2 weeks Ago By Dane Mizutani / St. Paul Pioneer Press
All of a sudden the Vikings are spinning their tires and trying to get back onto the pavement in desperate need of a win. They currently sit in third place in the NFC North heading into an important game against the Indianapolis Colts on Sunday night at U.S.
Bank Stadium. It’s a complete departure from a couple of weeks ago when they were undefeated and seemingly in the driver’s seat to control their own destiny in the division. ADVERTISEMENT That’s how quickly it can change in the NFL.
After returning home following a 30-20 loss to the Los Angeles Rams on Thursday night at SoFi Stadium, the Vikings got some time to relax while the rest of the NFC North was in action. It was a mixed bag of results as the Detroit Lions won in convincing fashion, the Green Bay Packers won in the final seconds, and the Chicago Bears lost a heartbreaker. Here’s a look at how everything went down after the Vikings lost to the Rams: To say the Lions are a wagon would be an understatement.
They have been the most impressive team in the NFL so far this season, and they don’t appear to be slowing down anytime soon. The way the Lions thoroughly dismantled the Tennessee Titans in a 52-14 win Sunday at Ford Field felt like a statement more than anything else. They were dominant on offense, defense and special teams en route to the blowout.
The numbers are staggering on the surface, as the Lions somehow put up more than 50 points while only gaining 225 yards from scrimmage. A deeper look shows the Lions intercepted a pair of passes, recovered a pair of fumbles and got a punt return for a touchdown from speedy receiver Kalif Raymond. All of it added up to an impressive win for the Lions as they remained atop the NFC North heading into a pivotal matchup with Green Bay.
ADVERTISEMENT It wasn’t pretty by any means. That said, the Packers escaped with a 30-27 win over the Jacksonville Jaguars on Sunday at EverBank Stadium to hold serve. It was the second straight game for the Packers that featured veteran kicker Brandon McManus nailing a field goal as time expired.
The most pressing issue to come out of the game for the Packers was the health of young quarterback Jordan Love. He suffered a groin injury midway through the game, though he reportedly avoided anything too serious. In Love’s absence, backup quarterback Malik Willis did just enough for the Packers to beat the Jaguars.
It remains to be seen whether Love or Willis plays when the Packers take on the Lions with first place on the line. A quick glance at the box score will show the Bears suffered an 18-15 loss to the Washington Commanders on Sunday at Northwest Stadium. That doesn’t even begin to tell the story of how devastating the loss was for the Bears.
On the final play of the game, the Bears simply had to knock down a Hail Mary pass attempt to keep pace in the division. ADVERTISEMENT Instead, rookie quarterback Jayden Daniels launched a pass into the heavens, veteran receiver Noah Brown caught a tipped ball for a 52-yard touchdown, and the Commanders walked away with a memorable win that will be talked about forever. A calamity of errors doomed the Bears on that crucial play.
None worse that young cornerback Tyrique Stevenson taunting the crowd during the Hail Mary attempt rather than getting in position to make a play on the ball. Fittingly, Stevenson got some instant karma as the ball glanced off his fingertips, then landed in Brown’s waiting arms in the back of the end zone. It’s on the Bears to make sure the loss doesn’t linger.
That could be easier said than done. ______________________________________________________ This story was written by one of our partner news agencies. Forum Communications Company uses content from agencies such as Reuters, Kaiser Health News, Tribune News Service and others to provide a wider range of news to our readers.
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