NFL Power Rankings: How did the Chicago Bears sink to the bottom?

There is a group of certain teams you expect to be the worst in the NFL at any certain time. The Chicago Bears are not a regular member of that group.

So you can’t imagine the Bears will stay in the basement too long. But they’re there now. Right now, the Bears are the worst team in the NFL.

You could maybe argue the worst team is the New Orleans Saints (especially if the Drew Brees news ends up being really bad), the New York Giants or one of the one-loss teams that normally inhabits that “worst team” group we know and love. But the Bears have earned the No. 32 spot. Their minus-33 point differential is 12 points worse than anyone else. They have played two tough teams, but both were at home and they trailed in each by at least 15 points. It’s doubtful it gets much better in Week 3 at the Seattle Seahawks. Quarterback Jay Cutler’s injury doesn’t matter much either; he’s not the answer, just like Jimmy Clausen isn’t the answer. The Bears’ ineptitude isn’t new, either. Chicago was one of the two or three worst teams in the NFL by the end of last season, when it was clear Marc Trestman would be fired.

How did it get this bad? How is it possible that there isn’t one blue-chip player on defense except maybe pass rusher Pernell McPhee? Cornerback Kyle Fuller, the 2014 first-round pick, is getting torched by the media and fans after two weeks, the inside linebackers don’t intimidate anyone, and you can argue the second- and third-best defensive players are 32-year-old safety Antrel Rolle and 33-year-old pass rusher Jared Allen. That’s not good for a team that never was a candidate to compete for a playoff spot.

Bad drafts have hurt. Guard Kyle Long and receiver Alshon Jeffery were good picks, but the last five drafts are really thin on impact players, or even solid contributors. The last two drafts do look a little more promising, however. Most of the recent free-agent additions have been band-aid players who are 30 or older and not potential foundation players (McPhee and tight end Martellus Bennett are exceptions). Having the general manager/coach combination of Phil Emery and Trestman fail after just two seasons set the franchise back. And Cutler’s contract isn’t the only problem but it is a problem. You can’t pay a quarterback like he’s a Pro Bowler and have him be below average every year. They’d have been better off sticking with Josh McCown for a fraction of the price in 2014 and using him as a bridge until a draft pick was ready, while pumping the cap savings into the defense. How much better off would the Bears be now if they would have let Cutler walk and then drafted Teddy Bridgewater or Derek Carr instead of Fuller?

The Bears got stuck in the NFL’s middle class and couldn’t admit they should rebuild. That approach hasn’t even resulted in a playoff appearance since a loss to the Green Bay Packers in the NFC title game at the end of the 2010 season. The Cutler extension was the sign of a team that didn’t have much clarity or self-awareness. Either they truly (and wrongly) believed they were a contender or were just too paralyzed by fear of the unknown to start over. Either way, the roster decayed and it has led to this: The once-proud Bears are the worst team in the NFL at this moment. You’d think that the Bears won’t be very bad for long, because they never are, but rebuilds take a long time and it seems like the Bears just started. Only two teams in the NFL had an older roster last season, and they’re just the 19th youngest roster this season, according to PhillyVoice.com. All Bears fans can hope is their stay at the bottom doesn’t last too long.

Here are Shutdown Corner’s power rankings after Week 2: 

32. Chicago Bears (0-2, Last week: 28)

Simple question for Bears fans: What about this team gives you any hope moving forward to 2016 and beyond?

31. New Orleans Saints (0-2, LW: 19)

With Drew Brees, they looked like a bad team for two weeks. If they have to play for a while without Brees? Bring back the bags, the ‘Aints will be returning.

30. Tampa Bay Buccaneers (1-1, LW: 32)

To think, Jameis Winston played that well without Mike Evans catching a pass. And Evans won’t have many more catch-less days. Pretty impressive day for the rookie quarterback.

29. Jacksonville Jaguars (1-1, LW: 31)

It was good to see second-year receiver Allen Robinson have a big game. How many players have we seen win the offseason and then never show up when the regular season comes along? It seems his hype is legit.

28. Tennessee Titans (1-1, LW: 27)

Wait, a 2-14 team from a year ago didn’t win back-to-back road games to start this season? Shocking.

27. Washington Redskins (1-1, LW: 29)

I’m not sold, but they played the Dolphins tough and beat the Rams so maybe there’s something here. It’s certainly worth watching if Matt Jones starts inching ahead of Alfred Morris in the running back pecking order.

26. New York Giants (0-2, LW: 25)

The Giants are the first team in NFL history to blow double-digit leads in each of their first two games. So if you want to be incredibly optimistic, you’d point out that the Giants are a play here and there (like Rashad Jennings scoring in Week 1 instead of Eli Manning telling him not to) from being 2-0.

25. Oakland Raiders (1-1, LW: 30)

The Raiders went out and made what looks like a solid low-investment signing in Michael Crabtree and took Amari Cooper with the fourth pick of the draft. Derek Carr had the best game of his career Sunday, with Crabtree and Cooper each getting 100 yards. It was smart to get Carr some legit targets.

24. Houston Texans (0-2, LW: 23)

Blake Bortles, Johnny Manziel, Teddy Bridgewater and Derek Carr all played well in wins on Sunday. Just saying.

23. San Francisco 49ers (1-1, LW: 21)

The 43 points they allowed to the Steelers isn’t great. What’s much more concerning is they were stuck on 3 points against a porous defense until fourth quarter garbage time.

22. Cleveland Browns (1-1, LW: 26)

I’m still not on board with giving Johnny Manziel the starting job. He’s making progress, but I think it might be best if the Browns still play the slow game with him.

