The Lions' win over the Vikings today not only gave them their fourth straight victory, it also moved Detroit out of the cellar of the NFC North. The final NFC North standings for 2010 have the Lions and Vikings tied for third place, but based on divisional record, Detroit is actually ahead of Minnesota in the standings. On paper they are just tied, but if you go by divisional record, the Lions are listed third and the Vikes are at the bottom of the NFC North standings. That is certainly a welcomed change.
| Team | W | L | T | Pct. | PF | PA | Net | Div. |
| Chicago Bears | 11 | 5 | 0 | .688 | 331 | 276 | 55 | 5-1 |
| Green Bay Packers | 10 | 6 | 0 | .625 | 378 | 237 | 141 | 4-2 |
| Detroit Lions | 6 | 10 | 0 | .375 | 362 | 369 | -7 | 2-4 |
| Minnesota Vikings | 6 | 10 | 0 | .375 | 281 | 348 | -67 | 1-5 |
As you can see above, the Lions finished with the third-best divisional record in the NFC North. That's pretty good considering they were on a 19-game division losing streak just last month. Over the course of their four-game winning streak they picked up two wins against NFC North foes. The Vikings had only one win in the division all season.
The Bears finished atop the NFC North standings despite losing to the Packers today. They are the 2010 division champions, which I certainly didn't expect at the start of the season, especially after how the Week 1 game between Chicago and Detroit played out. The NFC North is always good for a surprise or two each season, and I'm hoping next year the Lions will be the surprise team everybody is talking about. Seeing them on top of the division at the end of the season would be quite the sight.
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