State of the NFC North-Week 1

Photo Credit: Ed Zurga

Quite the strange start to the 2023 NFL season for the NFC North division. We had two strange, confusing upsets for the Lions and Vikings. Each with mixed results. The Packers embarrassed the Bears on the road at Soldier Field. With Week 1 in the books, the time is now to look at the state of the NFC North.

Detroit Lions

So, Lions fans, weird start to the season. You defeated the defending champion Kansas City Chiefs with the final score being 21-20. Quarterback Jared Goff threw for 253 yards and one touchdown. Running back David Montgomery, formerly of the Chicago Bears, ran for 74 yards and a touchdown. Rookie RB Jahmyr Gibbs ran for 42 yards in his first career game. Looks to be a great RB2 for your offense. Wide receiver Amon-Ra St. Brown had six catches for 71 yards and the only receiving touchdown for the game. WR Josh Reynolds had 80 yards off of four catches, another threat in the passing game for future opponents.

The offensive line did its job for the game with the exception of one sack to defensive end Mike Deema.

The only highlight for the defensive side of the ball for the Lions was rookie safety Brian Branch. Branch had the lone interception for the game and was a force in the secondary despite the Chiefs carving up the defense when they were running zone coverage instead of the man coverage the Lions are known for running.

The upcoming opponent for the Detroit Lions is this Sunday, Sep. 17 at home in Ford Field to take on QB Geno Smith and the Seattle Seahawks.

Minnesota Vikings

It was a strange game for the Minnesota Vikings as well. They were defeated by QB Baker Mayfield and the Tampa Bay Buccaneers 20-17 at home in U.S. Bank Stadium. QB Kirk Cousins was the best player for his position in the division for week one. He had 344 yards, two touchdowns, and one interception. The rushing attack was seemingly non-existent with RB Alexander Mattison only rushing for 34 yards. However, he did have one receiving touchdown off of three catches for 10 yards.

The true receiving threats for the Vikings were a two headed monster. WR Justin Jefferson, while not scoring a touchdown, had nine catches for 150 yards. Rookie WR Jordon Addison had four catches for 61 yards, and a touchdown.

The pass protection managed to keep Cousins alive for majority of the game. However, it did give up two sacks to safety Antoine Winfield Jr. and outside linebacker Anthony Nelson.

The defense did its job for the most part, keeping Mayfield to below 200 yards passing, but did allow two touchdowns to WR Mike Evans and WR Trey Palmer. The main attraction for the game for the defense was DE Danielle Hunter, who recorded the lone sack for the Vikings defense.

The Vikings next take on the defending NFC champion Philadelphia Eagles tomorrow on the road at 7:15 pm and hope to bounce back against one of the monsters of the NFC.

Green Bay Packers

This one stings for me personally. The Packers beat the pride out of the Chicago Bears this past Sunday. QB Jordan Love threw for 245 yards and three touchdowns. RB Aaron Jones demolished the Bears defense for 41 rushing yards and one touchdown. While also getting two catches for 86 yards and a touchdown. WR Romeo Doubs also had 4 catches for 26 yards and two touchdowns on the day. The Packers defense did not give QB Justin Fields time to breathe in the pocket for majority of the day. The defense had four sacks in total. These contributions came from DT Devonte Wyatt, rookie OLB Lukas Van Ness, rookie DE Karl Brooks, and DT Kenny Clark. Inside linebacker Quay Walker also recorded one interception on Fields for the day.

The Packers next opponent is this Sunday on the road in Atlanta to take on the Falcons. Should be a more challenging defensive opponent than the Bears.

Chicago Bears

The Bears meanwhile have more questions than answers after that performance. Fields had 216 yards for one touchdown and one interception. The rushing attack was a combination of Fields for 59 yards, RB Khalil Herbert for 27 yards, rookie RB Roschon Johnson for 20 yards, and RB D’Onta Foreman for 16 yards.

The receiving game was confusing for the Bears. WR Darnell Mooney had the lone touchdown from the Bears this week with 53 yards from four catches. Tight end Cole Kmet had 44 yards off of five catches. WR D.J Moore only had two catches for 25 yards in a strange lack of targets.

Already discussed how the Packers got four sacks on Fields. The Bears defense was solid in the first half but quickly collapsed in the second. The lone highlight for that side of the ball was DE Yannick Ngakoue with his lone sack of the day.

The Bears next opponent is this Sunday on the road in Florida against the Tampa Bay Buccaneers. Hope to see a win from the Chicago Bears and bounce back from this Week 1 confusion.