21. Detroit Lions (0-2, LW: 16)

Matthew Stafford was hit pretty hard by the Vikings defense, and now there’s no guarantee he’ll be ready to play in Week 3. Even if he plays, the Lions have to figure out how to use all this talent to get better on offense. What they’ve shown is not good enough.

20. St. Louis Rams (1-1, LW: 17)

The next NFL Network documentary: “The Jeff Fisher Era: No win too impressive, no loss too disappointing.”

19. Carolina Panthers (2-0, LW: 20)

Carolina’s first four games could be against Blake Bortles, Ryan Mallett, Luke McCown and Jameis Winston. Good way to get out to a fast start.

18. Philadelphia Eagles (0-2, LW: 14)

Not sure where they go from here. I can’t assume DeMarco Murray forgot how to play, or Sam Bradford is that much worse than Nick Foles, or Byron Maxwell is this awful. But right now the Eagles are a bad football team. I assume an improvement is coming, but it better happen soon.

17. Minnesota Vikings (1-1, LW: 22)

I got a feeling that “49ers 20, Vikings 3” will be to this season what “Titans 26, Chiefs 10” was to the 2014 season. Just a random, unexplainable outcome in Week 1. I’m fine ignoring the 49ers game and believing again that the Vikings can be good.

16. Baltimore Ravens (0-2, LW: 7)

Tight end Crockett Gillmore had five catches for 88 yards and two touchdowns. At least there was some positive out of Sunday. It wasn’t giving up 37 points to the Raiders.

15. Atlanta Falcons (2-0, LW: 18)

Two wins by six points doesn’t make them a juggernaut. But they don’t need to be a juggernaut — they play in the NFC South.

14. Miami Dolphins (1-1, LW: 9)

The Dolphins couldn’t even get through two whole weeks without falling apart.

13. San Diego Chargers (1-1, LW: 15)

It came in a loss, but rookie running back Melvin Gordon looked a lot better in Week 2. He averaged 5.5 yards on his 16 attempts. He was decisive on his cuts, something he hadn’t shown much, dating back to the preseason. Good sign for San Diego’s offense.

12. Indianapolis Colts (0-2, LW: 5)

It’s hard to believe the Colts will go from a chic Super Bowl pick to just any other team. So I’m not dropping them any further than this. But there are significant issues. The offensive line is a mess. The defense won’t carry them anywhere. They’ll win the AFC South. but then what?

11. Buffalo Bills (1-1, LW: 13)

The Bills split against the Colts and Patriots. That’s just fine. The key, after getting so up for those two home games, is not letting down for three winnable games (at Miami, vs. Giants, at Tennessee).

10. New York Jets (2-0, LW: 24)

I was wrong about the Jets. Couldn’t figure out how they’d be a playoff contender with that offense. Turns out it doesn’t matter; the defense is just that good.

9. Kansas City Chiefs (1-1, LW: 12)

If you forget the obvious, the Chiefs should feel pretty good after two weeks. The front seven has looked good, rookie cornerback Marcus Peters looks like a future Pro Bowler, the running game is strong again and the passing game has some weapons. They’ll never get last Thursday night’s game back, but if they can put it behind them there are a lot of reasons for optimism.

8. Pittsburgh Steelers (1-1, LW: 10)

And to think, the Steelers offense adds the NFL’s best running back this week. They’re going to outscore a lot of teams.

7. Dallas Cowboys (2-0, LW: 6)

The Cowboys are clearly not going to be as good without Tony Romo and Dez Bryant. But again, who in that division can take advantage? This is the 2013 Packers and Aaron Rodgers all over again; the Cowboys will still win the division because nobody else is good enough to take it (but still, I can’t rank them as high as they would be if they were healthy).

6. Arizona Cardinals (2-0, LW: 11)

It’s possible Arizona beat the two worst teams in the NFL in Weeks 1 and 2. Doesn’t mean they’re good, doesn’t mean they’re bad, it just means we don’t know a ton yet.

5. Seattle Seahawks (0-2, LW: 1)

You don’t go into a game as big as Seattle had on Sunday night and get Jimmy Graham one catch on two targets. For such a strong coaching staff, that was an utter failure. If you can’t figure out how to use Graham in your offense, don’t invest the resources in trading for him.

4. Cincinnati Bengals (2-0, LW: 8)

When you look at how the Raiders played in Week 1, then how they played in Week 2 … and how the Chargers played in Week 1, then how they played in Week 2 … have the Bengals taken a big leap this season and we haven’t really noticed yet?

3. Denver Broncos (2-0, LW: 4)

The calling card of Gary Kubiak’s offenses is the running game. Denver’s running game has gone nowhere behind a bad offensive line so far. So either Kubiak sticks with it, assuming it comes around, or switches to the no huddle/shotgun approach that finally started clicking at the end of the Chiefs game. The latter obviously fits better with Peyton Manning. It’s not an easy riddle for Kubiak to answer.

2. Green Bay Packers (2-0, LW: 3)

At this moment, so early in the season, the Packers’ opportunity is obvious. Unless the Cardinals (or, I suppose, the Falcons?) are really legit, Green Bay should be the heavy favorite to get the No. 1 seed in the NFC. If you’ve been in Northeast Wisconsin in January, you know what that means.

1. New England Patriots (2-0, LW: 2)

Julian Edelman has 22 catches in two games. That’s a pace for 176. The record is 143, by Marvin Harrison in 2002. Nobody else has gone for more than 129 in a season.

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Frank Schwab is the editor of Shutdown Corner on Yahoo Sports. Have a tip? Email him at [email protected] or follow him on Twitter! Follow @YahooSchwab