Around the NFC North: 2024 Week 14
So Eberflus wasn't the problem?
By Mike Price
For months, Bears fans demanded that they fire Matt Eberflus, just as they demanded the Bears fire Matt Nagy, John Fox, and Marc Trestman. They were staying in every game and losing because of stupid fourth quarter decisions, so, obviously, firing the head coach would fix all their problems. Lol. Instead, they got stomped. Bears are gonna bears.
Bears
The Bears lost to the 49ers, 38-13.
Game Notes
- The Bears had a truly horrific performance in this one and Caleb Williams was there. Williams was 17/23 for 134 yards, two TDs and 27 rush yards. Not terrible but certainly nowhere near enough. Usually, when you're in comeback mode for a whole game, you rack up a ton of attempts and have a high yards-per-attempt average.
- D'Andre Swift was in D'Andre Slow mode and had just 38 yards on 14 carries. By contrast, rookie RB Isaac Guerrendo (who transferred from Wisconsin to be a backup at a worse school because of playing time) had 78 yards and two TDs on 15 carries for the 49ers.
- The Bears receivers weren't much help. None went over 50 yards receiving. Outside of DJ Moore, who only gets targets at the LOS, none of them managed more than 11 yards after catch. The best situation ever for a rookie QB didn't help him much (he also got sacked six times, FYI).
- The defense didn't play better. Brock Purdy had 325 yards on 13 YPA, Guerrendo had the best game of his career and Kittle had 151 receiving yards. Sheesh.
- The Bears need to rebuild, again, and maybe keeping Ryan Poles isn't a great idea. Poles got rid of Darnell Mooney, Roquan Smith, Khalil Mack and David Montgomery. The best player he's acquired is maybe Montez Sweat, where he gave up draft capital for the privilege of paying top of the market money. He also hired Matt Eberflus.
Vikings
The Vikings took care of business against old pal Kirk Cousins, winning 42-21 over the Falcons.
Game Notes
- Who could've guessed that ancient quarterbacks coming off a torn Achilles would be bad? Apparently not the Jets or Falcons. The Falcons stuck with the Vikings for a bit in this one and then got shellacked in the second half thanks to an all-world performance from Sam Darnold who was 22/28 for 347 yards and five (5!) TDs with no interceptions. Sheesh and doubler sheesh! Cousins 23/37 for 344 yards and two picks, no TDs. Darnold was clearly the superior QB and I'm just telling myself that it will be funny to watch the Vikings either pay him $50mm a year despite spending their most recent first on a QB or let him go for basically nothing this off-season.
- Aaron Jones had a pretty good game, 73 yards on 13 carries, and the Vikings seem to have gotten the memo about not overusing him. The true stars on their offense were Justin Jefferson and Jordan Addison. Both had over 130 yards and multiple TDs. Addison has these games every once in a while that make you think the Vikings have the best weapons in the league.
- Defensively, the Vikings gave up a ton of yards but forced some turnovers at key times and Packers veteran Jamin Davis came up with a sack. The Falcons, who had almost 500 yards sort of proved the point that smart veteran QBs can get yards on that defense, they just also confused him enough to get the turnovers. I'm excited to see what Toyathon-era Jordan Love does against them in a few weeks.
Lions
Do we need to bring it up?
Game Notes
- In the first match-up between the two teams, I talked about how they had similar firepower as far as being able to move the ball and play good defense, the Packers just kept making mistakes. In this match-up, the Packers probably deserved a win, but the Lions got some help.
- Jared Goff had more than twice as many attempts as Jordan Love. He was 32/41 for 283 yards and Love was 12/20 for 206. Goff had three TDs and a pick and Love had one TD.
- Josh Jacobs had more yards than either of Jahymr Gibbs or David Montgomery but not more than they had combined. And the Packers didn't really use Chris Brooks or Emannuel Wilson.
- Christian Watson was the best performer among all the receivers, coming down with four catches for 114 yards and a long of 59 yards. Jameson Williams led the way for the Lions with 80 yards on five catches. Tim Patrick had two TDs despite having the legs of a 79-year-old.
- Defensively, Keisan Nixon had a pick and Rashan Gary had a sack and Kerby Joseph tried to take out two knees but there weren't really any other star performances.
- It's easy to blame the refs and I do. It's also important to mention that the Lions had 31 more plays than the Packers. There are contributing factors to that: they generally go for shorter plays than the Packers (Jordan Love had 10.3 YPA and Goff had 6.9), they extended some drives by converting fourth downs and the Packers forced the only turnover in the game. The Packers live and die by the long play. When Jacobs isn't getting at least four yards per carry they have a hard time sustaining drives sometimes. The Lions, on the other hand, had both RBs average fewer yards per carry than Jacobs and still moved the ball because they were willing to take every ten-yard pass in the middle of the field. Over and over and over and over. In the next match-up, I hope Jayden Reed is used more in the intermediate parts of the field. Option routes, texas routes, jet sweeps, etc.
