NFC North Week 11 recap: Bears extend division lead, Packers still winless on the road

Packers lose to Seahawks, 24-21, stay winless on the road

The Packers are yin and yang when it comes to their home and away games this year. With their loss to Seattle, they are now 0-5 on the road and 4-0-1 at home.

Things started off great for Green Bay after an immediate fumble from the Seahawks’ offense and a quick three-play, 29-yard drive capped off with an Aaron Jones rushing touchdown. The Packers would add another touchdown to go up 14-3 with a little over three minutes remaining in the first quarter.

Despite the early surge, Seattle would close that gap and head into halftime down by just four points (21-17). The quarterback play was top notch on both sides and Aaron Rodgers did just about all he could do, but it wasn’t enough in the end. He finished the game 21-of-30 for 332 passing yards (11.1 YPA), two touchdowns and a passer rating of 128.8.

The Packers will look for their first road win on the year next week against a Vikings team they tied earlier in the year. If they are unable to come away with a win, it’ll be a tough hill for them to climb if they want any shot at the playoffs.

Next game: @ Vikings (5-4-1)

Vikings rally late, fall short to Chicago on “Sunday Night Football,” 25-20

Bears

Chicago’s defense is unreal. With Khalil Mack back in the fold, they take on a completely different persona that allows them to completely shut down the run and wreak constant havoc upon opposing quarterbacks. They pretty much crushed Kirk Cousins’ spirit and held Dalvin Cook to a total of 10 all-purpose yards on 12 touches. It’s kind of unfair.

The Bears offense was a bit of a mixed bag, with Trubisky playing relatively well outside of the pocket, especially when running the ball, but continued his struggles as a passer, finishing the game with a passer rating of 61.9. Luckily for him, he gets to boost those numbers again on Thanksgiving.

Anthony Miller is a very good wide receiver. He’s also a maniac.

The Bears are now 7-3 which hurts to think about, but they are undeniably stacked at most positions. Credit to their front office for building them from the ground up, and I am also a bit jealous of Matt Nagy’s ability to scheme players open and be ultra creative compared to Jim Bob Cooter.

Next game: @ Lions (4-6)

Vikings

It was about as ugly as it could get for the Vikings in the first half. Kirk Cousins looked like he just wanted to cash a check and take a flight back home after throwing for just 53 yards plus an interception heading into the locker room. The rest of the game wasn’t a whole lot different aside from picking up some garbage time stats when the game was mostly out of reach.

The Vikings couldn’t get anything going in the run game either, as the Bears run defense continue to be dominant in that phase of the game. Minnesota would finish with just 22 rushing yards on 14 attempts (1.6 yards per carry). The only bright spot on offense for the Vikings was receiver Stefon Diggs, who was targeted a whopping 18 times, catching 13 of those for 126 yards and a touchdown.

Minnesota’s defense had a much better night than their offense and managed to force three turnovers, though they only cashed in for six points off of those turnovers. The pass rush did a nice job of getting to Mitchell Trubisky, but there is no real plan of attack when you’re face to face with possibly the most dynamic rushing quarterback in the NFL—he’s been that good when tucking the ball and running for himself. Trubisky had almost double the rushing yards that the Vikings had combined.

Next game: vs. Packers (4-5-1)

NFC North Week 11 Standings

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

The Lions were unable to gain any ground on first place, but they did inch their way closer to lifting themselves out of the cellar. It’s looking very unlikely that the Lions pull off a comeback and win the North, but beating the Bears on Turkey Day would go a long way to achieving that miracle. Speaking of the Bears, I’m thinking after what we just witnessed on “Sunday Night Football,” they’re definitely for real, and they’re the team to beat. They’ve got a real shot at winning at least 10 games with the Lions, Packers, 49ers and Giants still on their schedule.