The NFL is all about small sample sizes. Hell, there's only 16 games in a season. If you looked at the Brewers' last 16 games, you'd think they were just OK as a baseball team. So, last week, when I said we had maybe witnessed the closing of the Lions' window as they got stomped by Packers and Jared Goff turned into Jared Off I may have fallen victim to a small sample size. But, guess what, playing well against the Bears is also a small sample and we all know the Bears sucking is not a small sample.
Lions & Bears
The Lions took care of the Bears, 52-21.
Game Notes
Goff played like has has the past few years, completing 23/28 passes for 334 yards and five TDs. You won't be shocked to hear that the Bears struggled to pressure him, ending the game with just four, nine fewer than the Packers had last week. The rest of the defense is bad too, Jaylon Johnson is hurt (now announced out for the season) and Montez Sweat and Dayo Odeyingbo, despite not getting much pressure on Goff, are far and away the two highest graded players on the defense this season.
Caleb Williams didn't play as well as Goff, but he wasn't a disaster with a 91.9 QB rating. The doorknobs who ranked Jordan Love as the third-best QB in the North this off-season probably need to be checked for brain trauma but there's still a shot that Williams will be the best QB the Bears have had since Jim McMahon. That would still be worse than Jordan Love, to be clear.
The Sun God led the way for the Lions' skill players, catching nine balls for 155 yards and three tuds. Jamo Williams had a 108 yards and a TD on three catches. Rome Odunze was the breakout star for the Bears, coming down with two TDs and 128 yards on seven catches. You can say the Lions' offense is still good against teams that haven't played well in decades but the defense probably isn't great.
Gibbs and Montgomery were both rolling on the ground and even DeAndre Swift earned his name this week with a 5.2 YPC average.
Vikings
The Falcons took care of the Vikings, 22-6.
Game Notes
Ever watch a game and you just feel dirty after? Like you shouldn't have witnessed it. That was this gross game. JJ McCarhy was 11/21 for 158 yards and two picks and now will miss next week's game, probably for Carson Wentz, because of an "ankle" "injury". Full-blown yikes status for the Vikings.
Justin Jefferson finally broke through for a 50-yard catch but no other skill players did anything of note. Aaron Jones only had five carries.
Possibly the best play of the game for the Vikings was when former Packer Eric Wilson chased down a ball carrier on defense and punched the ball out for what may have been a pivotal fumble (if the Vikings were any good).
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Mike Price is a lifelong Packers fan who recently moved from Utah to Stoughton (a Madison suberb). You can follow him on twitter at @themikeprice.
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