3 NFC North Teams Are Close to Playoff Season; Draft Time for the Other
There are not many football fans who thought the NFC North would be where it is today. Sure, there are the “Negative Nancys and Nathans” out there that just say their team or the opponent is going to stink.
Three NFC North teams are closing in on playoff seasons, while the other looks headed for draft mode as the division splits into two clear tiers.
“Positive Pats and Pattys” were doing the opposite, saying who would be on top before the first preseason game. The realists could see the potential for things to swing either way, making it a bit of a toss-up.
NFC North Is Up for Grabs — Among 3 Teams
Vikings fans were mostly positive, with even the most negative fan thinking a .500 season was the least they would do. At week 12, it has turned out to be the absolute rock bottom (we hope) of a season in which many thought the Vikings would at least be contenders, while the other teams fought not to be at the bottom of the division.
If there was a gap between the teams the last few weeks, it has become a Grand Canyon-like expanse. The Lions, Packers, and Bears are all actually battling for the division crown on one side, while the Vikings are standing on the other, slowly falling into the abyss.
Vikings at Packers
In the offseason, Vikings fans couldn’t have been happier to see the schedule released with a game early enough in the season to avoid having to battle the Packers in the bitter cold.
Fast forward to now, and the weather wasn’t a factor at all in any respect, and had it been below freezing, the Vikings would have taken the temperature to negative levels; they were playing so cold. The Packers have struggled at times at home this year against teams that they should have dominated. With the Vikings, and namely JJ McCarthy, catching heat for a bad season, there was some hope that the Packers would again play down to their competition and that Kevin O’Connell would put another win on the board.
In the first half, the Packers’ coach Matt LaFluer let the Vikings hang around in a way that had the Green and Gold fans nervous while the Purple Faithful clung to positive possibilities. It was 10-6 at halftime, with the unshakable Will Reichard once again keeping the Vikings in striking distance, along with good play from the defense.
McCarthy didn’t look terrible in the first half, and the TV crew noted that some of his mechanics looked better than in previous games. He was getting the team down the field, with Aaron Jones having another great day rushing the football, and Jordan Mason.
The only questionable call was O’Connell going for it on 4th down with a T.J. Hockenson sneak that didn’t make it with only inches to go. Reichard could have put up another three points, but the team was being aggressive. Justin Jefferson had a few catches and was looking to heat up.
The second half is when the wheels not only came off, but the car exploded. After the defense came out and got a stop, the Packers punted. Myles Price let the ball go over his head and then went to block the gunner. Unfortunately, the ball bounced back at him and hit him, allowing the Packers to recover and score shortly after.
As the game progressed, McCarthy became less and less effective, and the simple throws became misses, or he hesitated even to attempt them. The Packers milked the clock on the following drives while getting good pressure on McCarthy, with a hit that caused the ball to go into the arms of a defensive player.
On the next drive, McCarthy did have a decent scramble for a first down. Something fans were screaming for him to do just a week ago. He took a big hit and lay on the turf for a couple of seconds. Two plays later, he overthrew Jordan Addison for his second interception, and the game was basically over.
That hit is most likely where his current concussion came from, but it wasn’t an excuse for anything that happened before that. Add in that Christian Darrisaw and Donovan Jackson went out with injuries, and the Vikings limped home with the loss.
Bears vs Steelers
Has Caleb Williams and the Bears turned the corner? It’s a legitimate question at this point. The game against the Steelers lost some of its shine with Aaron Rodgers out with a broken wrist and unable to play in a stadium he has “owned” for several years. Enter Mason Rudolph at quarterback.
He didn’t play awfully, but he doesn’t stride out there with the feeling that at any time he might make one more Hall of Fame throw. Williams, on the other hand, lit it up with 3 touchdowns and 239 yards, even though his completion percentage wasn’t stellar.
In the second quarter, it looked like the Steelers might take complete control of the game after they scored a touchdown, but then TJ Watt sacked Williams in the end zone, where he fumbled, and the Steelers recovered for a touchdown. Chicago didn’t get rattled, kept itself in the game, and eventually took the lead in the 3rd quarter.
Again, Rudolph had a good completion percentage, but he wasn’t pushing the ball down the field, accumulating only 171 yards with 1 touchdown and an interception as well. The score he threw for was near the end to put the score at 31-28 and still in the Bears’ favor. There was still over 6 minutes left on the clock for the Steelers o get the ball back.
