There’s a Shakeup in the NFC North
“Well, well, well, how the turntables.” -Michael Scott. The NFL has been so unpredictable this year. Usually by week 5 most of the teams have been figured out and you can see their path clearly.
Everything you thought you knew about the NFC North changed a bit. The standings flipped after Week 9, and one team’s rise stole the spotlight.
Last week, I put together an article on each team’s path in the NFC North. I thought, at the time, that everything had ironed itself out and that we could comfortably sit back and watch the final weeks work out with the inevitable already set.
The Lions would start their run to win the division, the Packers would be fighting to be second, the Bears would come in valiantly in third, and the Vikings would finish out, possibly not winning another game in 2025. Sure, there could be a couple upsets and not guessing perfectly but the result was decided.
The NFC North Skinny after 9 Weeks
For the Vikings, I figured this weekend would be the start of their complete downfall and the draft discussions that inevitably follow, with fans talking of “tanking” for a better pick. For my weekly guess I said the Vikings would lose 40-16 to the Lions. Then Sunday came, and everything changed… again.
I can’t believe how hard it is to lock down how teams will perform every week this year. There’s got to be some guy or gal out there that has bet against the spread and the winner and is cleaning up while Vegas cries in their hands. Since everyone played at noon on Sunday in the NFC North—a rare occurrence this year — it was nice to have everything wrapped up in a few hours.
Bears at Bengals
I think you’d be hard-pressed to find anyone who thought this game would be described as “exciting”. The Bears have stumbled here and there, even though they had a winning record; their play has felt like they are ready to trip and fall, smack on their face.
As they faced the Bengals, I thought this was a game the Bears would win because Cincinnati has had so many injuries, including a bad shoulder for a resurgent Joe Flacco. By halftime, it was pretty evenly matched, with the Bengals holding a 3-point lead.
At the end of the 3rd quarter and into the early 4th, the Bears took over and ran up the score to 41-27, and it looked like they would go back home with the win. The Bengals decided they didn’t like that idea and stormed back and scored two touchdowns with less than two minutes on the clock with a 2-point conversion and a successful onside kick mixed in.
After the final extra-point kick put them up by 1, all they had to do was keep the Bears from moving into field-goal range. The Bengals defense then absolutely melted down and decided not to tackle as the Bears rolled down the field, with Caleb Williams hitting rookie Colston Loveland, who shrugged off a shoulder hit and streaked into the end zone. It looked like a fun game to watch but as a fan of those teams you can’t be too enthusiastic about your defenses’ performances.
Word is that the rift between the Bengals offense and defense has hit a tipping point. If a team is that out of whack the Bears can’t be overly proud of a win they also don’t have to apologize for.
Packers vs Panthers
Well, here’s a game that was decided before it even started. The Panthers have had some surprise wins, but they’re not good enough to beat Green Bay. No chance. But wait!
This is a game that I don’t think anyone other than overly positive Panthers fans thought that Green Bay would lose. But the Packers found themselves in a notorious “Trap Game”. That’s a game they should win over an inferior opponent, but for some reason everything goes wrong. The Packers have had some odd games that were closer than we would expect and a couple of games where they were dominate.
This game was the former and the lack of putting teams away finally caught up with them. In the first half, both teams moved the ball between the 20s, OK, but then struggled to get into the end zone. Rico Dowdle finally punched one in for Carolina, but all Green Bay could muster was two field goals in the first half. The game basically came down to the kickers, but not in a good way.
After Dowdle’s second TD, the extra point was missed because he celebrated excessively and backed the kick up. Meanwhile, the Packers’ kicker, Brandon McManus, was missing field goals again, Jordan Love was throwing up interceptions (or nearly so), and the teams were failing on 4th downs. The Panthers finally won on a last-second Ryan Fitzgerald field goal in a game that finished 16-13, and neither team did anything: they both punted.
Yep, not a single punt. If you were told both teams never punted without knowing the score you would assume it was a shootout and they both scored 30-40 some points. That might be fun to watch. This was not. If the Bears game was exciting, this one was a bore that ended as the Packers deserved.
