NFC North Round-Up: Week 7 Results Made Monday Night Even More Important for the Vikings
Week 7 of the NFL season is now behind us, excluding Monday night’s matchup between the Minnesota Vikings and San Francisco 49ers.
With the Vikings sitting at 2-4 heading into Monday’s game, snagging a win was already very important for them. However, with Sunday’s results behind us, the game became even more important for Minnesota as they hope to get back into the playoff picture.
This weekend in the NFC North, the Chicago Bears were able to snag their second victory of the season, but both Detroit and Green Bay lost, leaving the opportunity for the Vikings to move up the standings with a win tonight. Here is a look at how the first three games of the NFC North went down on Sunday.
Chicago Dominates Vegas
Justin Fields sat out of this game with his hand injury, but their offense looked as good as it has all season with Tyson Bagent at quarterback, cruising to a 30-12 victory. This reality for Chicago is even more impressive considering they were once again without both Khalil Herbert and Roschon Johnson in their backfield.
D’Onta Foreman had an incredible game on Sunday, putting together 16 carries for 89 yards and a pair of touchdowns. He also caught three passes for an additional 31 yards and another touchdown.
Their defense did an incredible job of shutting down the Raiders offense as well. Las Vegas couldn’t get any production in the ground game, with Josh Jacobs totaling only 35 rushing yards. Perhaps this is the turning point Chicago has been waiting for.
Detroit Comes Crashing Back to Earth
No team in the NFL has been hyped up as much as the Detroit Lions over the past 10 months or so. Since their season-ending victory at Lambeau Field last year to dash the Packers playoff hopes, many have picked them to win the NFC North and potentially make a deep playoff run.
A 5-1 start to the season confirmed many of these hopes, but Detroit came crashing back to earth in Week 7. They lost to the Baltimore Ravens on Sunday by a score of 38-6. It was just as much of a bloodbath as the score suggests.
The Lions went into halftime down 28-0 with four punts and an interception on their five drives in the first half. The counting numbers were decent in the passing game, and fantasy managers will be pleased with Amon-Ra St. Brown’s 13 catches for 102 yards. However, they finished just one drive with a score throughout the day while Lamar Jackson threw for over 350 yards and had 4 total TDs on the day.
With this loss for Detroit, the Vikings have a chance to move within two games of the division lead with a victory on Monday night. If that happens, they simply need to hold pat with the Lions for the rest of the season prior to their two matchups in Weeks 16 and 18.
Green Bay Falls Just Short
The Jordan Love experience has certainly taken a turn in Green Bay over the past few weeks. During Green Bay’s three-game losing streak, the QB has thrown for just 608 yards, 3 TDs, and 6 INTs.
With Aaron Jones out once again, Love was unable to carry Green Bay to a victory over the Denver Broncos in the Mile High city. The Broncos defense pitched a shutout in the first half, allowing them to take a 9-0 lead into halftime.
Love came back to life a bit in the second half, throwing a pair of TDs to give Green Bay a lead in the fourth quarter. However, Russell Wilson proved to be better in the clutch, leading a late field goal drive to give Denver a 19-17 lead. Love would follow that drive up with an interception, allowing the Broncos to run out the remainder of the clock.
With this loss, Green Bay heads into Monday night even with the Vikings at 2-4. If Minnesota can capture a victory, they will move into sole possession of second-place in the NFC North and jump the Packers in the Wild Card race.
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.