If there was any doubt as to the favorites for the NFC North this season, Thursday Night Football ended it.
With both the Detroit Lions and the Green Bay Packers arriving at Lambeau Field with 2-1 records, it was Detroit that showed the strength to jump into a commanding lead and then hang on when the Packers mounted a comeback that was stopped abruptly by Quay Walker’s stupidity.
After Jordan Love led the Packers from 17-0 down to win 18-17 against the New Orleans Saints, he couldn’t make lightning strike twice. Four games in, the Packers look like a team finding their way under their new QB.
For the Minnesota Vikings, a win for the Lions rather than the Packers makes an already difficult challenge all the more formidable, given the Lions have an easier schedule than Green Bay and look an all-round better team.
The Vikings are favorites to win against the Carolina Panthers this Sunday (though nothing can be taken for granted at this point) but even with a win there, it’ll be followed by a visit from the Kansas City Chiefs, a trip to the Chicago Bears, and then a home game against the San Francisco 49ers.
Straddling the line between optimistic and realistic, the Vikings most likely find themselves 2-5 after Week 7, but also potentially 1-6 or 3-4.
Detroit meanwhile host the Panthers followed by trips to the Tampa Bay Buccaneers and the Baltimore Ravens. You’d expect them to roll the Panthers and probably the Bucs, and the way they’re playing you wouldn’t count them out of leaving Baltimore with a win either.
In any case, they’re likely to find themselves 5-2 or 6-1 – unless they have another collective brainfart as they did when the Seattle Seahawks came to Ford Field.
The schedule gets softer for the Vikings then (@Packers, @Falcons, v. Saints, @Broncos, v. Bears, @Raiders), but the Lions also have a relatively kind stretch of games (v. Raiders, @Chargers, v. Bears, v. Packers, @Saints) with the exception of the visits to the Chargers and maybe the Saints.
If the Vikings are intent on remaining competitive this year after the 0-3 start, they’ll need to be within striking distance of Detroit by the final three games, when they face the Lions twice, with Detroit also playing the Dallas Cowboys in between.
It starts with winning in Carolina on Sunday, and then ideally taking two of the three next games against the Chiefs, Bears and 49ers.
