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NFC North standings: Lions take sole possession of first place

The Detroit Lions' win over the Chicago Bears vaulted them into sole possession of first place in the NFC North.

Jonathan Daniel

Sunday could not have gone better for the Detroit Lions when it comes to the NFC North standings. The Lions picked up a 21-19 win over the Chicago Bears, and the Aaron Rodgers-less Green Bay Packers lost to the Philadelphia Eagles. What does this all mean? Of the three 5-3 teams in the NFC North entering Week 10, only the Lions came away victorious. As a result, the Lions are now in first place all by themselves:

  1. Detroit Lions (6-3)
  2. Chicago Bears (5-4)
  3. Green Bay Packers (5-4)
  4. Minnesota Vikings (2-7)

The Lions are entering new territory by leading the NFC North this late in the season:

As a reminder, these are the remaining schedules for the top three teams in the NFC North:

Lions Packers Bears
Week 11 at Steelers at Giants vs. Ravens
Week 12 vs. Buccaneers vs. Vikings at Rams
Week 13 vs. Packers at Lions at Vikings
Week 14 at Eagles vs. Falcons vs. Cowboys
Week 15 vs. Ravens at Cowboys at Browns
Week 16 vs. Giants vs. Steelers at Eagles
Week 17 at Vikings at Bears vs. Packers

If the Lions can win their next two games, they could be going into Thanksgiving against the Packers with potentially more than a game lead over Green Bay with Rodgers remaining out. What's more, with Jay Cutler not exactly looking all that healthy, the Bears could potentially fall more than a game back here in the next couple weeks if the Lions keep winning.

In short, the NFC North is shaping up to be the Lions' division to lose. That's not to say that they will indeed win the NFC North considering there is so much football still to be played, but they are in excellent position to make a run at winning the division and getting a home playoff game.

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