Vikings at Lions
The Vikings have played poorly even in their wins this year, excluding a walloping of the Bengals. The Vikings have been riding the waves with major pieces of their offense and defense missing for most of the season.
For the first time this season, almost everyone was back on the field in Detroit with the biggest piece being JJ McCarthy. The young quarterback was finally healed from a high ankle sprain, Andrew Van Ginkel was back from a neck injury, and Aaron Jones was back to full strength. Head Coach Kevin O’Connell could run his offense as he has mostly dreamed about doing.
After last Thursday’s whooping at the hands of the Chargers not many had the Vikings winning this game. Most thought it would be another embarrassing loss to a team the Vikings haven’t beaten in the last few years. After Detroit coasted down the field for a Sam LaPorta touchdown catch from Jared Goff the overall feeling from Vikings fans was, “Here we go again!”
However, the Vikings counterpunched with their own march down the field with McCarthy hitting Justin Jefferson getting a one-handed touchdown grab with the fans now thinking, “Wait! Maybe we can win!” That’s exactly what happened. Jones was running well in the first half and making catches out of the backfield, TJ Hockenson snagged a “tuddy”, McCarthy ran in another touchdown, and Will Reichard hit a field goal, and it felt like the Vikings were in control most of the game.
Jones got his shoulder a bit banged up so Jordan Mason came n and did the running after that. Detroit made a late charge with a controversial touchdown with Jameson Williams pushing off on Isaiah Rodgers, but on the last drive, McCarthy was able to lock it down with a crucial 3rd down pass to Jalen Nailor to be able to kneel down and run out the clock.
The keys to winning were McCarthy’s improved play in a tough place to get a win, a successful running game, and the defense playing at a high level. For the most part, Brian Flores’ unit shut down the league’s best running back duo, Jahmyr Gibbs and David Montgomery, and had Goff off his game by applying plenty of pressure and sacking him 5 times.
Blake Cashman was all over the field with 14 tackles and a key forced fumble and Jovan Hargrave finally made his presence known after having his play count cut down recently. Special teams was also huge, with Myles Price having some excellent kick returns, Levi Drake Rodriguez blocking a field goal, and Rodgers recovering it. This was a win that could turn the Vikings’ season around.
All of this has led to a bit of a shakeup in my division standings.
Division Standings
- Lions
- Packers
- Vikings
- Bears
Yes, the Lions jump back to the top in my opinion. Why? Even though the Panthers are now at 5-4, they should not have gone into Lambeau and beaten the Packers, especially in that fashion, with the Packers playing so poorly that they just failed to overcome their own poor play and the Panthers’ subpar play.
The Packers are showing they’re not as solid as most might think. It seems I’m being hypocritical, given the Lions losing at home to a team they should have beaten—the Vikings — but it’s slightly different. The Lions played pretty well, but the Vikings were finally the team we thought they would be this year, with the pieces that had been missing in place. The Vikings’ talent was all there to put together a better team than had been showing up.
Minnesota just played better than Detroit in all phases of the game and held on for the win. Even though the Bears won and have the better record, you have to look at how they got there. Other than the Cowboys and the Saints, the Bears haven’t blown anyone out and they almost blew a huge opportunity yesterday.
The Vikings beat the Bears in comeback fashion to start the season, and they got the one thing they had been missing: a signature win. That win over Detroit could be the catalyst for the Vikings to suddenly turn everything around and make a push for the division.
It wasn’t a fluke win with strange circumstances. I’m not saying it’s a one-hundred percent cinch, but there’s nothing wrong with feeling some positivity in a season that’s fallen well below expectations.
While the road is still an uphill climb with a series of boulders to traverse, we could be seeing the path smooth out. The Lions and Packers have some injuries to deal with as well, with Detroit seeming to have its entire offensive line get banged up within minutes, and Green Bay losing stud tight end Tucker Kraft for the season with an ACL tear.
Vikings fans can’t get too excited and I’m not taking a complete 180 turn on my previous thoughts. However, with the way this year has gone, we can at least turn a little and take a glance over our shoulders at what might happen for the better.
You must be logged in to post a comment.