There was plenty around the NFC North to take note of.
From two teams winning ugly to one winning with a third quarterback, only one team lost.
Here’s what we learned about the NFC North after Week 4 in the NFL.
Vikings: Winning ugly at 4-0 is fine
The Vikings are undefeated. Starting there is the most important thing, because winning 15-10 over the lowly Dolphins isn’t that impressive.
But, they get a pass by winning ugly. There’s plenty to look forward to.
Big picture view:
Quarterback Kyler Murray didn’t have a great game, completing 27 of his 37 passes for 247 yards without a score. But, he completed 11 of his final 12 passes on the Vikings’ last three drives and didn’t turn the ball over.
Minnesota won without all-world wide receiver Justin Jefferson, key running back Jordan Mason and starting offensive lineman Donovan Jackson. Getting those pieces back will undoubtedly help the offense in every facet, but more information is needed on the severity on Jackson’s injury.
“We have to clean up a lot offensively,” Vikings coach Kevin O’Connell said after the game. “We were able to make plays down the stretch.”
The secondary struggles are the kind of things the Vikings needs to work on, too. However, it’s so much better to work on something with a 4-0 record than anything else.
Missing that much on offense hurts. But, the defense proved it can handle Miami’s run game. Factor out Ollie Gordon’s 53-yard run and Miami only gained 68 yards on the ground.
It’s fine to win ugly.
Especially because the Vikings weren’t the only team in the NFC North to win ugly on Sunday.
Packers: Winning ugly at 2-2 is not fine
Packers head coach Matt LaFleur has plenty to be frustrated about. Little is going right in Green Bay. The Pack scored just 17 points in a 17-14 win over Tampa Bay, which started back-up quarterback Jalon Daniels.
“We’re never going to be satisfied with scoring 17 points,” LaFleur told reporters after the game.
The other side:
In the end, it was another frustrating day for Green Bay.
The Packers won, but is it any consolation? This team’s Super Bowl aspirations now hang over the team’s head like a cloud.
Last week, the other cloud that hung over Green Bay was getting dominated by Atlanta at home. This week, Edgerrin Cooper’s Achilles injury hangs over the team which LaFleur suspects is a season-ending injury, let alone the ball-security issues the running backs have.
Green Bay keeps winning ugly, but unlike Minnesota the expectations for this team are why winning ugly is such a difficult pill to swallow.
The biggest question now is how much can Micah Parsons help this team as a whole?
Bears: They can win with any of their 3 QBs
On the first play of the game, Bears coach Ben Johnson threw everyone for a loop.
Tyson Bagent, who was reportedly set to start, split out wide. Case Keenum, last week’s starter, was taking the snap. This was on purpose.
“I got all these memos saying that Tyson was starting before I ever made an announcement,” Johnson said. “So, I wanted to get Case out there first time.”
Johnson never said officially, but he made his decision. Bagent would be the starting quarterback on Sunday.
He still had some fun with it.
“It was like his ceremonial first pitch out there, handing off the torch,” he said.
Dig deeper:
Keenum won last week. As Johnson wanted to, he handed the torch to Bagent. Literally, as Keenum told Bagent he would be QB1 on Sunday.
Still, Soldier Field was a boring scene for the Bears’ defense in the end. Those guys played just 16 minutes of game time in a 23-12 win over the Jets because of the Bears’ offense. The Bears’ rushing attack controlled the game.
The Bears didn’t win because of Bagent yesterday. The unlocked a way to win with him at quarterback, which is important to consider in case Williams is unable to return to action.
“No matter who we play, I am extremely appreciative of every rep,” Bagent said. “Every game ever given to me, nothing changes on my end.”
Lions: The defense remains the issue to iron out
It’s a little tough to turn on NBC just to see the entire panel choose the Lions to beat the Panthers on Sunday Night Football.
It’s even more difficult to consider the Lions were the only NFC North team to lose on Sunday.
Big picture view:
As per usual, the Lions’ offense was fine. It wasn’t great, as Detroit went stagnant for a while but still scored 26 points and had a chance to win the game at the end.
The biggest issue was how the Panthers’ offense just had its way with the Lions’ defense. Panthers’ wide receiver Tetairoa McMillan had a mind-boggling stat line of 14 catches for 192 yards and two scores.
Whatever gripes you have with the Lions offense and offensive coordinator Drew Petzing, and you can probably think of a few, it pales in comparison to the defensive mishaps that allowed the Panthers to drop 32 points in primetime on Sunday night.
It’s even more difficult when watching the Dallas Cowboys swing a trade with Pittsburgh for Joey Porter Jr. when that’s a player Detroit sorely needed.
NFC North Standings
1. Minnesota Vikings: 4-0, 2-0
2. Chicago Bears: 3-1, 0-1
3. Detroit Lions: 2-2, 0-0
4. Green Bay Packers: 2-2, 0-1
The Source: Analysis and story is written by Chris Kwiecinski, who covers the NFL and Chicago Bears for Fox Chicago.