Bear Digest

Skillful Tankers Keeping Bears Stuck in the Ninth Draft Slot

Analysis: With two weeks left, the Bears are running out of time to move up in the draft but a few teams this week showed they might be improving when they need to be losing.

Gene Chamberlain

Chicago Bears fan DJ Reed, pumps his fist to celebrate the announcement of Caleb Williams as No. 1 overall pick.
Chicago Bears fan DJ Reed, pumps his fist to celebrate the announcement of Caleb Williams as No. 1 overall pick. / Junfu Han / USA TODAY NETWORK
In this story:

There is sweet irony in this week's tanking standings for the Bears but also the knowledge that some cagey teams know how to play this battle for draft position better than others.

Now tied with the Bears and hell-bent on landing in the second 10 with a better record is none other than the team GM Ryan Poles supposedly duped so long ago with that big trade, the Carolina Panthers.

With a shocking 36-30 upset of Arizona at a time of the year when weak teams usually succumb without putting up a fight, the Panthers are 4-11 just like the Bears and Jets.

This still means they are getting a better draft pick still than the Bears because the tiebreaker is opponents' winning percentage this year and Carolina has faced opponents with a .498 mark according to the website Tankathon, and the Bears are way behind at .557.

However, the Panthers just don't seem to get the idea of losing at season's end.

The Jets have played teams with a .502 winning percentage and also own the tiebreaker on the Bears. There are no extra tiebreaker points given to teams for using an eccentric older man at quarterback or the Jets might be able to win that tiebreaker over Carolina, as well.

BRAXTON JONES' SEASON-ENDING INJURY MEANS LEFT TACKLE QUESTIONS

BEARING WITNESS TO BEN JOHNSON'S OFFENSIVE GENIUS

KEVIN WARREN URGED TO LOOK FOR SOMEONE BESIDES BEN JOHNSON

The good news for the Bears is Carolina still plays Tampa Bay and Atlanta and there is at least one potential win in there, especially the final game when the Falcons likely will already be eliminated.

The bad news was how Jacksonville, without shame, managed to lose to the 2-12 Las Vegas Raiders.

The Raiders had lost more consecutive games (10) than the Bears (9) but the Jaguars found a way to lose to them when they would have moved into a four-way tie with the Bears, Raiders and Jets at 4-11 by winning. So the Bears may have lost a chance there to move up another spot later because the Jaguars have two winnable games left with the Colts and Titans.

Either way, the Bears are right where they were last week at ninth overall, and with the way they're playing it looks like they are certain to be in the mix for a top-10 spot if not one better than their current position.

Here's what's left.

Top 10 Tankers

1. Giants 2-13

2. Patriots 3-12

3. Jaguars 3-12

4. Titans 3-12

5. Browns 3-12

6. Raiders 3-12

7. Panthers 4-11*

8. Jets 4-11**

9. Bears 4-11

10. Saints 5-10

*Panthers (.498 opponents winning percentage) have tiebreaker edge on Bears (.557) with weaker schedule.

**Jets (.502) own tiebreaker edge on Bears (.557) with weaker schedule

Giants: Home vs. Colts, at Eagles

Patriots: Home vs. Chargers, Bills

Jaguars: Home vs. Titans, at Colts

Titans: At Jaguars, home vs. Texans

Browns: Home vs. Dolphins, at Ravens

Raiders: At Saints, home vs. Chargers

Panthers: At Buccaneers, at Falcons

Jets: At Bills, home vs. Dolphins

Bears: Home vs. Seahawks, at Packers

Saints: Home vs. Raiders, at Buccaneers

Twitter: BearsOnSI

Published
Gene Chamberlain
GENE CHAMBERLAIN

BearDigest.com publisher Gene Chamberlain has covered the Chicago Bears full time as a beat writer since 1994 and prior to this on a part-time basis for 10 years. He covered the Bears as a beat writer for Suburban Chicago Newspapers, the Daily Southtown, Copley News Service and has been a contributor for the Daily Herald, the Associated Press, Bear Report, CBS Sports.com and The Sporting News. He also has worked a prep sports writer for Tribune Newspapers and Sun-Times newspapers.