Takeaways from Each NFC North Week 4 Game
Brady Vernon
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Minnesota Vikings (1-3) 31, Houston Texans (0-4) 23
For Minnesota to win games, the offense will need to lead
The Vikings finally earned their first win of the 2020 season on Sunday, and certainly the defense made it a lot closer than it needed to be. Despite Minnesota’s 17-6 halftime-lead, Houston nearly tied the game toward the end.
Minnesota simply can’t rely on its defense any longer. For the Vikings to turn their season around, it’ll be up to the offense to continue scoring around 30 points per game as it has done the past two weeks. The past two weeks, Kirk Cousins has played better, Dalvin Cook has earned his money, and Justin Jefferson has added a new energy for the offense.
With the Seahawks, Falcons, and Packers on the horizon and no sight for defensive improvement, Vikings fans should get their popcorn ready for some offensive shootouts.
New Orleans Saints (2-2) 35, Detroit Lions (1-3) 29
Why did Jim Caldwell lose his job?
The Lions bursted out to a 14-0 lead against the Saints. New Orleans led by 14 by halftime. If you’re a defensive minded head coach as Matt Patricia is, wouldn’t a 14-point lead be hard to overcome or at least hold till halftime? For Patrcia, apparently not.
New Orleans scored 35 unanswered points, yet the Lions nearly came back because Matt Stafford and the offense gave the team a chance scoring two late touchdowns. Through four weeks, the Lions rank 29th in scoring defense. In the previous two years under Patricia, the Lions finished 26th and 16th in points allowed. In Caldwell’s four seasons as the Lions head coach, his teams finished third, 23rd, 13th and 21st in the same category. Caldwell’s worst season was a 7-9 record, Patricia doesn’t appear to reach seven wins any time soon.
Indianapolis Colts (3-1) 19, Chicago Bears (3-1) 11
Nick Foles isn’t the hero Chicago needed
Nick Foles played a lot like, well Nick Foles on Sunday. Foles’ expected points added was 0.1 on Sunday, he was in the latter half of PFF’s Week 4 quarterback grades. As much part as Foles had in the comeback against the Falcons, he had little impact against the Colts.
The Indianapolis defense is very good this season, but the Bears never really put any pressure on the Colts either. The lone Chicago touchdown came in garbage time. Even the Bears defense didn’t stand tall. If they had forced touchdown opportunities into field goals the game wouldn’t have been close at all.
Foles will most likely be kept on a short leash similar to Trubisky, and Matt Nagy might just play the hot hand any given Sunday. Chicago’s defense isn’t asking for much help, but certainly more than what it’s getting from the quarterback position right now.
Green Bay Packers (4-0) 30, Atlanta Falcons (0-4) 16
Aaron Rodgers and the Green Bay Packers look like the team to beat in the NFC
Aaron Rodgers played the Falcons without his two top receivers, Davante Adams and Allen Lazard. Atlanta’s defense is bad but every offense should see a slight decline in production. Not the Packers. Rodgers hit tight end Robert Tonyan for three touchdowns and connected with running back Jamaal Williams for nearly 100 receiving yards. Now, Green Bay heads into a bye and will most likely get a healthy Adams back.
Not only that, Calvin Ridley came into Week 4 as arguably the best receiver thus far in the 2020 season. He didn’t catch a single pass on Monday night. Jaire Alexander had another tremendous performance. Green Bay’s defense isn’t perfect, but Alexander’s high level of play adds a great element to how far the Packers can get in the postseason.
Rodgers looks on a roll, and generally that’s bad news for the rest of the NFL.