NFC North Round-Up: Week 12 Brought Division Rivalry Upsets
Well, Week 12 didn’t exactly end the way that Vikings fans hoped for, but there was plenty of great action once again across the league.
The slate on Thanksgiving weekend brought a pair of rivalry games in the NFC North division that ended in a pair of upsets. Here is a look back at how everything went down across the division over the past few days.
Detroit Falls to Green Bay
The Thanksgiving games got started with a classic rivalry game between the Detroit Lions and Green Bay Packers. To the surprise of many, the Packers cruised to an early lead by scoring 20 points in the first quarter.
Jordan Love had one of the best games of his young career, throwing for 268 yards and 3 TDs throughout the afternoon. The young wide receivers on the Packers roster have really come into their own as well. Christian Watson caught another touchdown pass in this game, and Jayden Reed continues to prove that his speed is a real threat all over the field.
It was a great day for Green Bay’s defense as well. Rashan Gary had 3 sacks against Detroit’s offensive line and forced a pair of fumbles. Jared Goff coughed the ball up three times during the game, which really limited Detroit’s ability to move the ball on offense.
With the win, Green Bay now moves to 5-6 and seem to be back on track after their 2-5 start. All of a sudden, they are just half a game outside of the playoff picture going into their Week 13 matchup against the Kansas City Chiefs.
As for Detroit, they now fall to 8-3, and they are at risk of losing the No. 2 seed in the NFC if they cannot get back on track in the next few weeks. Their next game comes against the New Orleans Saints.
Bears Win in Minnesota
It was a pretty ugly Monday Night Football game as the Chicago Bears and Minnesota Vikings took the field at U.S. Bank Stadium. The biggest story of this game was the turnover troubles for Minnesota. Josh Dobbs threw 4 interceptions during the night, and while he can’t be blamed for all of the struggles offensively, his showing simply wasn’t good enough for Minnesota to get a win.
Even still, Chicago gave the Vikings every opportunity to take this game. They were unable to score a touchdown throughout the night and only scored 6 points off Minnesota’s quartet of turnovers. Credit is due to the Vikings defense for keeping them in the game.
In the end, Justin Fields made his best throw of the game on the final drive, connecting with D.J. Moore for a 36-yard pass to put them in field goal position, and ultimately, win the game 12-10.
With the loss, the Vikings fall to 6-6 going into their bye week and are in serious danger of falling out of the playoff picture. They are just half a game above the Green Bay Packers, Los Angeles Rams, and New Orleans Saints for the No. 7 seed and lost a golden opportunity to gain some ground on the Detroit Lions. Chicago also improves to 4-8 going into their bye week, and they can feel good about how their defense is playing during the past few weeks.
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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.