NFC North Round-Up: Vikings Cruise to a Win, Bears Win Caleb Williams’ Debut
Apart from Monday night’s matchup between the New York Jets and San Francisco 49ers, Week 1 of the NFL season is now behind us.
That includes four games featuring teams from the NFC North, and just about all of them featured fun, competitive matchups. That is, except for the Minnesota Vikings who cruised to a win against the New York Giants.
Here is a look back at the results in the NFC North from this weekend.
Caleb Williams Struggles, Bears Defense Soars
It was a pretty forgettable NFL debut for the first overall pick on Sunday as Caleb Williams completed just 14 of his 29 passes for only 93 yards. Sunday was an anemic day for the Bears offense as a whole, totaling just 148 yards.
In the end, it didn’t matter, though. Chicago’s defense lived up to all preseason hype forcing three turnovers, including a pick six from Tyrique Stevenson that proved to be the difference in the game. The Bears became just the fourth team since 2015 to win a game while accruing 150 yards or less of total offense, per Stathead.
Detroit Claws Their Way to an OT Win on SNF
In a rematch of the Wild Card playoff matchup from last season, the Los Angeles Rams headed to Detroit to take on the Lions.
Jameson Williams finally got a chance to show why the Lions decided to trade up and take him in the first round of the 2022 NFL Draft catching five passes for 121 yards, including a 52-yard touchdown catch.
In the end though, the story of this game was Detroit’s ability to win in the trenches when it mattered. Aidan Hutchinson landed a sack of Matthew Stafford to end any hopes of a game-winning drive in the fourth quarter, and the Lions’ running back trio led the offense down the field in overtime, capping off the win with a touchdown run from David Montgomery.
Green Bay Falls in Brazil
The first NFL game in Brazil was a thriller, but it ended in downfall for the Green Bay Packers. Green Bay was the only NFC North team to lose in Week 1, and of course, the story coming out of this game was Jordan Love’s knee injury.
The Packers QB threw for 260 yards, two touchdowns, and an interception before an MCL injury sidelined him in the fourth quarter. Unfortunately for Green Bay, the effort wasn’t enough to stop the freight train that was Saquon Barkley who totaled 132 yards and three touchdowns on the night. Now, Green Bay will have to switch gears over the next few weeks without Love in the lineup.
Vikings Cruise to a Win over Giants
Vikings fans haven’t gotten to enjoy stress-free wins very often during the 2020s, but Minnesota put the beat down on the New York Giants on Sunday.
Sam Darnold’s debut in purple went swimmingly as the QB completed 19 of his 24 passes for 208 yards and a pair of touchdowns. His only real mistake of the day was an interception thrown as he was hit.
Defensively, Minnesota recorded five sacks on the afternoon, and Andrew Van Ginkel made his presence felt all over the field. The new Vikings linebacker put together four tackles, two QB hits, a sack, and a pick-six.
Of course, Vikings fans will be holding their breath until they learn more about Jordan Addison’s ankle injury, but Minnesota set a strong tone heading into their Week 2 matchup against the 49ers.
Editor’s Note: Statistics for this article were found via Pro Football Reference.
Ivan Pace Jr. Was Right
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