As the NFC North enters the heart of the season where playoff hopes are kept alive or shattered, weekly divisional matchups should make the coming weeks exciting as the division rounds the corner to the December homestretch. 

Chicago Bears

On Sunday, the Bears maintained their lead in the NFC North by thoroughly beating the Detroit Lions within the friendly confines of Soldier Field by a score of 34-22.  In the convincing win, the Bears jumped out to an early lead behind an offense that was on fire from the start.  While struggling through a very up and down season, quarterback Mitch Trubisky came out with guns blazing in throwing for 355 yards and three touchdowns against the Lions while also adding a rushing touchdown as well.  With little producing from their run game, the Bears wide receiver duo of Allen Robinson and Anthony Miller each broke the 100-yard mark receiving and hauled in all three of Trubisky’s touchdown passes.  The Bears defense welcomed Khalil Mack back to action and the unit as a whole got after Lions quarterback Matthew Stafford and forced three total turnovers in the game.

The victory over the Lions snapped the Bears 10-game losing streak to NFC North opponents and helped them remain atop the division at a record of 6-3 with just seven games remaining on the schedule.  The Bears will play host to the Minnesota Vikings this Sunday in a game that was flexed to the primetime Sunday Night Football slot and then will travel on short notice the following week to take on the Detroit Lions in their traditional Thanksgiving Day home game at Ford Field.

Minnesota Vikings

While sitting stagnant during their week 10 bye, the Vikings watched their two closest competitors for the NFC North title both secure wins over this past weekend.  Sitting at 5-3-1 and right on the heels of the division-leading Chicago Bears, the Vikings look to travel to Chicago this Sunday night with a chance to take over the division lead.  Following their week 11 Sunday Night Football matchup, the Vikings turn around in the same timeslot the following week when they host the Packers at US Bank Stadium.

Detroit Lions

On Sunday, the Lions pushed their losing streak to three games in a 34-22 loss to the Chicago Bears on the road at Soldier Field.  In the losing effort, quarterback Matthew Stafford continued to be pummeled by opposing defenses while being sacked six times against the Bears.  That makes 16 sacks over the past two games for Stafford.  While rookie running back Kerryon Johnson continues to be a bright spot for the Lions, all other facets of their team are failing miserably during the losing streak.  Costly turnovers at the hands of Stafford and Johnson negated scoring opportunities for the Lions and are a direct effect of the Lions offensive line struggling to keep their star players protected.  On the other side of the ball, the Lions defense appeared to put a focus on stopping the Bears running game to let Mitch Trubisky try to beat them.  While successful in limiting Jordan Howard and Tarik Cohen on the ground, Trubisky had a field day with the Lions secondary.

Following up on three straight losses, the schedule doesn’t get any easier for the Lions over the next three weeks.  While all three matchups are at home, they host the Carolina Panthers this week, the Chicago Bears on Thanksgiving Day and the Los Angeles Rams the following week.