14. Caleb Williams, Chicago Bears
Yet again, the cardiac Chicago Bears come through in a big way. The Bears kicked a game-winning field goal in Week 11 to beat the Minnesota Vikings. The Bears are now 7-3 on the season, and their magical first year under head coach Ben Johnson continues.
Caleb Williams has been pretty amazing this year. Sure, he’s not really lighting up the stat sheet, but he’s honestly doing a lot of what Bo Nix has done - playing well when it matters the most.
The Bears figure to stay in the NFC North race for the rest of the season, but even if they do not win the division this year, they should still be able to clinch a Wild Card seed in the playoffs, and that is a huge accomplishment for this franchise, which has been struggling for years now.
Ben Johnson clearly has the skills to be a head coach in the NFL, and I would be shocked if Caleb Williams was not the Bears’ long-term answer at the position. This has been a great season for the Bears, and even if they went one-and-done in the playoffs, it would still be a great year.
13. Baker Mayfield, Tampa Bay Buccaneers
It might be time to worry about the Tampa Bay Buccaneers, as they are now 6-4 on the season and actually only leading the 6-5 Carolina Panthers by a half-game in the NFC South standings. It’s hard to believe, but the Buccaneers might not be able to slam the door shut on the division this year.
The offense has largely been fine under Baker Mayfield, and he has consistently been a top 10-15 QB since signing with the Bucs back in the 2023 NFL Season. He’s done himself a ton of favors with this franchise, but his defense really hasn’t had his back much this year.
The Bucs lost to the Buffalo Bills in Week 11, and it really was the defense that wasn’t able to close the deal. We’ll see if things change, but this might be something where Mayfield and the offense really have to lead the charge down the stretch, as Tampa is too talented to not make the playoffs this year.
Mayfield has also been a very good QB and in a way deserves to be in the playoffs, as he continually and consistently does a fine job for his teammates. Mayfield is no. 13 in our power rankings, as he and the Bucs have been sliding a bit, but they are absolutely able to improve.