It’s not a pretty Monday for fans of the NFC North. Pick a team in the division and you’ll find disappointment and dismay at every turn after Week 2.
All four NFC North teams lost over the weekend, including the Detroit Lions dropping the home opener in overtime to Seattle. Here’s the skinny on the other three divisional rivals from Week 2.
Chicago Bears
Chicago welcomed Tampa Bay to Soldier Field on Sunday and were gracious hosts. The Buccaneers cruised to a 27-17 win that dropped Chicago to 0-2.
This clip from ex-Lions QB Dan Orlovsky nicely sums up the myriad issues with Chicago’s offense, from Justin Fields struggling to almost incomprehensibly dumb passing game design.
You guys try and go play QB in this
1) QB isn’t playing well
2) No one is.Incredibly frustrating and hard tape to watch for @ChicagoBears pic.twitter.com/PUmpcdzOLV
— Dan Orlovsky (@danorlovsky7) September 18, 2023
Of course, that ignores Chicago’s defense allowing Baker Mayfield & Co. to torch them for 437 yards of total offense.
Green Bay Packers
The Packers traveled to Atlanta in Week 2 and put up a game fight. In the end, the Falcons’ run game on offense and timely pass defense led Atlanta to a nail-biting 25-24 win over Green Bay.
Jordan Love was solid in his second start of the season, throwing three TD passes and hitting some nice throws. However, he missed his last five attempts in crunch time before a last-gasp gadget play that went horribly awry.
The big disparity in total yards stands out. Atlanta outgained Green Bay almost 2-to-1, racking up 446 yards of offense to just 224 for the Packers. Green Bay is now 1-1 but in first place thanks to having the only positive point differential in the division after two weeks.
Minnesota Vikings
The Minnesota Vikings kicked off Week 2 on Thursday night in Philadelphia by quickly falling behind the host Eagles. A Jalen Hurts-to-Devante Smith touchdown strike put the Eagles up 27-7 early in the third quarter.
Minnesota rallied late to make the game interesting, but they dug too big of a hole with three lost fumbles in the Vikings’ first five possessions. The Eagles posted 430 yards of total offense, notably with ex-Lions RB D’Andre Swift going off for 175 on the ground.
The Vikings are now 0-2 after losing two one-score games, an area where they set the NFL record for success in 2022.
