The NFL is an NFC North world right now, and the rest of the teams are living it.
All four NFC North teams have at least six wins through Sunday’s Week 10 games. Three of the four NFC North teams won on Sunday, with the Chicago Bears reaching seven wins and the Green Bay Packers and Detroit Lions both hitting six.
The Minnesota Vikings already had six wins going into Week 10, ahead of a Monday Night Football game against the Buffalo Bills. It’s unprecedented since the NFL and AFL merged in 1970, and the NFC North has only three combined losses outside the division.
All four teams are on track to make the NFC North the first division ever to send all four teams to the playoffs. That’s a tight squeeze, with four division champions and three Wild Card spots.
Green Bay holds the No. 7 spot after dominating the New England Patriots 45–27. Packers quarterback Jordan Love took care of business in Foxboro, throwing for 372 yards and three touchdowns and rushing for one.
The Packers had a shaky start to the season, with a Week 1 loss to the Vikings and a 1–2 start overall after a Week 3 loss to the Atlanta Falcons. Green Bay rebounded with a three-game winning streak, and the Packers started a new win streak after losing to the Lions on Oct. 25.
Detroit notched a sixth win on Sunday with a 19–9 victory over the Miami Dolphins, and the Lions extended their winning streak to four games in the process. Lions quarterback Jared Goff threw for 170 yards and running back Jahmyr Gibbs rushed for 74 yards and a touchdown. Kicker Jake Bates hit four field goals to keep the Dolphins at bay.
Things didn’t start pretty for the Lions either this season after a 31–30 overtime win over the New Orleans Saints in Week 1.
Detroit dropped games to the Buffalo Bills and Carolina Panthers amid a 2–2 start, but the Lions have found their footing since. That started with a 45–21 win over the Arizona Cardinals, and the Lions became the only team to beat the Vikings, 19–15, during the current winning streak.
Chicago also faced its own ups and downs early on. The Bears improved to 7–2 on Sunday night by holding off the Tampa Bay Buccaneers 27–24.
Bears kicker Cairo Santos walked off the Buccaneers with a 38-yard field goal after Tampa Bay had tied the game in the final three minutes. Chicago also overcame four interceptions by quarterback Caleb Williams, who also threw for 279 yards and two touchdowns.
Williams looked mostly dominant this season, starting with his monster Week 1 game when the Bears rolled in a 59–37 shootout against the Panthers. Then, Williams sustained a hamstring injury during a rainy Week 2 game against the Vikings, and he missed three games.
Backups Case Keenum and Tyson Bagent held down the fort with Williams out, and the Bears won two of three games in Williams’ absence. The lone loss came against the Packers, 31–7 on Oct. 11, but the Bears got back to winning, and Williams is now on a four-game winning streak.
With the NFC North holding the cards in the conference, multiple winning teams are already fighting for their playoff lives. That includes the defending Super Bowl champion Seattle Seahawks and preseason favorite Los Angeles Rams, both at 5–4.
Seattle continued its dominance over the Cardinals, 17–3, for an 11th consecutive win over the NFC West rival. The Rams meanwhile dispatched the Washington Commanders, 20–13, for a much-needed win.
Whether the NFC North’s grip holds in the playoff picture remains in question, since plenty of in-division games remain.
That includes the Vikings and Packers at Lambeau Field for Week 10, and the Lions will need to keep winning in Munich against the Patriots next Sunday while the Bears have a bye week.
