Power Rankings: Bears making move for mountaintop

Updated Oct. 3

I was tempted. Really, really tempted.

I thought long and hard about moving the Bears into the top spot of the CBS SportsLine.com Power Rankings, taking over for the Indianapolis Colts. After Chicago's impressive destruction of the Seattle Seahawks on Sunday night, I was leaning that way.

Tommie Harris spearheads Chicago's powerhouse defense. (Getty Images)

The Bears, known for their defense, showed the rest of the NFL they can play offense, too. Rex Grossman was zipping passes to a good receiving group -- Bernard Berrian might be the most improved player in the league -- and the Bears hung 37 points on the Seahawks.

The defense did its part, too, making Matt Hasselbeck look jumpy in the pocket and forcing him to throw three interceptions.

That was impressive.

But after thinking on it for a couple of days, it wasn't good enough for the top spot. Part of the rationale is that knee-jerk decisions usually don't make a lot of sense in the end.

The Colts, who squeaked out a road victory over the New York Jets thanks to two Peyton Manning-led drives in the final minutes, remain in the top spot.

In keeping them there, two factors came into play. They won, and they won on the road. Winning road games, no matter who you play, is tough in the NFL. The Colts struggled and didn't look dominant, but they still found a way.

That's good enough to stay No. 1. Sure, the Bears looked better this week, but they were at home. And once the ambush started, it never stopped.

The Bears are clearly the class of the NFC after four weeks, a legitimate Super Bowl team at this point.

But the NFC is like the National League in baseball: a step below the other guys. Of the top five teams in our rankings, four are AFC teams. Of the three undefeated teams, two are AFC teams.

Don't you get the feeling that if you set a line on the Super Bowl right now the AFC would be a touchdown favorite, no matter who the representative?

Lovie Smith has himself a heck of a football team, one that should win 13 games based on the Bears' schedule and their division foes. That means the NFC playoffs are probably going to go through the chill of Chicago. That might be getting ahead of the action some, but it's always fun to speculate.

Maybe we can have a remake of the Super Bowl Shuffle, re-mix style.

Yeah, yeah, we know there's a lot of football to be played. But the Bears have really impressed -- just not quite enough to take over the top spot.

Not yet, anyway.

The rankings for Oct. 3:

Power Rankings
Current		Team	Previous
	1	Patriots · Trends	11
	They get Tom Brady back. They have the deepest team in the league. Oh, and they have the best coach. Add it up, and it's no wonder they are Super favorites.
	2	Steelers · Trends	1
	The champions are loaded again and will be in the thick of it come playoff time. They didn't do much to improve their offensive line, though, which has to be a concern.
	3	Colts · Trends	7
	Peyton Manning is back healthy again, so they are a real contender again. The addition of Donald Brown to the running game will give it more explosiveness. The key will be the return to health of major defensive players.
	4	Cardinals · Trends	2
	They've done some nice things in the offseason, including adding corner Bryant McFadden and drafting Beanie Wells to carry the football. They will be a playoff team again and maybe they'll finish in Miami.
	5	Eagles · Trends	4
	They've had a wonderful offseason, adding key players like tackles Jason Peters and Stacey Andrews and loading up in the draft with speed and quickness. They will be tough to stop on offense.
	6	Giants · Trends	5
	They fortified the defense with some key free agents and added a speed receiver in Hakeem Nicks to the passing game. Tom Coughlin will have this team in the playoffs again.
	7	Titans · Trends	6
	They haven't done a lot, and losing Albert Haynesworth will hurt. The other thing is their division is tough. They also have to get more big plays from their passing game.
	8	Ravens · Trends	3
	Joe Flacco will be better in his second season as a starter and that defense will once again be among the best. They do have to take their passing game up a notch.
	9	Falcons · Trends	9
	It's all about the defense for the Falcons. Adding Tony Gonzalez makes the offense complete and the draft was loaded with defensive picks to help the other side. They aren't going away.
	10	Saints · Trends	19
	This is another team that has improved its defense in the past four months in terms of talent. Now new defensive coordinator Gregg Williams has to bring it all together.
	11	Chargers · Trends	10
	This is still a deep, talented team. If Philip Rivers continues to develop, the Chargers will easily be the class of the AFC West.
	12	Texans · Trends	17
	The Texans have a lot of important pieces in place. As long as Matt Schaub can stay healthy, they might be ready to make a real playoff push.
	13	Panthers · Trends	8
	They will be the same team: Run heavy and play tough defense. Is that enough? Jake Delhomme has to play better.
	14	Bears · Trends	18
	Getting Jay Cutler is the steal of the offseason. He makes them a real playoff threat. Yes, I do believe that.
	15	Cowboys · Trends	14
	They have talent, but something just seems to be off. I don't think they're as good as the Eagles or Giants in their own division, which is why they are down this low.
	16	Bengals · Trends	24
	Getting Palmer back makes them dangerous and the defense will be better around him. I like the Bengals as a sleeper team. I really do.
	17	Vikings · Trends	13
	Quarterback. It's all about the quarterback. Whether it's Sage Rosenfels or Tarvaris Jackson, that position has to be better. Words of advice: Stay away from that guy named Favre.
	18	Packers · Trends	23
	The move to a 3-4 under new coordinator Dom Capers will be one to watch closely. If that side of the ball plays better, Aaron Rodgers might get them to a playoff game.
	19	Bills · Trends	22
	Can Terrell Owens make them a playoff team? That might be stretching it, but they will be better on offense.
	20	Seahawks · Trends	28
	New coach Jim Mora takes over a veteran team that was hurt by injuries last season. They need to keep Matt Hasselbeck healthy. If they do, they will push the Cardinals.
	21	Jets · Trends	16
	How long does it take to get Mark Sanchez ready? If he's what they think he is, they will be better than expected. If not, it's a redshirt season and they will win six games.
	22	Buccaneers · Trends	15
	Who plays quarterback? Whoever it is has to be better than what they had last season. There are also some age concerns on defense. New coach Raheem Morris faces a challenging first season.
	23	Redskins · Trends	25
	They're the fourth team in a four-team division. That will make it tough to win eight games.
	24	Jaguars · Trends	26
	They've made some nice moves to fix the offensive line, and now it's time for the offense to do more. The defense also needs young players to step up, especially end Derrick Harvey.
	25	Broncos · Trends	20
	They're excited about Kyle Orton. I'm not. I think he's OK. They better hope the defense plays better than a year ago or it won't matter who quarterbacks the Broncos. I do like Knowshon Moreno.
	26	Dolphins · Trends	12
	They are the step-back team this season. But in 2010, look out. I think Chad Henne will take over at some time this season.
	27	49ers · Trends	21
	It's all quarterback with the 49ers. Can Shaun Hill or Alex Smith get the job done? If not, they'll stay down here all year long.
	28	Raiders · Trends	27
	It's all about JaMarcus Russell. If he plays an entire season to the level of expectations, the Raiders will be better. I think he can. But they have other issues.
	29	Chiefs · Trends	29
	They landed their quarterback in Matt Cassel and have added a few players to help, but new coach Todd Haley faces a big task in getting this offense to play like his Arizona unit did.
	30	Browns · Trends	30
	New coach Eric Mangini will build this team the way he wants it. But one has to wonder if that's a good thing considering his Jets history.
	31	Rams · Trends	31
	The Rams were a disaster last year. New coach Steve Spagnuolo has a lot of work to do. They're at least a year away.
	32	Lions · Trends	32
	They have their franchise quarterback to build around, and Jim Schwartz will do a good job, but there's a lot of work still to be done.