Indianapolis Colts QB Andrew Luck‘s retirement sent shockwaves through the NFL, and naturally, the league’s power rankings ahead of the 2019 season will be impacted.
The Colts were considered a Super Bowl favorite before Luck’s departure; now, they’ll be lucky just to make the playoffs.
The Bears have been tiered alongside Indianapolis for most of the offseason, but that isn’t the case anymore. In Bleacher Report’s most recent NFL Power Rankings, Chicago checks-in at No. 6, while the Colts have plummeted to No. 21 (they were previously No. 7).
The stunning reveal of Luck’s retirement occurred during the Colts’ contest Saturday against the Chicago Bears, which overshadowed the fact that Chicago is doing nothing with its starters to improve during the preseason.
“I’m trying to do what’s best for the Chicago Bears,” head coach Matt Nagy said after the Bears’ second preseason contest, per the Chicago Tribune‘s Dan Wiederer. “Every team is different and that’s OK. Each coach has their own plan with their own team as far as where they’re at depth-wise. We love where we’re at right now in regard to our starters.”
The Bears were recently dubbed a team that should return to the playoffs in 2019 by ESPN, which automatically places them in the league’s top 12 (in theory). This ranking by Bleacher Report feels fair; any of the top six teams have a legitimate chance to win the Super Bowl this season and with a defense as talented as Chicago’s, they deserve to be in that mix.
