NFC North Round-Up: Vikings Shock the World, Bears Lose, 2 Playoff Teams?
Josh Frey
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It was a very entertaining weekend of football across the NFL, and the NFC North division was no exception. Three of the games involving teams within the division were decided by a total of 11 points, and those three games came down to the final plays of the game. With the crazy weekend, there are many topics to discuss within the NFC North, including the Vikings shock the world, Chicago continues losing competitively, and could there be two playoff teams in the division?
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Bears Continue to Lose Competitively
The Bears have now lost seven consecutive game after falling to the Philadelphia Eagles on Sunday, but they continue to play competitive games. They lost this game 25-20, and five of their seven losses have been by one possession.
Vikings fans know all about how much things can vary in these types of games (see 2021 Vikings vs. 2022 Vikings). Justin Fields continues to look more and more comfortable in Chicago’s offensive scheme as the weeks go by. If they can nail this spring’s draft with a few playmakers, this Bears team could be a threat in 2023.
Are the Lions a Playoff Team?
Back in October, any logical person would have scoffed at the idea of the 1-6 Detroit Lions being anything but a bad team with a somewhat exciting offense. Now, their defense has turned things around for the better, Dan Campbell continues to make aggressive play calls, and their offensive scheme is running on all cylinders.
The past two weeks have been their most complete games yet, including their latest victory of the New York Jets, 20-17. Detroit’s defense kept Zach Wilson’s group in check throughout the game, and then Jared Goff led a final 4th quarter drive to seal the victory.
Detroit stands at 7-7, just half a game away from the No. 7 seed in the NFC playoff picture. With three weeks to go, if they win the rest of their games, they could very easily land in a spot where they come to Minnesota in the Wild Card round of the playoffs.
The Packers Keep Hanging Around
The Green Bay Packers thoroughly defeated the Los Angeles Rams on Monday, 24-12, and they have now won back-to-back games to improve to 6-8. Of course, multiple things still have to land their way in order for them to weasel their way into the playoffs this season, but they just keep on hanging around.
We’ve seen it before with this team, too. After starting the 2016 season with a 4-6 record, Aaron Rodgers made his “run the table” quote, and they proceeded to rattle off 8 straight wins all the way to the NFC Championship Game. Granted, we are much later in the season than that, but we cannot discount the possibility that the Vikings may run into Aaron Rodgers and the Packers twice in January.
Vikings Shock the World
In what has been an absolutely ridiculous season for the Minnesota Vikings, they capped it off with the wildest game in NFL history. After falling down 33-0 at halftime, Kirk Cousins and the Vikings came storming back in the second half, completed the biggest comeback the NFL has ever seen, and won in overtime, 39-36.
Making this game even more ridiculous, it clinched the Vikings first division title in 5 years, it was the 1000th game in franchise history, and it was the first Saturday game featuring a coach named Saturday. A lot of weird stats for a weird game, but in the end, we can officially call the Vikings a playoff team in 2022. Because of that, Kevin O’Connell’s first season as Minnesota’s head coach must be considered a rousing success.
Josh Frey is a Class of 2020 graduate of The College of Idaho with a bachelor’s degree in Creative Writing. He also earned minors in History, Human Biology, and Journalism. When he’s not writing about the NFL, Josh enjoys marathon training, playing video games, or rooting for the Milwaukee Brewers and Bucks. For more of his opinions, check out his Twitter account: @Freyed_Chicken.