Takeaways from Each NFC North Week 6 Game
Brady Vernon
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Atlanta Falcons (1-5) 40, Minnesota Vikings (1-5) 23
Minnesota can’t overcome bad Kirk Cousins game anymore
In the past, the Vikings were able to play through a game despite Kirk Cousins struggling. Minnesota’s current construction can’t do that.
On Sunday, Cousins got off to a horrific start. He simply didn’t see Deion Jones back into coverage in the underneath zone on the opening drive. In a blink of an eye, Minnesota was down seven. Later in the first half, Cousins threw interceptions on back-to-back drives that Atlanta turned into 10 points. The Vikings’ 20-point halftime deficit came from 17 points off turnovers.
Cousins underperforming against certain defenses makes sense. The Atlanta Falcons aren’t one of those teams. Cousins put his team behind the 8-ball against one of the league’s worst defenses. And Minnesota doesn’t have its own defense to save him anymore. The small chance at a postseason recovery is gone at this point for the Vikings, and Cousins is much to blame.
Detroit Lions (2-3) 34, Jacksonville Jaguars (1-5) 16
The Lions have a playmaker in D’Andre Swift
Detroit spent a high second round pick this past offseason on Georgia running back D’Andre Swift. At first it seemed like he’d share the workload with Kerryon Johnson, but due to health concerns in each running back, the Lions brought in Adrian Peterson as well.
Through the first four weeks, Swift looked the most explosive but never had more than 10 touches in a game. That changed on Sunday. Swift was given a season-high 14 carries for 116 yards and caught three passes as well. Even though Swift is a smaller back than Peterson and Johnson, he was given the goal line carries and converted those into touchdowns.
Coming out of the bye, many had hoped Swift would be used more. Hopefully the Lions continue to use Swift as they did on Sunday. He’s a better pass catcher than the other two, and even more importantly, he might be the only one that can explode for a 54-yard gain as he did against the Jaguars.
Chicago Bears (5-1) 23, Carolina Panthers (3-3) 16
The defense makes the Bears a true playoff contender
A lot of the buzz heading into Sunday’s matchup was about Matt Rhule, Joe Brady’s Carolina offense. The Bears must’ve taken that to heart on Sunday because they shut down the Panther’s new look attack. Chicago held Carolina to its lowest yardage and points outputs this season. The Panthers did move the ball, but Chicago’s defense inside it’s own 20-yard line was incredible and made Carolina settle for two short field goals.
Chicago also handed the offense two red zone opportunities, but one was literally thrown away by Nick Foles on a horrendous interception. Nevertheless, the Bears defense, much like 2018, is the heart and soul of the team. After Week 6, Football Outsiders’s DVOA rates the Bears defense the fifth best overall, second against the pass and 11th versus the run.
The quality of play the Bears are getting out of its defense makes them a scary out if they make the playoffs, and that’s where it looks like they’re headed.
Tampa Bay Buccaneers (4-2) 38, Green Bay Packers (4-1) 10
Green Bay isn’t perfect after all
Simply put, the Green Bay Packers got their teeth kicked in on Sunday. Tampa Bay scored 38 unanswered points after falling behind 10-0 early on. Although Davante Adams returned, Green Bay’s offense saw its first bad day.
However, this result tells more about the Buccaneers than the Packers. Coming in, it was known that Green Bay’s defense wasn’t that great, and Sunday displayed that when the Packer offense struggles, they’ll probably lose. Tampa Bay came off a disappointing loss to the Bears the previous week. Todd Bowles used the extra time to devise an incredible game plan against what had been the league’s best offense.
It is worth noting that Aaron Rodgers had a really rough day. His two interceptions, one of which was just a great play by Carlton Davis, kick-started Tampa Bay’s day. His MVP-level start made people forget that Rodgers had a few down years as a passer before this season. For Green Bay, it’s more of a “throw it away and just refresh” coming up against a bad Houston Texans defense.