The Vikings keep stealing wins: What we learned about the NFC North after Week 2

The Bears Drop a 59 Piece in Week One, While the Packers Drop the Ball.

The Bears have the highest-scoring opener in franchise history, but have work to do The Lions needed a two-point conversion in overtime to escape with a 31-30 win over the Saints. The Packers locked up tight end Tucker Kraft on a four-year extension before kickoff, then allowed 22 unanswered points in under three minutes and the Vikings turned to their backup quarterback for a fourth-quarter comeback.

We had our second divisional game in Week 2, and the Minnesota Vikings stole another one with a backup quarterback.

This time, they got the Chicago Bears.

Here’s what we learned about the NFC North after Week 2, where the Vikings keep stealing wins and an injury might shake up the divisional race.

Vikings: They keep stealing wins

Who expects Minnesota to keep winning with Carson Wentz at quarterback? Safe to say not many.

Although Wentz didn’t make a mistake on Sunday, there was another reason the Vikings took one from the Bears on the road.

Thank the defense, and thank the emergence of Dallas Turner. He had a permanent residence in the Bears’ backfield at Solider Field.

“Man,” Vikings head coach Kevin O’Connell said. “D.T. just keeps showing up.”

Turner had two sacks and four quarterback hits on Sunday in a game that reminded Minnesota the best is yet to come with the 2024 first-round pick.

O’Connell might be an offensive coach, but it’s clear this team has different ways it can win games. Turner is an example of the players that still can ascend to another level for a team that’s now 2-0.

“I was really excited about the type of player that we would have in Dallas and how that would fit with how we were going to play defense,” O’Connell said. “His ascension is as expected, and the work he put in and the growth he’s had you still love to see it.”

Vikings fans must love anyway their team can steal wins with who they have at quarterback.

Bears: Does a Williams’ injury change the division?

The Bears won the NFC North last year with magic that Caleb Williams created with some sort of assistance.

Whether it was guardian angels, Pope Leo XIV magic or some other third thing, the Bears took the NFC North. General manager Ryan Poles swore they’d never give it back. 

Now, we wait to see if the magic will align with the method.

Williams’ non-contact hamstring injury on Sunday most likely means he’ll miss some time. What does this mean? For the Bears, the season feels like its on life support. It’s only Week 3, there’s still time to rally.

For the NFC North, this could change the race to win the division.

Williams’ led an NFL record of comeback wins last year, let alone statement wins over the Eagles, Cowboys, Steelers and more. Without him, it’s fair to wonder if the Bears can do the same thing the Vikings have done, which is steal wins with an uncertain quarterback situation.

The Bears are confident they can with Tyson Bagent, but time will tell. If the Bears can’t they might fall too far behind in the race to repeat as NFC North champions.

Time will tell, as Chicago holds its breath.

Packers: A win is a win, Packers’s version

In a similar way the Lions won last week, the same rules apply to the Packers.

It was an overtime comeback win over the Jets, but a win is a win. You can’t overlook getting one in the right column on a Sunday.

Matt LaFleur might have ways to go in terms of convincing the Packers faithful that he can overcome any perceived shortcomings, and an overtime win over the lowly Jets isn’t the best vote of confidence.

With less than 200 yards of total offense (199 total yards) and 14 penalties committed for a total of 133 penalty yards, the Packers did look rough in every sense of the word.

But, it’s a win the Packers needed. Going 0-2 to start the season would have been DEFCON 2 levels of panic.

Don’t look a gift horse in the mouth. Take the win. The Jets clearly didn’t want it.

Attention now turns to whether or not Zach Bako-Bewele and Jayden Reed are out for an extended period of time. 

Lions: The defense needs some fine-tuning

Dan Campbell wasn’t one to mince words.

“It’s not acceptable,” the Lions head coach said.                                

It’s easier said than done to stop the Buffalo Bills, to be clear. Stopping quarterback Josh Allen is like trying to slow a runaway freight train that somehow found a way to fly whenever it wants. His sidekick is James Cook, who’s a runaway freight train by himself.

Good luck.

Still, Detroit’s 31 points scored is a sign the offense is acceptable. They have Jahmyr Gibbs, and while it would’ve been better to see a score before they went down 21-0 the Lions were able to fight back with firepower.

The defense, though, needs to solve its problems. There’s time to do so. First things first is execution. The Athletic wrote the Lions blitzed on 55.3 percent of dropbacks, which is the highest blitz rate defensive coordinator Kelvin Sheppard has had since taking over. Those need to get home.

The Lions have time to rectify the defense. They won’t play Josh Allen every week, which is a good start. But getting it solved sooner rather than later will factor heavily into the NFC North race.