The Detroit Lions have opened a lead in the NFC North thanks to a pair of recent wins.
After defeating the Minnesota Vikings on the road in Week 7, the Lions once again showed their strength in a victory over Green Bay at Lambeau Field in Week 9. As a result, the 7-1 Lions currently hold a two-game advantage over the 6-2 Minnesota Vikings and 6-3 Green Bay Packers.
Here's a look at where the teams within the division stand heading into Week 10, with input from OnSI publishers across the division.
Detroit Lions
Week 10: Lions at Texans (8:20 p.m. Sunday, NRG Stadium)
NFC North Rankings: Lions, Vikings, Packers, Bears
Midseason assessment: The Lions are Super Bowl contenders. On a six-game winning streak, the Lions have proven to have very few holes. Their biggest weakness, pass rush, was addressed at the trade deadline with the addition of Za'Darius Smith. Now, the responsibility falls on the Lions to ultimately make good on the situation they've created and continue building momentum.
Keys to win: Win the turnover battle. This strategy has proven to be golden for the Lions across their winning streak. With quarterback Jared Goff avoiding interceptions and the defense creating them, the Lions have created fortuitous situations for themselves across the last several weeks. This formula should remain key against the Texans in the primetime showdown. — John Maakaron, Lions OnSI.
Minnesota Vikings
Week 10: Vikings at Jaguars (1 p.m. Sunday, EverBank Stadium)
NFC North Rankings: Lions, Vikings, Packers Bears
Midseason assessment: Very positive. The Vikings are 6-2 and hitting the road for three straight against the Jaguars, Titans and Bears. They could be 9-2 headed into December, which should keep them in contention not only in the NFC North but also for the top seed in the conference. Blake Cashman is going to return from a toe sprain and so long as Sam Darnold doesn't throw games away, the future is bright.
The biggest key to winning in Week 10: Honestly, it's all about Darnold not throwing the game away. If he takes what the defense gives him and doesn't force footballs like he did last week against the Colts, he's destined to have a monster game against a Jags defense that is one of the worst against the pass in the NFL. Jacksonville is banged up and if Trevor Lawrence doesn't play, it'll be Mac Jones. That should make Brian Flores and the Vikings defense drool. — Joe Nelson, Vikings OnSI.
Green Bay Packers
Week 10: BYE
NFC North rankings: Lions, Vikings, Packers, Bears
Midseason Evaluation: It’s amazing how a bad performance can skew things. Green Bay is 6-3 and on its way to returning to the playoffs. But a 24-14 loss to Detroit in which the Packers utterly failed to handle the elements and repeatedly shot themselves in the foot was a kick in the gut for a team that’s supposed to be a Super Bowl contender. Unless Jordan Love stops throwing stupid interceptions and the Packers find a red-zone offense and a pass rush, this team looks like a one-and-done playoff team.
Keys to Win: The Packers are off this week but the keys for the rest of the season are obvious. Last year, after a 3-6 start, the Packers went 6-2 down the stretch to get into the playoffs, then crushed the Cowboys in the wild-card round. What, if anything, can be taken away from that experience to build off this year’s 6-3 start? As coach Matt LaFleur said on Monday: “I think a lot of it just started with our approach to practice, how much competition we had in practice. I thought it made practices have more energy and I thought it reflected in our play, quite frankly." — Bill Huber, Packers OnSI.
Chicago Bears
Week 10: Bears vs Patriots (1:00 p.m. Sunday, Soldier Field)
NFC North Rankings: Lions, Packers, Vikings, Bears
Midseason evaluation: The Bears appear to have squandered an opportunity to compete in the second half of the season in the NFC North by failing to beat the Colts, Commanders and Cardinals on the road. They have the NFL's toughest remaining schedule based on winning percentage and really needed to be 6-2 or 5-3 at this point to have a realistic playoff chance. Matt Eberflus' 3-18 record in road games is dragging them down and no team with this deficiency can be considered a contender for anything other than coaching regime change, even if they have won nine straight as the home team.
