NFC North Round-Up: Bears and Vikings Stumble Again, Detroit and Green Bay Roar to Wins
After the NFC North went winless in Week 2, at least a couple teams were able to capture victories in Week 3.
This weekend saw a couple exciting finishes as well as a couple blowouts within the division. Here is a recap of how everything went down for the NFC North in Week 3.
Chiefs Rout the Bears
After a tumultuous week, sometimes the best thing for a team is to just get on the field and eliminate all doubts. The Chicago Bears certainly had their fair share of turmoil this past week, and it led directly into a matchup with the Super Bowl champions.
In the end, though, the doubts in Chicago only got louder after a 41-10 loss to the Chiefs. Justin Fields struggled mightily once again, throwing for just 99 yards and completing only 50% of his passes. Meanwhile, the defense was no match for Kansas City as Patrick Mahomes threw for 272 yards and 3 TDs before leaving the game early in the third quarter.
Detroit Bounces Back Against Atlanta
The Detroit Lions headed back home this weekend after a disappointing Week 2 overtime loss to the Seattle Seahawks. This week, they got a date with the Atlanta Falcons, who completed a comeback victory over the Green Bay Packers last Sunday.
Despite missing David Montgomery, the Lions came out firing on all cylinders. Jahmyr Gibbs carried the load in the backfield, rushing 17 times for 80 yards while Amon-Ra St. Brown was his typical superstar self with 9 catches for 102 yards. Detroit captured their second win of the season by a score of 20-6 and held their opponent under 10 points for the first time since Week 9 of the 2022 season.
Green Bay Completes the Comeback Against New Orleans
Sunday got off to an ugly start for Green Bay, as they fell into a 17-0 hole during the first half of their game against New Orleans. However, Derek Carr would leave the game due to an injury, opening the door for Green Bay to come back in the second half.
The Packers would score 18 unanswered points in the fourth quarter as Jordan Love threw for a TD and rushed for another. The Saints had a chance to hit a game-winning field goal at the end of the fourth quarter, but Blake Grupe missed the kick allowing Green Bay to get their second win of the season, keeping pace with the Lions for the division lead. Now, the two teams will face off on Thursday night.
Mistakes Undo the Vikings Again
Turnovers, turnovers, turnovers. That continues to be a main story in Minnesota through Week 3. On their opening drive of the game, T.J. Hockenson lost a fumble in the red zone, thus turning a potential scoring drive into nothing for the Vikings.
Then, with the game on the line, the Vikings were unable to score on back-to-back possessions where they had the Chargers defense backed up on the goal line. On the final play of the game for the Vikings offense, Kirk Cousins threw an interception in the end zone, dropping Minnesota to 0-3 to begin the year.
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.