We enjoy when the four teams in the division square off, because that means we can keep this short, sweet, and straight to the title.
Welcome back to what will be the final installment of the NFC North roundup, your home for NFL updates from around what was once the black and blue division.
This week, the games couldn’t have been farther apart on the spectrum, with the Packers and Bears playing for the division title, and the Vikings and Lions playing to avoid having to forfeit the week.
Here’s what the regular season finale held.
GREEN BAY 33, CHICAGO 28: In an instant classic, the Packers are headed to the playoffs and the Bears and Jay Cutler will be sitting at home wondering what could’ve been.
It looked on multiple occasions as if the Bears were going to take the division title at Soldier Field, with the Packers facing multiple fourth downs on their final, game-winning drive trailing 28-27.
But on the last of those fourth downs, Aaron Rodgers, making his first start since breaking his collarbone two months ago, found Randall Cobb, who was playing for the first time since Week 6, for a 48-yard touchdown with 38 seconds.
It capped a bad few weeks for the Bears, who lost by 43 points to Philadelphia last week, and completed a season for the Packers that saw them win just eight games, a total large enough to secure the North.
The only other game in the division this week is covered wall-to-wall here, and featured two teams that will likely have new coaches before the week is up.
Here is how the final standings look.
GREEN BAY: 8-7-1
CHICAGO: 8-8
DETROIT: 7-9
MINNESOTA: 5-10-1
Gross. We hope the NFC North tries harder to be decent next year, and if they do, perhaps we’ll try harder too, though we’re not sure we could do better.
Until the 2014 NFL season, goodbye.
