I'm sure you're still buzzing about the Packers' second-half beatdown of the Steelers and Aaron Rodgers on Sunday, but guess what? The Vikings and Bears sucked this week, too! And we don't have to even think about the Lions who were on bye. Maybe the football gods are real.
Bears
The Bears lost to the Ravens and Tyler Huntley, 30-16.
Game Notes
Imagine being a Bears fan right now. You seem to have a good head coach and defensive coordinator. The o-line is gelling and for the most part, you're killing it in the run game with a strong defense to boot. But you still suck! The Bears lost by two touchdowns to a 1-5 team quarterbacked by a backup who signed with the team less than two months ago. The can't miss QB you drafted a year ago is struggling to run an offense, while the guy who went next looks like a top-5 QB. It's all gross, for them, great for us.
Williams was 25/38 for 285 yards and a pick. It was his second straight game with no touchdowns and an interception. The game before that, he threw one TD. In the six games where he didn't get to play the Cowboys' defense, he has five touchdowns and four picks. Not great! He has a great run game supporting him, three first-round picks and two second-round pick catching balls and maybe the best play caller in the league running the offense. And he still looks bad halfway into the season. We're coming up on bust territory here. Though looking at the current NFL QB landscape, would it shock you if Williams was a pro-bowl QB for the Cowboys or Rams five years from now?
D'Andre Slow was fine in limited touches and Rome Odunze had 114 yards. The weapons are good! Even Colston Loveland has been doing stuff. Although I wouldn't be surprised if DJ Moore was on the trade block.
The defense sort of fell apart in this one. Tyler Huntley had a very efficient 8.5 yards per attempt and 53 rush yards and Derrick Henry added another 71 yards, though it took 21 carries to do it. Montez Sweat and Gervon Dexter both had sacks.
Vikings
The Vikings were beaten up, 37-10, by the Chargers on Thursday Night.
Game Notes
The Vikings' situation might be worse than the Bears. They flirted with Aaron Rodgers all off-season and stuck with JJ McCarthy. So there are now three teams with winning records and worse receivers than the Vikings while having a QB the Vikings should have right now: the Steelers with Rodgers, the Seahawks with Sam Darnold, and the Colts with Daniel Jones. Rodgers probably could've been had for a minimum deal this season, and Darnold and Jones were literally on the team last year. Instead, the Vikings are now 3-4, have lost two straight, their starter, Carson Wentz, is out for the year, and the other starter, who they quiet fired, JJ McCarthy, has to come back against the Lions coming off a bye. Three weeks ago, we believed the North was the best division in football and that the Packers could finish in third place. Now, I would be shocked to see the Bears and Vikings end up with winning records.
Wentz had pretty bad numbers, 15/27 for 144, 1/1, and the Chargers are a great defense, and Wentz only got 74 yards off 11 targets to Justin Jefferson and 26 yards total from Jordan Addison. The Lions' defense has been great this year, too. We'll see what McCarthy can do against them.
Aaron Jones was leaned on the most for the running game in his first game back, but that only means he had 5 carries for 15 yards.
The defense couldn't handle the Chargers' run-first mentality, giving up 207 yards on 43 carries. The Chargers also had 212 pass yards, almost perfectly balanced. The Vikings blew their load on pass rush only defensive tackles after having a meh run defense last year and now they can't get a lead against anyone this year. I know we're supposed to hate PFF grades, but the Vikings spent a ton of money on Hargrave and Allen (combined cap hit of over $43mm next year with $28mm dead cap if they're cut) and they're the 96th and 88th-ranked defensive tackles, respectively. Bad! Yikes!
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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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