Around the NFC North: Week 10

Packers - 27 :: Vikings - 28

The Vikings did their best to try to give this game away in the third quarter, but Adrian Peterson ultimately put Minnesota on his shoulders and carried them to victory.  In the third quarter, though, Green Bay came back in a very interesting way.  Nick Collins intercepted a pass and returned it 59 yards for a touchdown, and just a couple minutes later, Will Blackmon returned a punt 65 yards for another Packers TD.

A Mason Crosby field goal in the fourth quarter gave the Packers a 27-21 lead that lasted for around three and a half minutes.  This is when Peterson took over and put Minnesota on top with a 29-yard touchdown run.  Now trailing by a point, there was still time for the Packers to get into field goal range to win the game.  Actually, they did just that, minus the win part.  Crosby just barely missed a 52-yarder with 30 or so seconds left in the game, giving Minnesota the exciting victory.

The Daily Norseman had this to say following the big win:

Admit it. . .when Adrian Peterson got in for that last touchdown (and pimp-slapped Atari Bigby right across the face in the process), the first thing you did was look at the clock and realize that there were still two minutes and change remaining.  You remembered that Brad Childress was 0-5 against the Packers going into today's game.  You remembered that the Vikings' special teams, who had been great in kick coverage all afternoon (not on punt coverage, but on kickoff coverage) was due to give up a decent return.  And they did.

And when a pass that had been tipped by Ellis Wyms landed in the hands of Donald Driver for a 19-yard gain, you knew that the game was going to come down to a last-second field goal attempt for the Packers.  And it did.

And you were prepared for Brad Childress' record against the Packers to go to 0-6 and for our playoff chances to, effectively, be circling the bowl.

And it. . .did. . .NOT.

Acme Packing Company said this following the game:

In the end, it was a superb performance by the defense wasted.  Tramon Williams, Charles Woodson, Nick Collins, and Will Blackmon gave us hope.  Even Ryan Grant looked good today.  But even with Gus Frerotte playing just like Gus Frerotte, the Vikings won because of their superior run offense and their stifling defense.  The Packers could not execute basic football, and when you can't do that, there's no way you can win.

Titans - 21 :: Bears - 14

The first half was pretty even, as the Bears and Titans were tied at 7.  The second half, however, went in Tennessee's favor.  The Titans scored a pair of touchdowns in the second half and took a 21-7 lead.  Rex Grossman did score a touchdown with 5 minutes left to give the Bears a chance to send the game to overtime, but Chicago failed to pick up a first down when they got the ball back.  The Bears had the ball in Titans territory after a lousy punt, but it was four and out for Chicago, allowing Tennessee to run out the clock.

Windy City Gridiron said this after the loss:

The overriding theme here is the Bears could never turn around the field position battle.  Grossman wasn't consistent and the Bears D could not get off the field fast enough to turn around the field position.

Moving forward though, this was a good game for the Bears.  If the defense is finally ready to get going, next week against the Packers would be a good start.  Here is hoping Kyle Orton is ready to go.

As WCG said, the Bears play the Packers (in Green Bay) on Sunday, and there's a chance Kyle Orton will start.  The Vikings, on the other hand, head to Tampa Bay to play the Buccaneers.