NFC North standings heading into Week 7
If you look at the NFC North standings after six weeks of football, it might look something like a meat and cheese sandwich. You have a soft and pristine top piece of bread, AKA the one team leading the division by two games, followed by the second and third-place teams tied at .500 as the meat and cheese in the middle.
Finally, you finish it off with that last piece of bread in the bag at the bottom with an undefeated franchise who is used to being in the basement. When it all comes together, you have an evenly distributed sandwich.
That is quite literally how I viewed the NFC North division after week six. It’s starting to settle, but at the same time can still be chaotic with three of the four teams still well within the race. But if you didn’t quite get my sandwich description, here’s a better look at the division.
1. Green Bay Packers (5-1)
AP Photo/Nam Y. Huh
Packers 24, Bears 14
The Packers visited the Bears already owning sole possession of first place in the division and they intended to keep it that way. With a loss, the Packers would have been tied with the Bears, but Aaron Rodgers wasn’t going to let that happen. Though they were down 7-0 early, Rodgers and the running game got to work to close the gap after a missed penalty saw the Bears turn the ball over. Rodgers found Allen Lazard for the tying touchdown, then began pulling away in the second half.
Leading 17-14 late in the fourth quarter, Rodgers dialed up his own number to score a rushing touchdown and proceeded to tell Bears fans how he really feels about playing at Soldier Field. “I own you, I still own you.” Rodgers yelled to the fans after the touchdown. He and the Packers got the last laugh, winning 24-14 to improve to 5-1. They’ve won five in a row and will go for six next weekend against the Washington Football Team.
T-2. Minnesota Vikings (3-3)
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Vikings 34, Panthers 28
Another week, another nail-biting game for the Vikings. They always seem to find themselves with drama at the end of a game, whether it’s a win or a loss. Fortunately for them, this was a win while visiting the Carolina Panthers. Minnesota got an early break on the first play, intercepting Sam Darnold that led to a quick field goal and a 3-0 lead. But the fortunes turned shortly after when Justin Jefferson fumbled the ball away after a catch, leading to a Panthers touchdown and a lead change. Minnesota fought back to make it 12-10 at the half, but things were about to get interesting.
During the second half, the Panthers blocked a Viking punt to score a touchdown and take the lead, but then relinquished it on the very next possession when Dalvin Cook ran one in for a score. Another touchdown and a field goal had fans feeling good about yet another impending victory, but the Panthers came back with a vengeance. After a missed field goal by the Vikings, Carolina scored 11 unanswered points to tie things up at 28-28. Just like last week, however, Kirk Cousins methodically drove the Vikings down the field to attempt a game-winning kick, but Greg Joseph missed it, sending the game into overtime.
Joseph didn’t need to try and redeem himself, though, because Cousins ended the game on the first possession, finding K.J. Osborn for the game-winning score. The Vikings rose back to .500 on back-to-back dramatic victories. They’re off next week before playing the Cowboys on Halloween.
T-2. Chicago Bears (3-3)
AP Photo/Nam Y. Huh
Bears 14, Packers 24
The Bears had a prime opportunity to share possession of first place in the division on Sunday. All they had to do was defeat the Green Bay Packers to get there. Unfortunately, as many Bears fans know, that hasn’t been an easy task over the last decade. But things looked promising at the start with rookie running back Khalil Herbert scoring his first NFL touchdown to give the Bears a 7-0 lead. The Bears moved the ball well on their second possession, too, but turned it over after a blatant missed penalty on Green Bay caused confusion for Justin Fields and he threw an interception. The Packers took over and didn’t look back.
Green Bay scored 17 unanswered points to lead by 10 points. The Bears did make things interesting after a Darnell Mooney touchdown catch cut the deficit to just three, but the Packers put the dagger in the game on their next drive to win 24-14, dropping Chicago back to .500. Things don’t get any easier this weekend when they pay a visit to the reigning Super Bowl champion Tampa Bay Buccaneers.
4. Detroit Lions (0-6)
Raj Mehta-USA TODAY Sports
Lions 11, Bengals 34
For a battle between the large cats of the animal kingdom, this game between the Cincinnati Bengals and Lions was pretty one sided. The Bengals took control early and never looked back, shutting out the Lions for three full quarters of the game while putting up 27 points. Bengals quarterback Joe Burrow had three touchdowns on the day and the Cincinnati defense clamped down on Jared Goff and the Lion offense.
Detroit finally put points on the board in the fourth quarter, nailing a field goal and getting a D’Andre Swift touchdown run just prior to the two minute warning, but it didn’t matter. The Bengals had this game in the bag from the start, winning 34-11 and keeping the Lions as the only winless team in the league.
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