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Mike Price is a lifelong Packers fan who recently moved from Utah to Stoughton (a Madison suberb). You can follow him on twitter at @themikeprice.
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Comments (18)
mnbadger
December 10, 2024 at 10:26 am
Great summary, thank you.
I can't place Jamin Davis? Any help? When was he a Packer?
GPG!
splitpea1
December 10, 2024 at 11:03 am
He was on the Packers' practice squad for almost a month before the Vikings signed him.
canadapacker
December 10, 2024 at 10:39 am
It is interesting to note - these guys who make all the big changes usually fall flat on their face -I guess the exception might be the Rams/ Lions. But what Chicago did both with their trade to Carolina ( and Carolina has done as well - with their trades and management) as well as the overall management in Chicago - shows what bad management can do to an organization. On the future with the proper management and a much better head coach - Williams has the potential to be a franchise QB. The Vikings are a surprise so far - but they did have a good roster coming in and everyone expected that their rookie QB would be going through a learning curve and when he was hurt - nobody expected Darnold to carry the load to this degree - but I guess when you have Jefferson and Jones - there are some great pieces there and that D has been tough. The Lions are not as good as their record looks - mostly because of good luck and bad refereeing - but one can say the same about our blocked field goal win against the Bears. All in all - I believe that we are just as good and are able to win any playoff game against either the Lions or the Vikes - if it comes to a wildcard game. I would rather face either on of those teams than the Eagles - in the first round. We just need to win 2 more games to get us into the higher wild card positioning.
T7Steve
December 10, 2024 at 10:44 am
So, in summary, the Bears are the Bears, the Vikings are a throwback to ancient times, and the Lions are a look into the future.
I'm glad the Packers are still in the present and are going to kick some a.....
Bearmeat
December 10, 2024 at 10:50 am
We're going to be fine. Both this year and long term.
Goff is mid and just distributes to an elite cast around him. His AYA proves it. As his team ages around him, he's going to revert to the passer he's always been. Both of their coordinators will leave in the offseason. They have no draft capital and are short on cap dollars.
Darnold is on his 5th to last game as a Viking. Flores will leave in the offseason, and they'll have to replace the lightning in a bottle with an unproven (effectively) rookie QB. And no draft capital. Good luck.
Caleb is going into year two with an entire new coaching staff and terrible owners who have a history of messing up QBs. They once again have plenty of FA money (because that's what happens when you suck all the time) and draft capital. So if they get the hire right, they'll get better fast. But they'll screw it up. Because Bears.
Jordan is elite already and only getting better. We have questions at CB and DE that we need to address. Thankfully, we will have the cap money and draft capital to do so. First time since 2019. And we STILL have a puncher's chance to win it all this year!!!
The future is BRIGHT in GB once again.
Leatherhead
December 10, 2024 at 12:11 pm
We are going to be fine, both this year and long term.
Completely agree. That's why I'm enjoying the ride. I was trying to rank this team against the other 54 Packer teams since The Merger, and this one is towards the top. Behind the 96 Packers, of course, but better than any before that. Maybe the 2010-2011 Packers. Better than the 2019 Packers.
Certainly in the top 10.
I'm expecting a renovation of the CB unit in the offseason. I'm not as sure we'll see a lot of change at DE, since Gary, Van Ness, and Enagbare are all under contract for next year. Given Gutekunst's history, this would be an area that he would look for help in FA.
First priority in the draft is to improve the road graders in front of Love and Jacobs.
splitpea1
December 10, 2024 at 11:21 am
Bears: Yeah, that coaching change really made a difference...they allowed 7 sacks, giving them a grand total of 56, tops in the league. Here is a team that perpetually needs to rebuild their O-line. Might want to consider rebuilding the front office as well.
Vikings: We have two more chances to beat good teams, with next time at Seattle being the other one. If we can't win either one or are unable to advance to the NFC championship, then I wouldn't consider this to be a particularly successful season. We'll wait and see what happens, but it looks like it's time to get some physical players so we can match up better with the top competition in the conference.
canadapacker
December 10, 2024 at 11:55 am
Kinda disagree - I am concerned that sometimes we play down to our competition. But on the other hand sometimes the games come down to a bad call or a bad mistake. Against the Lions 2 mistakes stand out - the bad fumble by Watson - why try to get the extra yards - get out of bounds - and the NON PI call on Aman St Brown on the game winning drive. Those 2 plays especially the last one changed the game. On the other hand - we know that we need to upgrade some positions - but we still have 9 wins - and while I am not overly hopeful about beating the Seahawks in noisy Seattle anything is possible . The goal is to 2 win 2 more games and keep ahead of Washington for a more favourable first round playoff game and as we saw last year anything is possible in the playoffs. One needs to remember - other than Phillie - we match up against the other teams quite well - with Phillie - Barkley is a monster.