On the final drive on 4th and 6, the Bears tipped the pass, ending the possibility of a tie and walking out as winners. The Bears’ defense won the turnover battle with a fumble recovery added to the interception, but only sacked Rudolph 2 times.
The Steelers only got to Williams once. He remains one of the hardest quarterbacks to sack in the NFL as he grows. Chicago avoided the loss and retained the top record in the North.
Lions vs Giants
The Detroit Lions are no longer the team of old, when they generally struggled at the end of the year just to be relevant. Since Dan Campbell took over, they have been a team to fear and have held the North for the last few years.
Are they as dominating as last year? No. They do seem to have lost a little of the flair they were playing with and have had some letdown games this year. Most recently, they lost to the Vikings at home. Sunday, they almost let the Jameis Winston-led Giants take another one from them in their own den. What was the biggest highlight of the game? Both teams racked up over 1000 yards of offense between the two of them.
The Giants rolled to a college-level 517 yards, while the Lions put up 494. The Lions flirted with danger the entire game, going in at the half down 20-17. Jared Goff was sacked 3 times in the game, with Winston avoiding going down in the backfield. In the second half, the defense finally started locking New York down more and didn’t allow them to score in the 3rd quarter.
The problem was that neither Detroit nor the other team scored. After the Giants scored in the 4th quarter, the Lions had a last gasp drive to tie it up and got the game into overtime on a barely made Jake Bates kick. Jamyr Gibbs is an absolutely electric player, and he showed it by taking the first play of overtime 69 yards.
The Giants had one last chance to tie it, but Aidan Hutchinson did what players of his caliber do and finally sacked Winston. The Lions have been playing with fire more this year, but they weren’t the “same old Lions” this time and kept themselves one step away from the NFC North lead.
Division Standings
Once again, I’ll remind you that this is where I think the teams should be ranked, and it doesn’t matter what the records show.
- Lions
- Packers
- Bears
- Vikings
I’m sticking to my guns that the Lions are the best team in the North right now, regardless of records. I was ready to put the Packers over them if they lost this week, and even the Bears with their win. However, all three teams beat the Giants by a similar point spread while struggling to get there, with the Packers being the only one that had to play them on the road.
The Lions may not be the NFL darlings they were the last few years, but they still play at the highest level on both sides of the ball. With the way this season has gone, the wins they’ve had have lost some of their shine, but not enough to remove them from the top.
The Packers are still a threat and have had some good wins. It’s just a few losses at home against inferior teams that put them a notch down, including a tie game against Dallas. Since most of the North has played the same teams, it’s easy to argue either way who is playing the best.
The Packers still have plenty of talent and good coaching to jump ahead of the Lions and Bears, and they have won more on skill than on lucky bounces or questionable calls. The Vikings played the worst half of football that many have ever seen, and the Packers still only managed two field goals and a short-yardage touchdown after the Vikings botched a punt return.
Green Bay fans even booed the team a little when they weren’t more aggressive at one point in the game.
Please hand me a stick as I beat this dead horse. The Vikings’ ability to win all comes down to the quarterback, and it hasn’t been good. No matter who they have out there, it has been a negative experience. McCarthy has seemed to take more steps backward than forward this season.
We all knew there would be growing pains, but these feel more like a lead pipe to the kneecaps. The defense and special teams have let them down a few times this season, but have, for the most part, been the reason the Vikings are still in games as long as they have been.
Now, it sounds like we might have another quarterback get a start, as McCarthy was put into the concussion protocol, and rookie undrafted free agent Max Brosmer might get the start this Sunday. At this point, it doesn’t hurt to see what he can do and if it’s any worse than what we’re already seeing.
I don’t think the team has given up on McCarthy, but a break might be what everyone needs. I doubt Brosmer comes out and suddenly is the spark, but it’s time to see what happens, good or bad. Vikings fans are already doing mock drafts and wondering what the next step will be as the offseason begins.
This last month plus change will get things figured out. Quickly, on Thursday, the Lions host the Packers on Thanksgiving Day, and that winner will quickly jump or stay at the top. After that, the Packers take on the Bears two times in the following three weeks, while the Lions’ biggest challenge is a trip to LA to face the Rams.
The Vikings are mostly dead. The only hope of getting their revenge is if we get “Miracle” Max, who can resurrect the offense. Have fun storming that castle. Do I think it will work? It’ll take a miracle. Maybe quite a few.
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