Pride of Detroit
With the Detroit Lions back on the top of the NFC North standings, they currently hold their own destiny to win their third-straight divisional title.
Week 10 wasn’t particularly kind to the rest of the division, resulting in the following standings through Week 10:
Here’s how each team fared this week:
Lions: Beat the Commanders comfortably with a 44-22 victory. Offense came back alive with Dan Campbell calling plays and the outcome was never in doubt.
Bears: Barely beat the Giants at home, 24-20. Overcame a 10-point fourth quarter deficit, but their comeback was largely helped out when Giants quarterback Jaxson Dart fumbled the football in the red zone, then had to leave the game with a concussion.
Vikings: Lost to Ravens at home, 27-19. The offense struggled to produce points most of the game, and J.J. McCarthy threw two interceptions. The defense continues to look tough, but it wasn’t enough.
Packers: There are some serious questions about Green Bay’s offense after a 10-7 loss to the Eagles. They produced just 261 yards of offense, and have now been held to 13 points or less in three games this season, including the last two contests. Defense looks great, though.
So today’s Question of the Day is:
My answer: I still think it’s the Packers, despite Monday night’s loss.
For one, Green Bay currently holds the head-to-head advantage for their Week 1 win. Obviously, the Lions can even up the matchup with a win on Thanksgiving over the Packers, but their defense has given Detroit fits several times over the past few years.
Beyond that, the other two teams don’t scare me all that much. The Bears, quite simply, are not as good as their record. Their defense is awful (28th in DVOA), and their offense is actually quite average (16th in DVOA, and largely benefiting from explosive plays despite low success rates and an unsustainable +14 turnover advantage—leading the league). They’ve faced the second-easiest schedule in football, per DVOA. That luck runs out soon, as they have one of the most difficult remaining schedules in football. They have to face the Vikings, Steelers, Eagles, Packers (x2), 49ers, and Lions still.
The Vikings are still searching for their offensive identity under J.J. McCarthy, and I don’t think their defense can carry them while they figure it out. Already two games behind the Lions and Bears, they are going to have to sweep their remaining division games in order to stand a chance. To be fair, they are 2-0 in divisional games so far, but I’d be surprised if they can close out this season strongly with McCarthy still very much looking like a rookie.
Which NFC North team do you think is the biggest threat to the Lions? Scroll down to the comment section and share your answer.
