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The fun of talking about the NFC North standings is over... for now. I say that because the Green Bay Packers are back in first place in the division. The Lions had been in first place since defeating the Chicago Bears earlier in the year, but with them losing on Sunday and the Packers winning again, there is a new team at the top of the NFC North standings:
- Green Bay Packers (4-2)
- Detroit Lions (4-3)
- Chicago Bears (4-3)
- Minnesota Vikings (1-5)
Luckily for the Lions, Chicago also lost on Sunday, so both teams still have the same record. With the Lions holding the tiebreaker thanks to their win over the Bears, they are in control of the second wild card spot in the NFC right now. Obviously there's a lot of football still to be played, but the good news is that after the Lions and Bears, every other team in the NFC has a record of 3-3 or worse.
Should the Lions pick up a win over the Dallas Cowboys this week, they will need the fading Minnesota Vikings to upset Green Bay on Sunday night to move back into first place. That seems highly unlikely, and given the injury issues in Chicago, it also seems highly unlikely that the Bears will upset the Packers in Week 9. With the Philadelphia Eagles, New York Giants and Vikings (again) coming up for the Packers after that, they could be on a pretty big winning streak going into the Thanksgiving game in Detroit.