It may still be a long way to the top, but the Detroit Lions are rocking and rolling up the standings in the NFC North. Week 11 ends with the Lions in second place in the division on the heels of Detroit’s first three-game win streak since 2017.
The Lions rolled the Giants, 31-18, in a game where Dan Campbell’s team wasn’t seriously threatened after halftime. The win raised the Lions record to 4-6, an impressive turnaround from the 1-6 start.
What happened around the rest of the NFC North? In a word, losing…
Chicago Bears
The Bears hit the road to Atlanta and played well enough to win on both offense and defense, but special teams ruined the day for Chicago. Falcons RB Cordarrelle Patterson set the NFL record with his ninth career kick return for a touchdown and Younghoe Koo nailed two clutch field goals to give the host Falcons a 27-24 win. Bears kicker Cairo Santos missed a field goal just before halftime, extending his woes after Santos missed a critical extra point in last week’s 1-point loss to the Lions.
The loss, Chicago’s fourth in a row, drops the Bears to 3-8. And it could be even worse for the Bears, who play at the Jets in Week 12:
Bears QB Justin Fields carted off for further evaluation after the game. He’s still holding his left shoulder. pic.twitter.com/UOUfGL27LT
— Adam Jahns (@adamjahns) November 20, 2022
Green Bay Packers
The Packers kicked off the weekend by hosting the Tennessee Titans on Thursday night. Hoping to build off the momentum of upsetting the Cowboys in Week 10, instead the Packers lost for the sixth time in seven games.
Tennessee firmly controlled the game for most of the night, powering its way to a 27-17 win. Green Bay did a decent job against Titans RB Derrick Henry on the ground, but Henry threw for a touchdown. Ryan Tannehill torched the Packers secondary for 333 yards and two more TDs, too.
Green Bay did have a couple of moral victories. Rookie WR Christian Watson caught two touchdowns, keeping his impressive emergence rolling. The Packers also avoided turning the ball over for the first time in six games. Baby steps for the 4-7 Packers, who travel to Philadelphia to play the 9-1 Eagles in Week 12.
Minnesota Vikings
The Vikings entered Sunday as the top team in the NFC at 8-1. That did not last long.
Dallas completely annihilated the Vikings in Minnesota, 40-3. The Cowboys scored on eight of their first nine possessions, bowling over a hapless Vikings defense at will. The Cowboys also sacked Kirk Cousins seven times and held the Vikings to just one third-down conversion on 11 attempts.
The game got so lopsided so quickly that CBS switched the national coverage off the game halfway through the third quarter. It was that embarrassing for Minnesota, now 8-2 and still firmly in control of the divisional destiny.
The Vikings don’t get much time to regroup. They host the Patriots in the Thanksgiving nightcap on Thursday.
