Chicago Bears

After some weeks of disbelief that the Bears were the frontrunner for the NFC North this year, the team took a stronghold of the division and moved to a 7-3 overall record with their 25-20 victory over the Minnesota Vikings this past Sunday.  The Bears were able to get out in front of the Vikings early with tough defensive play coupled with two first-half field goals and a Mitch Trubisky touchdown pass to Anthony Miller to take a 14-0 lead to halftime.  The raucous Soldier Field crowd was rocking in the primetime matchup.

After a lackluster third quarter, the Vikings closed to the score to within 14-6 with just under 12 minutes remaining in the game when bears defensive back Eddie Jackson snagged a Kirk Cousins pass for a pick six.  The Vikings would score two touchdowns near the end of the game, but it was too little, too late and the Bears walked away with a comfortable division lead with just six games remaining.

In what most were thinking was a false façade in the Bears this season, they are proving the naysayers wrong week in and week out.  Their defensive front dominated the Vikings offensive line and controlled the game from the beginning.  On offense, head coach Matt Nagy continues to be creative in his play calling with a heavy emphasis on his running game.  Nagy also sent a message by keeping his foot on the gas pedal in going for and converting two different two-point conversions against the Vikings when the score didn’t dictate it as necessary.

On a short week, the Bears travel to Detroit for the annual Thanksgiving brunch matchup at Ford Field.

Minnesota Vikings

The Vikings fell to 5-4-1 on the season with their loss in Chicago this past Sunday and the loss has fans and Minnesota media asking many questions about the team.  The Vikings offense sputtered against the Bears in a game where quarterback Kirk Cousins threw 46 pass attempts versus just 14 rushing attempts for the team in the game.  With 30 total completions, Vikings wide receiver Stefon Diggs hauled in 13 passes but costly interceptions by Cousins were the difference makers in this game.

On defense, the Vikings were able to limit the passing attack of the Bears and they picked off quarterback Mitch Trubisky twice, but the two-headed beast in Jordan Howard and Tarik Cohen were able to carry the load on offense for the Bears.  With their offensive struggles, the Vikings defense could only hold the Bears for so long in the primetime matchup.  One bright spot for the Vikings was Ameer Abdullah settling nicely into the kick returner role after the team scooped him up off of waivers.

Looking to get their season and playoff hopes back on track, the Vikings welcome the Packers to US Bank Stadium for their second week in a row playing in front of a national audience on Sunday Night Football.  A win over the rival Packers is much needed by the Vikings as they follow up that game with consecutive trips to New England and Seattle in the following weeks.

Detroit Lions

Having looked absolutely lifeless in the past three weeks, the Lions clung to life with a win over the Carolina Panthers at home this past Sunday that helped them move to 4-6 on the season.  The Lions controlled the game through the first three quarters of play on the back of rookie running back Kerryon Johnson.  Once Johnson exited the game with a knee injury in the third quarter, the tides began to change in the game. 

Entering the fourth quarter up 13-7 on the Panthers, the Lions allowed Caroling to score on a Cam Newton touchdown pass but then they would answer right back with a  Stafford touchdown pass of his own with just over five minutes remaining.  The teams would trade three and outs late in the fourth quarter, giving the Panthers offense the ball at their own 25-yard line with 2:44 remaining on the clock.  In just six play, Newton led the Panthers offense down the field to the Lions 8-yard line and scored with just over a minute remaining.  With the score 20-19 in favor of Detroit, Panthers head coach “Riverboat” Ron Rivera elected to go for two and the win but Newton’s conversion attempt fell incomplete as he overshot his receiver coming across the middle.  The Panthers failed gamble gave the Lions their fourth win of the season in dramatic fashion.

Looking ahead, the Lions have two tough matchups coming at home at Ford Field when they host the Bears on Thursday in their annual Thanksgiving Day game and then they welcome the Los Angeles Rams the following Sunday.