Niners is roster health - if this team can get healthy as the season goes on and into the playoffs, they can win it all. Brock Purdy is playing like an MVP candidate, and the defense is just suffocatingly aggressive. This is an excellent football team that could still have their best football in front of them.
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