NFC North Round-Up: Lions Get Back on Track, Packers Keep Picking Up Steam
Josh Frey
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Week 13 of the NFL season has just about come to an end other than Monday night’s game.
The weekend saw two NFC North teams take the field, the Detroit Lions and Green Bay Packers, while both the Chicago Bears and Minnesota Vikings were on their byes. With the games behind us, here is a look at how the division fared during Week 13.
Lions Hold on to Beat the Saints
It seemed like the Lions were going to cruise past New Orleans on Sunday after they jumped out to a 21-0 lead at the end of the first quarter. They dominated every facet of the game during the first 15 minutes of the game, finding success both passing and running the ball.
During Detroit’s first drive, David Montgomery and Jahmyr Gibbs combined for 6 carries that totaled 59 yards while Montgomery punched in a TD. Then, Jared Goff also threw a pair of TDs, hitting Amon-Ra St. Brown and Sam LaPorta for scores. The Saints countered with a Derek Carr interception and a pair of punts during their first three drives.
However, New Orleans came roaring back over the second and third quarters. They went on a 21-6 run, which included Jimmy Graham’s first touchdown catch in the Superdome since December 21st, 2014. Derek Carr would sustain a massive hit from Bruce Irvin, though, which took him out of the game and forced Jameis Winston to finish things out.
Winston led a touchdown drive immediately after the injury, cutting New Orleans’ deficit to 33-28 with about seven minutes remaining, but that was all the Saints would muster for the rest of the game. After a failed fourth-down attempt towards the end of the game, Detroit was able to run out the rest of the clock and improved to 9-3 on the season, extending their lead in the NFC North to three games with five weeks to go.
Packers Stun the Defending Champs
Don’t look now, but the Green Bay Packers are a playoff team. Despite coming into this game as six-point home underdogs to the defending champion Kansas City Chiefs, Jordan Love helped navigate them to a 27-19 win.
Love threw touchdown passes in each of the first three quarters of the game, including a pair of scores to Christian Watson. The young wide receiver now has 4 TD catches in the past three weeks for Green Bay and has been the reliable pass-catcher that the Packers have needed.
Meanwhile, Patrick Mahomes had struggles against this improving Packers defense, throwing for just 210 yards, a single touchdown, and an interception on the night. The two-time MVP had a chance to play hero and force overtime. However, after Kansas City drove down to the Packers’ 33-yard-line on their final drive, he threw four straight incomplete passes, allowing Green Bay to hold on for the win.
The Packers have now won four of their past five games and are officially the No. 7 seed in the NFC heading into their Week 14 Monday night matchup against the New York Giants.
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Josh Frey is a Class of 2020 graduate of The College of Idaho and managing editor of PurplePTSD.com. When he’s not writing about the NFL, Josh enjoys running, gaming, or rooting for the Milwaukee Brewers and Bucks. Check out his Twitter account: @Freyed_Chicken.