Despite looking less than spectacular in Week 3’s win over the Houston Texans, the Chicago Bears jumped several spots in ESPN’s NFL Power Rankings entering Week 4’s game against the New York Giants.
Chicago climbed to No. 22, up six spots from No. 26:
“Justin Fields’ early-season struggles were magnified in the Bears’ 23-20 win over the Houston Texans, as the second-year quarterback called his performance “trash” after completing 8 of 17 pass attempts for 106 yards, zero touchdowns and two interceptions,” wrote ESPN’s Courtney Cronin. “Chicago’s offense hasn’t been able to get its passing attack going, and much of that has to do with Fields missing wide-open throws, sailing balls past his receivers and generally appearing uncomfortable in the pocket. The Bears are trying to get a read on whether Fields is the answer at quarterback beyond this season, but it’s tough to evaluate him when he has only attempted 45 passes through three weeks.”
It’s been a weird week to be a Bears fan. Chicago has a winning record and is in a three-way tie with the Green Bay Packers and Minnesota Vikings for first place in the NFC North. Yet, the poor performance by Fields against a vulnerable Texans defense has a ‘sky is falling’ feeling in the fanbase.
Fields is completing just 51.1% of his passes this season for 297 yards, two touchdowns, and four interceptions. It’s a stat line that reads like one bad game, let alone a season total after three weeks.
The good news for Chicago Bears fans is that they’ve won two of their first three games, even with Justin Fields’ struggles. Chicago has a winnable game against the New York Giants in Week 4 and can end the first month of the season at 3-1 while Fields continues to gain experience as a starter.
As for the rest of the NFC North, the Packers remained No. 7 in ESPN’s NFL power rankings, the Vikings moved up two spots to No. 9, while the Lions dropped five spots to No. 25.
