The Vikings Extended Their Division Lead Without Playing

Questions Answered: Jefferson's Next Deal, Patrick Jones, What's the Bears Deal?
Oct 2, 2022; London, United Kingdom; Minnesota Vikings wide receiver Justin Jefferson. Mandatory Credit: Kirby Lee-USA TODAY Sports.

The Minnesota Vikings are on bye this week, so they got to kick back on Sunday and watch other teams battle it out before hosting the Arizona Cardinals in Week 8. By sitting on their couches this week, the Vikings actually extended their division lead over the rest of the NFC North.

Each of the Detroit Lions and Green Bay Packers fell on Sunday afternoon, falling further behind the Vikings in the division standings.

The Packers lost to the Washington Commanders at FedEx Field, 23-21, and they are now on a three-game losing streak for the first time since 2017. Green Bay actually lost three straight games on two separate occasions that year and finished 7-9.

This three-game losing streak has dropped Green Bay to 3-4 on the season, and they are officially 2.5 games behind the 5-1 Vikings in the NFC North, and Minnesota holds the head-to-head tiebreaker over Green Bay.

This latest loss by the Packers is especially sour because it comes at the hands of the Commanders who came into this game with a 2-4 record, and they were without starting QB Carson Wentz. Instead, Taylor Heinicke came in and outperformed Aaron Rodgers throughout most of the day.

As for the Lions, they served as visitors at Jerry’s World in Dak Prescott’s return to the football field from injured reserve. Dallas dominated the Lions from start to finish and won 24-6. Detroit now falls to 1-5 on the season and currently hold the worst record in the NFL.

[brid autoplay=”true” video=”1121161″ player=”26281″ title=”The%20Vikings%20Are%2051.%20Let&#39s%20Talk%20about%20It.” duration=”1731″ description=”Josh Frey and Dustin Baker chat about the Vikings 5-1 start, plus the bye week stuff upcoming.” uploaddate=”2022-10-19″ thumbnailurl=”https://cdn.brid.tv/live/partners/19439/snapshot/1121161_th_1666200685.jpg” contentUrl=”//cdn.brid.tv/live/partners/19439/sd/1121161.mp4″ width=”16″ height=”9″]

While the Vikings enjoy the last bits of their bye week before preparing for the Arizona Cardinals, there is still one NFC North team yet to play in Week 7. The Chicago Bears are set to face off against the New England Patriots on Monday Night Football,

Like Detroit, the Bears are in danger of losing their fourth consecutive game after starting 2-1 this season. If Bailey Zappe and the Patriots are in fact able to knock off Justin Fields and the Bears, Chicago will fall to 2-5.

As for the Vikings, they will return to the field on October 30th against the Arizona Cardinals in U.S. Bank Stadium.


Josh Frey is a Class of 2020 graduate of The College of Idaho with a bachelor’s degree in Creative Writing as well as 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.

Share: