Acme Packing Company
We’re officially one month into the NFL season. Fall is here, the shine of the early season is fading, and bye weeks are beginning. There are a million more unknowns than knowns at this stage, but we can see a faint glimmer of who’s good and who’s headed to Cancun in 3 months.
The NFC North is living up to the early-season hype with all four teams sitting at or above .500 thus far. While QB struggles have plagued the Bears and Vikings at points in the first month, both teams sit at 2-2, playoff hopes very much alive. The Lions have rebounded after a disastrous week 1 in Lambeau, going 3-0 and dispatching each opponent with ease as if they haven’t missed a step post-Ben Johnson. For the Packers, the bye week could not come at a better time. On Sunday night alone, Green Bay suffered injuries to Micah Parsons, Josh Jacobs, and Devonte Wyatt. Though they all re-entered the game, add those bumps and bruises to the existing offensive line troubles, and you get a team that needs a week off. This week, we’ll take a look at how the division fared on Sunday and what’s ahead for each team. Let’s get to the action.
Week 4 Result: 34-10 W over the Cleveland Browns
Week 5: @ Cincinnati Bengals
The Lions are just fine, folks. After an offseason of handwringing from a number of pundits and fans re: the departure of Ben Johnson and the remade interior O-Line, the Lions have shown they’ll still have a part to play in the NFC come January. One week after the Browns shut down the Packers’ offense en route to a last-second win, the Lions welcomed them to Detroit, hoping to avoid a similar fate. After the Browns went up 7-0 early, this one was all Lions. The Cleveland defense was able to keep it close until Kalif Raymond’s punt return TD and Amon-Ra St. Brown’s late score made this one look rough. However, the Lions did not come out unscathed, with starting cornerbacks Terrion Arnold and D.J. Reed’s statuses remaining unclear after both leaving the game.
If the Browns exist on one side of the defensive spectrum, the Lions’ next opponent, the Cincinnati Bengals, exists on the other side in a deep, deep hole on another planet. The Lions will likely experience no friction from the Bengals and continue to roll, but the defensive injuries are something to monitor as the NFC North race heats up.
Week 4 Result: 40-40 Tie @ Dallas Cowboys
Week 5: Bye
Don’t ever pre-write anything, ladies and gentlemen. You’ll find yourself deleting and editing over and over again as you watch a football game. “The Packers crushed the Cowboys.” No, they did not. “The Packers sit at 3-1 heading into the bye after a closer-than-expected night against Micah Parsons’ ex.” Also, no, Peter, you absolute idiot. The final result was so much stupider.
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