Detroit Lions fans everywhere are waking up to good news on the race to the team’s first-ever NFC North title.
The Monday Night Football game between the Chicago Bears and the Minnesota Vikings ended in a way that really helped the Lions.
Chicago prevailed 12-10 in an epic display of seriously bad offense from both teams.
The Bears kicked four field goals and missed another, while the Vikings managed only one drive that picked up three or more first downs.
The Bears improved to 4-8. Chicago is also on its bye week, with its next game hosting the Lions in Week 14.
There were six combined interceptions, four by Minnesota’s Joshua Dobbs, and six combined punts. The Bears dropped at least two other sure interceptions, too.
Minnesota’s loss drops the Vikings to 6-6 as that team hits its bye week. The Lions (8-3) maintained their 2.5-game lead in the division even after losing 29-22 to the Green Bay Packers on Thanksgiving.
The Lions’ magic number to clinch is four, with six weeks to play. That includes two games against the Vikings, where a win would count as two in the magic number department.
The Minnesota Vikings have some good weapons on offense. Sadly, that hasn’t translated into success on early drives. In fact, the team seems to need a little time to warm up and get in a rhythm each week,
Minnesota’s defense has proven to be much better than last year’s unit. Despite losing their last two games, the Vikings only allowed one touchdown to be scored. It’s sad the offense couldn’t score enough to keep up with those teams.
There is a difference between being aggressive and forcing plays though. Taking what a defense gives you early on can help devise a long-term game plan that can keep opposing teams on their toes for the remainder of the contest.
Maybe the team will be better in this department when Justin Jefferson returns to the lineup. It feels like it has been a while since the Minnesota Vikings have used their offense to set a tone early and control the pace of a game.
