NFC North recap: Lions move to 2nd place after everyone else takes a collective L

The Detroit Lions are making moves in the NFC North division after winning three straight, while a couple of their rivals are trending in the opposite direction. Let’s take a look at the rest of the NFC North for our Week 11 recap.

Packers lose on “Thursday Night Football” to the Titans at home, 27-17

After an impressive comeback win over the Cowboys to try and put themselves back on the map, the Packers lost a tough one at home and are seeing their playoff chances vanish right before their eyes.

This match never really felt all that close, and when the Packers made attempts to close the gap, the Titans responded swiftly and strengthened their lead. The Packers never led at any point.

Packers receiver Christian Watson continues to impress, though, accounting for both of the Packers touchdowns. He’s had five receiving touchdowns over the past two weeks, which is five more than he’s had the rest of the year.

On the ground, the Packers were unable to get anything going. The team rushed for a combined 56 yards on just 19 attempts (2.9 yards per carry).

The Packers also had no answer for defending Titans QB Ryan Tannehill, who was nearly perfect all game aside from one bad interception.

It’s not something that we’re used to, but as the Lions are trending in the positive direction, the Packers are heading the opposite way. You love to see it.

Next game: @ Eagles (9-1)

Bears drop fourth straight to the Falcons, 27-24

The Bears have had some recent positives like their offense turning things around and quarterback Justin Fields turning a corner, but the wins still haven’t been coming. And now, at 3-8, they actually have the worst record in the NFC—tied with the Panthers.

Fields has been carrying the offense on his shoulders these last several weeks and has looked pretty good while doing so. But on Sunday, he looked noticeably exhausted and you can tell it’s wearing on him. After a 4-yard rushing touchdown from Fields, the Bears got out to a 17-7 lead, but the Falcons responded quickly with a kick return touchdown from Cordarrelle Patterson—now holding the record for most KR TDs in NFL history.

The Bears offense would struggle for the remainder of the game and the Falcons took advantage in the third quarter by grabbing a 24-17 lead.

The worst news to come from this game for the Bears was on the last drive, when Fields appeared to injure his non-throwing shoulder on a designed run. He would take another shot to his left shoulder later in the drive and then soon after threw an interception that was tipped off of his own player’s fingers. An update will be given on Fields’ injury on Wednesday.

Next game: @ Jets (6-4)

Vikings suffer second-largest home loss in team history, lose 40-3 to the Cowboys

It’s not often you see a one-loss team this deep into the season get embarrassed this badly. It was a beatdown from start to finish, with the Cowboys outgaining the Vikings 458-183 in total yards.

Kirk Cousins was hounded by the Cowboys defensive line all game long, and it started with a sack fumble less than two minutes into the game that immediately led to some Cowboys points. Cousins was sacked a total of seven times on the day.

On defense, the Vikings were just as bad. They limited the damage the best they could for the first 20 minutes or so, but when the offense couldn’t stay on the field to give the defense a breather, that’s when the Cowboys started to pile it on.

Another telling stat was the Vikings’ failings on third down. They were 1-11 on their third down conversion attempts. That’s not very good.

Next game: vs. Patriots — Thanksgiving Night

Standings after Week 11

1. Minnesota Vikings (8-2)
2. Detroit Lions (4-6)
3. Green Bay Packers (3-7)
4. Chicago Bears (3-8)

The Lions are in second place!