NFL.com's Nick Shook moved the Chicago Bears up six spots to No. 3 in his Week 9 power rankings, behind only the Buffalo Bills and the San Francisco 49ers. Chicago sat at No. 9 on last week's list. A 34-17 win at the defending champion Seattle Seahawks on Monday night changed the math in a hurry.
The defense drove the jump
Shook's case for Chicago starts with the acquisition of Jeffery Simmons. According to Shook, Simmons elevated the entire Bears defensive front in his debut, and he's not wrong. Simmons very presence was enough to alter the Seahawks defense to allow Montez Sweat plenty of opportunity to pressure quarterback Sam Darnold.
Shook's closing thoughts say it plainly: Chicago is not just an offensive machine anymore, and this defense might finally complement Caleb Williams and the offense.
The numbers back him up, too. Simmons posted six tackles, a sack, two tackles for loss, and a pass defended in his debut. Seattle managed 252 total yards and converted one of 11 third downs. The defensive performance was enough to get Williams the ball back enough to throw for over 200 yards, the only quarterback to do so against Seattle this season.
The offense did its part, too. D'Andre Swift ran for three touchdowns in Seattle, giving him a league leading 10 rushing touchdowns this season, and Chicago has scored at least 30 points in each of their last three games.
The crazy part is that despite the Bears earning this high of a placement in these rankings, the Bears still sit half a game behind the Minnesota Vikings in the NFC North. Additionally, the Bears have yet to win a game in division this season. Rankings can reward the moment, and for now it belongs to Chicago, but the standings don't lie.
The next snapshot comes fast, with Tampa Bay at Soldier Field on Sunday night. Win that one in primetime, and No. 3 starts to look less like a reward for one big night in Seattle and more like where this team simply belongs.
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