NFC North Round-Up: Two Wins, Two Teams on Bye

Minnesota Vikings fans in London for Week 5 of the 2025 season.
Oct 5, 2025; Tottenham, United Kingdom; Minnesota Vikings fans cheer during the third quarter of an NFL International Series game at Tottenham Hotspur Stadium. Mandatory Credit: Kirby Lee-Imagn Images

Week 5 brought with it plenty of wild action across the NFL once again.

However, it also brought the first slate of teams resting on their bye week, and of the four teams on bye, two of them reside within the NFC North, limiting how much action the division saw this weekend.

Still, there were two teams in action, including the Minnesota Vikings who kicked Sunday off from Europe for the second week in a row. Here is a look at how the division stands after five weeks.

Detroit Throttles Cincinnati

NFC North Week 5
Detroit Lions running back David Montgomery (5) runs for a touchdown against Cincinnati Bengals during the second half at Paycor Stadium in Cincinnati on Sunday, Oct. 5, 2025.

The Detroit Lions continue to prove that they have not lost a step in 2025, clicking off their fourth straight game of scoring over 30 points after their Week 1 loss to the Green Bay Packers. This week was domination from start to finish against the Cincinnati Bengals.

The game finished with a final score of 37-24, but it was much more lopsided than that. Detroit was up 28-3 before the Bengals rattled off three fourth quarter touchdowns to make it look more respectable. The Lions forced three turnovers from Jake Browning while Jared Goff threw only four incompletions throughout the entire game.

With the Eagles’ loss to the Broncos, the Lions have now moved into a four-way tie atop the NFC with Philadelphia, San Francisco, and Tampa Bay. Detroit will now head to Arrowhead and take on the Kansas City Chiefs in Week 6.

Vikings Eke Out a Win Over the Browns

Oct 5, 2025; Tottenham, United Kingdom; Minnesota Vikings tight end Josh Oliver (84) celebrates after scoring a touchdown against the Cleveland Browns during the first quarter of an NFL International Series game at Tottenham Hotspur Stadium. Mandatory Credit: Kirby Lee-Imagn Images

It certainly wasn’t a pretty game on Sunday morning in London, but the Vikings got the job done when they absolutely needed to in order improve to 3-2 on the season and stay within a game of the Lions for the NFC North lead.

The Vikings fumbled away their first possession of the game, and the Browns immediately went down the field and scored a touchdown, meaning Minnesota was playing catchup throughout most of the game.

Ultimately, though, Carson Wentz led a perfect two-minute drill at the end of the game, completing all nine of his passes for 71 yards and capped it off with a 12-yard touchdown pass to Jordan Addison with 25 seconds left to seal the deal. For a team that went into the game without three of their starting offensive linemen and lost Christian Darrisaw because of a pre-planned snap limit, it was an impressive win against a very strong defense.

Now, the Vikings will rest up on their bye in Week 6 to hopefully get some of their key players back from injury before they take on the Philadelphia Eagles at home in Week 7.

Bears, Packers Rest on Bye

Sep 21, 2025; Chicago, Illinois, USA; Chicago Bears quarterback Caleb Williams (18) gestures after throwing a touchdown against the Dallas Cowboys during the second half at Soldier Field. Mandatory Credit: David Banks-Imagn Images

The bye probably wasn’t the greatest timing for the Chicago Bears this weekend after winning two consecutive games, but their schedule coming up is not the easiest, so any rest advantage could come in handy. They play three of their next four games on the road, including a Week 6 matchup with the Washington Commanders on Monday Night Football.

Meanwhile, the Packers absolutely needed their bye to come when it did after a Week 3 loss to the Cleveland Browns and a 40-40 tie against the Dallas Cowboys in Week 4. Their defense has not looked as elite as many thought it would following the Micah Parsons trade, but they will host the Cincinnati Bengals in Week 6 that should serve as a get right game.


Editor’s Note: Statistics for this article were found via Pro Football Reference.

avatar
Josh Frey is a senior writer at both PurplePTSD.com and VikingsTerritory.com, with a fascination for the NFL Draft. To ... More about Josh Frey