LambeauPlain
December 10, 2024 at 12:28 pm
The Packers are one of the top 4 teams in the NFL. They are also the youngest team in the NFL. Future is bright. Ed Policy era coming.
The Holiday Season Toyotathon is in full swing and so is Jordan Love...again. He's playing really well and so are the skill players. Line not so much, but good enough to give a star QB time to throw...and a star RB room to use his power and quickness for routine gains and chunk plays.
It is a good offense and moves the chains with big gains. It is an ill fit for the current zone version of Hafley's D.
The Packers can score. And the D provides the opponent with plenty of opportunities to return the favor. On the heels of the Dolphins having 60 plays...the lions had 75! (Packers had 44)
This is a problem for the stretch run and more importantly for the playoffs. Might need to play more ball control O? Keep the other teams offense off the field.
I am still hoping the earlier pressure D will re-emerge...getting Alexander, Cooper, Williams, and Bullard back should do it. That's a lot of impact players off the field...and results in the soft zone stuff that I do not enjoy watching.
Gman1976
December 10, 2024 at 02:27 pm
I absolutely hate the soft coverages. We get burned too often.
crayzpackfan
December 10, 2024 at 01:36 pm
"it will be funny to watch the Vikings either pay him $50mm a year despite spending their most recent first on a QB or let him go for basically nothing this off-season. "
The Vikings will tag Darnold. He can play until their number one pick is fully healthy. Plus if they tag him, they can actually trade him. If he keeps playing well this season and plays well to start off next season, the Viking have options at that point. Keep him, trade him for some pretty good compensation, trade the rookie QB, really, the ball would be in the Viking's court.
keeley2
December 10, 2024 at 08:05 pm
Darnold is as good as gone. With the signing of ex-Giant Dan Jones, the pressure will not be a do or die issue for JJ McCarthy. What isn't being said out loud is that McCarthy surgery didn't go so well and he went back under the knife to try and fix it. Either way, the Queens do not have boatloads of cash to keep Darnold so expect Jones to be the starter next year.
crayzpackfan
December 11, 2024 at 11:19 am
Actually, they will have 79 million in cap going into 2025. They could easily tag SD. They aren't paying the rookie for another 3-4 years. Why not tag him and then trade him? We did that with WR1 DA a couple years ago for nice little draft haul.
mrtundra
December 10, 2024 at 01:36 pm
Aikman said that in the 1st half of the Bears-49ers game, the Bears had more punts than they did yards. 5 punts, 4 yards of offense! Yikes! Guess Caleb was wrong to say to their punter that he won't be needed much, this year! I still say the vikings will implode. Probably in the playoffs, but I can feel it coming. One and done for them, I believe. The Lions have not been playing great football, but good enough to win football, IMO. They were definitely beatable in our game. I think we can win out and when the playoffs come around, no one will want to play us. GO PACK, GO!!!
Bitternotsour
December 10, 2024 at 01:57 pm
well, if past performance is an indicator of future returns, you can pretty much bank on the Vikings imploding. It's as sure a thing as sunrises.
Gman1976
December 10, 2024 at 02:33 pm
I don't know if the Vikings will implode, but I do know they have a really good coach who wins close games and has a better record than ours. Their front office is good too.
Bitternotsour
December 10, 2024 at 05:55 pm
MLF's career record is 65-31. That's a .661 win percentage. he was the fastest to 40 wins in NFL history. O'Connell is 31-16 which is a .660 win percentage. O'Connell has never won a playoff game.
Fine coaches both, but the Vikings still suck balls.
coolhand
December 10, 2024 at 02:15 pm
I think MLF has to design some quick pass options for 10 when teams blitz. It seems we are always running long developing plays. What happened to the quick slants or Kraft finding a hole 5 yards out and turning around? All of our RBs are good receivers out of the backfield. I see Love in shotgun so much and no under center play action to draw in the defense. As I watch other games, their defense covers 1 on 1 and while gets beat sometimes, results in more stops. We don't have ANY DBs that can cover? You can't follow a receiver? Bump at the line and stay in his face. Detroit did to us, why can't we do it to them?