Know the NFC North: Week 10

NFC North standings

Detroit Lions: 7-2

Green Bay Packers: 6-3

Minnesota Vikings: 4-5

Chicago Bears: 3-6

Green Bay Packers

Last week: 55-14 win at home against the Chicago Bears

In Week 10, the Packers turned their hard-fought rivalry with the Bears into a joke by dominating their neighbors to the south in every phase of the game. The Packers scored touchdowns on six of their seven first-half drives and put the Bears in such a hole that they were in "four-down" territory by the second quarter. Even against the Packers' second string for most of the second half, the Bears gained little momentum and continued their downward spiral this season.

Highlights

Aaron Rodgers to Jordy Nelson - The Rodgers-Nelson combination is deadly. These two excellent players share some type of telepathic connection and excel as a deep-threat duo. In essentially one half of play, Nelson brought in all six of Rodgers' targets thrown his way for two touchdowns and 152 yards.

Julius Peppers - Playing with a chip on his shoulder against his old team, Peppers terrorized the Bears' offensive line. On the night, Peppers had four pressures, one sack and forced a Jay Cutler fumble.

Lowlights

You beat your rival by 41 points, you get a free pass.

Next week: At home against the Philadelphia Eagles (7-2)

Minnesota Vikings

Last week: Bye

Next week: At the Chicago Bears (3-6)

Chicago Bears

Last week: 55-14 loss at the Green Bay Packers

Highlights

Brandon Marshall - Marshall finally looked like his old self again this week after working through injuries this season. Marshall brought down 8-of-10 targets for 112 yards and a touchdown and was physically dominant on an otherwise bleak night for the Bears' offense.

Lowlights

Jay Cutler - Obviously. The only reason that Cutler escaped this debacle with only three turnovers is that the Packers dropped two more easy picks.

Penalties - On a night when nothing else was going their way, the Bears made things worse by shooting themselves in the foot with regularity. The team committed 11 penalties for an astounding 163 yards.

Everything else - This game was brutal to watch, even for someone who really dislikes the Bears. The defense was routinely out of place and blew simple assignments while the offense effectively painted a picture of the word "derp."

Next week: At home against the Minnesota Vikings (4-5)