A look around the NFC North and how the teams fared in Week 8.
Detroit Lions
After beating the Minnesota Vikings and taking the first-place spot in the NFC North, the Lions did not take their foot off of the petal in a matchup with the Tennessee Titans. After an early Detroit score, both teams started trading blows with four straight touchdowns, the Lions lead, 21-14. The Titans flame would then dim after Mason Rudolph threw the interception that would be the fuse for the Detroit offense to explode. The Lions would go on to score 4 more touchdowns capped off by a field goal for a commanding 52-14 win.
That win shows the sheer dominance of the Detroit offense that improves week in and week out. It was also the first time the Lions offense has scored 50 or more points since November 1997. The win not only keeps Detroit in the number one spot in the NFC North, but also number one in the NFC. The Lions will face the second-place team in the NFC North, the Green Bay Packers, next week.
Green Bay Packers
The Green Bay Packers have had a lot of close games throughout the season and it was no different against the Jacksonville Jaguars. The game started with four straight punts until the Jaguars picked off Jordan Love, giving him a league-leading 9th interception on the season. It took two plays for the Packers to intercept the ball back, leading to the first touchdown of the game. The half would end with two Green Bay field goals and a Jaguar field goal and touchdown. The Packers had a slight 13-10 lead going into the second half. In Green Bay’s first drive, Jordan Love was injured and Malik Willis filled in. The half was a back and forth battle that came down to the wire. With 2:02 left, the game was knotted up at 27-27. The difference maker was a Willis 51-yard pass to Jayden Reed to set up for a 24-yard Brandon McManus field goal as time expired, giving the Packers the 30-27 win. Green Bay will fight for first place next week against the Lions, and the main question will be who will be playing quarterback after Jordan Love’s injury.
Minnesota Vikings
The Vikings looked to rebound after their first loss of the season to the Detroit Lions in a game against the Los Angeles Rams. Coming into the game, the Ram’s star wide receivers Puka Nacua and Cooper Kupp were back after injuries sidelined them for a few weeks. The first four drives of the game resulted in touchdowns by both teams, knotting it up at 14-14, but after that, the game slowed down. Minnesota could not get another touchdown for the rest of the game, settling for two field goals and a safety. Los Angeles on the other hand, would go on to score two more, giving them the 30-20 victory at home.
The Vikings took their second straight loss after winning 5 straight, and fell to 5-2 on the season. They currently also have slipped down into the third place spot in the NFC North. Looking ahead, Minnesota will take on the Indianapolis Colts in Sunday Night Football next week.
Chicago Bears
It was a duel between the top two overall picks: Caleb Williams and Jayden Daniels. The two very explosive quarterbacks could not get much going for their teams as there were no touchdowns scored in the first half. Instead, Washington scored three field goals while Chicago had four punts and a turnover on downs. Going into the second half, the Bears looked to get their offense going and did after another Commander’s field goal. D’Andre Swift ran for a 56-yard touchdown, still trailing 12-7. When Roschon Johnson ran one yard to the end zone, and Chicago successfully got the two-point conversion, it looked like the Bears were going to get their fifth win of the season. But, with six seconds left, Jayden Daniels was forced to throw a hail mary, where the ball was tipped by Chicago but then fell perfectly into the hands of Washington’s Noah Brown as time expired, Commanders win 18-15.
With the heartbreaking loss, the Bears fall to 4-3, last in the NFC North, and currently are out of the playoff picture. Chicago will look to rebound and stay in the division running next week against the Arizona Cardinals.