NFC North Round-Up: Vikings’ Dublin Trip Turns Sour with Only Week 4 Loss in Division
Week 4 is in the books for the NFC North, and it was an eventful one that could have major impacts on the final standings when everything is said and done.
Overall, Vikings fans won’t be very happy, but this was a relatively successful weekend everywhere else as Minnesota suffered the only loss of the weekend in the division. Here is a look at the happenings from across the NFC North in Week 4.
Bears Edge Out the Raiders
The Chicago Bears turned in a great performance against the Dallas Cowboys last week with a blowout win at home, and they hoped to follow that up on the road against the Las Vegas Raiders in Week 4.
It wasn’t necessarily a great game for Chicago’s offense, but they came through in the moments that they needed to. After scoring just one touchdown through the first 3.5 quarters, the Bears needed a touchdown to take the lead in a 24-19 game. They did exactly that with an 11-play drive capped off by D’Andre Swift rushing for the two-yard score.
Luckily, despite giving the Raiders a minute and a half of time to go back down the field and answer, Daniel Carlson’s kick was blocked to seal the win. Caleb Williams didn’t necessarily have a great game, and the Bears allowed Ashton Jeanty to get virtually whatever he wanted all day long, but the Bears are back to .500
Micah Parsons’ Return to Dallas Ends in Tie
Before the 2025 regular season began, the Dallas Cowboys and Green Bay Packers turned the NFL world upside down by conducting a trade that sent Micah Parsons to Green Bay.
Well, they turned heads again on Sunday night with an absolutely ridiculous game that featured everything from a defensive two-point conversion to 31 points being scored in the fourth quarter. Ultimately, though, the game ended anticlimactically in a tie.
As overtime began in a 37-37 game, the Cowboys moved down the field in 10 plays and ate up over half the overtime period before kicking a field goal on fourth and goal to take a 40-37 lead. The Packers then went down seemingly intent on scoring a touchdown to win the game.
However, with about 30 seconds left, a Jordan Love pass to Matthew Golden that went for a loss of three yards seemed to take the air out of their sails. After another loss of one and an incomplete pass on the following plays, the Packers settled for the 40-40 tie with a field goal to move their record to 2-1-1.
Detroit Dominates Cleveland
Remember when we were worried about the Lions offense in Week 1 when they played the Packers? Well, those fears are long gone as Detroit has scored 124 points in their past three games, all of them being wins.
Sunday’s game against the Cleveland Browns got off to a slow start with Detroit punting on their first drive before Cleveland stormed down the field to take a 7-0 first quarter lead.
That would change quickly though as Detroit scored 20 unanswered points to take a dominant lead and outscored Cleveland 34-3 for the rest of the game. Pending the Monday night results, Jared Goff now ranks second in completion percentage (73.8%) and passing touchdowns (9) while Amon-Ra St. Brown leads the NFL with six receiving touchdowns.
Detroit now moves to 3-1 and sole possession of the NFC North lead with road games against the Cincinnati Bengals and Kansas City Chiefs on deck.
Vikings Start 0-1 in Europe
At the risk of being hyperbolic after an overseas game in which the Vikings continued to deal with some major injuries, Minnesota might be in trouble.
The Vikings went into the game without starting left guard Donovan Jackson, and the injuries only compiled themselves when Brian O’Neill left with a knee injury, Ryan Kelly suffered his second concussion of the season, and Michael Jurgens left with an injury.
As a result, Minnesota’s duct-taped offensive line with Blake Brandel at center could not offer much in terms of protection for Carson Wentz or running lanes for the backfield. Wentz was sacked six times and hit 14 times. Minnesota totaled just 70 rushing yards on 20 carries.
That combined with a run defense that could not get a stop throughout the entire game was not a winning recipe and certainly won’t be when the schedule gets tougher after the bye. The ceiling has not fallen in with Minnesota at 2-2 and a London game coming up against the Browns, but the mood has certainly swung in Minnesota once again.
Editor’s Note: Statistics for this article were found via ESPN and Pro Football Reference.
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