Lions were close to a perfect bye week, but the NFC North remains tight

The Green Bay Packers (5-1-1) wrapped up the Sunday football slate with a 35-25 Sunday Night Football victory against the Pittsburgh Steelers (4-3) and their former QB, Aaron Rodgers.

The Steelers' defense initially made life difficult for QB Jordan Love and the Packers' offense. This allowed Rodgers and the Steelers to enter the half with a 16-7 lead. The script flipped in the second half as the Packers' defense showed how elite it can be, holding the Steelers to nine points the rest of the way. In turn, the Steelers' defense then struggled to keep the Packers out of the endzone, giving up 28 points in the final two frames.

Love finished with 360 passing yards with three TDs, and at one point completed 20 consecutive passes. 143 of those yards, along with two of those TDs, went to tight end Tucker Kraft in celebration of National Tight Ends Day. As for Rodgers, he finished with 219 passing yards and two TDs, but that second TD came late in the fourth quarter, when the Packers were already up by 16.

The Packers' victory ensures they remain on top of the NFC North, and the NFC as a whole, for another week. In doing so, they prevented their former QB from becoming the seventh QB ever to record a victory against every possible team. Because of that, it's now plausible that Lions QB Jared Goff could be the seventh, as he's three teams away from beating all 32 teams. Goff plays the Steelers in Week 16 and is scheduled to face the Dolphins and Buffalo Bills next season.

It was almost a perfect bye week Sunday for the Lions, but no one ever expected the NFC North would be an easy division to win. It certainly would've helped, but the Lions still have to take care of business. That's especially true for divisional games, like they have coming up next week.

The Vikings head to Detroit reeling after a blow out loss

The game the Lions likely kept the closest eye on was the Thursday Night Football game between the Minnesota Vikings (3-4) and the Los Angeles Chargers (5-3). The Vikings are next up on the Lions' schedule following their bye week, and will be the first meeting between the two teams this season.

For as much as the Lions could learn about the Vikings in their blowout loss to the Chargers, one question complicates matters: Who will start at QB for the Vikings? Carson Wentz has been starting for the Vikings in recent weeks after former Michigan Wolverine J.J. McCarthy's ankle injury. A series of injuries on Thursday limited Wentz for much of that game, leaving his status going forward in doubt. The other Vikings QB is an undrafted free agent and former Minnesota Golden Gopher, Max Brosmer.

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According to NFL Network's Ian Rapoport, McCarthy is expected to get the start. Assuming that's the case, it will be McCarthy's third career start and first NFL game in the state that he endeared himself to with a College Football Playoff National Championship run in 2023. McCarthy's performance in the NFL has been shaky, with a passer rating of just 67.2, along with two TDs to three INTs. To his credit, McCarthy was awarded NFC Offensive Player of the Week in his first start after leading the Vikings to a comeback win over the Bears.

With just two NFL starts, McCarthy is still a relative unknown. There's not a lot of tape on him, and he's well-rested, both of which could pose problems from Kelvin Sheppard and the Lions' defense. At the same time, the Vikings' offensive line has struggled to protect the QB, and Brian Flores' defense has allowed back-to-back elite performances to opposing QBs. This plays well into the Lions' hands, but divisional games are unpredictable. In a close division, the Lions will need to be prepared for anything if they want to take control of the division and threepeat as division champions.