Category: NFC NORTH

Bears Week 18 injury report: Jaylon Johnson, Cole Kmet DNP Wednesday

Here’s a look at the Bears’ Week 18 injury report following Wednesday’s practice:

The Chicago Bears (7-9) released their first injury report ahead of Sunday’s Week 18 game against the Green Bay Packers (8-8).

The Bears had five players sidelined for Wednesday’s practice, including cornerback Jaylon Johnson (shoulder) and tight end Cole Kmet (knee). Johnson suffered a shoulder injury in the first half of last week’s win against the Atlanta Falcons. While Kmet did play in that game, he wasn’t involved much as he continues to battle a knee injury suffered in Week 16.

Elsewhere, long snapper Patrick Scales is dealing with a foot injury, wide receiver Darnell Mooney remains in concussion protocol and quarterback Tyson Bagent is dealing with an illness.

Wide receiver DJ Moore was limited with an ankle injury.

Here’s a look at the injury report for the Bears and Packers after Wednesday’s practices:

Chicago Bears

Player Injury Wednesday Thursday Friday Game Status
QB Tyson Bagent illness DNP
CB Jaylon Johnson shoulder DNP
TE Cole Kmet knee DNP
WR Darnell Mooney concussion DNP
WR DJ Moore ankle LP
LS Patrick Scales foot DNP

DNP: Did not practice; LP: Limited participation ; FP: Full participation

Green Bay Packers

Player Injury Wednesday Thursday Friday Game Status
CB Jaire Alexander shoulder FP
S Zayne Anderson knee LP
LB De’Vondre Campbell neck FP
RB AJ Dillon thumb/neck DNP
S Rudy Ford hamstring DNP
OL Elgton Jenkins knee/ankle DNP
RB Aaron Jones knee/finger LP
LB Isaiah McDuffie concussion/neck DNP
TE Luke Musgrave** kidney LP
OL Josh Myers neck LP
CB Keisean Nixon quadricep LP
S Jonathan Owens knee LP
WR Jayden Reed chest LP
S Darnell Savage shoulder FP
DL T.J. Slaton knee/foot LP
LB Preston Smith ankle DNP
OL Luke Tenuta** ankle FP
LB Quay Walker shoulder LP
WR Christian Watson hamstring LP
WR Dontayvion Wicks chest LP
RB Emanuel Wilson** shoulder FP

DNP: Did not practice; LP: Limited participation ; FP: Full participation

**designated to return from IR

Vikings still have playoff life entering Week 18 trip to Detroit

A lot of things need to happen for Minnesota and it seems more likely that none of those things happen, but the Vikings can still dream…

Believe it or not, the Minnesota Vikings still have something to play for in the Week 18 finale in Detroit. While it’s a contrived longshot, the Vikings can still make the postseason if they beat the Lions.

Even after getting blown out by the Packers in Week 17, Detroit’s Week 18 foe isn’t mathematically eliminated from the final NFC wild card spot. Sunday’s game kicks off before any of these other outcomes will be known, too.

Foremost, the Vikings have to beat the Lions. Detroit wins at home and the door is slammed shut. Minnesota also needs all of the following to happen in Week 18:

  • Bears beat the Packers
  • Cardinals beat the Seahawks
  • Buccaneers lose to the Panthers OR the Saints lose to the Falcons

It seems more likely that none of those things happen, but the Vikings can still dream…

If the Lions beat the Vikings and the Bears beat the Packers, Minnesota will finish in last place in the NFC North a year after winning the division.

Bears can play spoiler to the Packers in Week 18

The Bears can keep the hated Packers out of the playoffs with a win in Week 18.

The Chicago Bears have been eliminated from the playoffs and they don’t have anything to play for in Week 18. But they do have an opportunity to play spoiler to the hated Green Bay Packers.

The Packers defeated the Minnesota Vikings in Week 17 to keep their playoff hopes alive. Now, they have a win-and-in scenario heading into the final week of the regular season.

Chicago has followed an eerily similar path to the Detroit Lions from last season: Start off 1-5, go on a hot streak and miss the playoffs. The last step? Beat Green Bay and keep them out of the postseason. And we see how well that’s working out for Detroit.

The last time the Bears kept the Packers out of the playoffs came some 40 years ago, according to Mark Potash. Chicago defeated Green Bay, 23-21, under head coach Mike Ditka in 1983.

The Bears have turned a corner in the back half of the season, including going 4-1 in their last five games. But they’ll need to be on their A-game against a Packers team with everything to play for this week.

The Bears and Packers kick things off at 3:25 p.m. CT on Sunday on CBS.

NFC North watch: Vikings make another QB change after losing to the Lions

NFC North watch: Vikings make another QB change after losing to the Lions, benching Nick Mullens for rookie Jaren Hall

Looking down from atop the NFC North, there is a big game in Week 17 for second place behind the champion Detroit Lions. The Green Bay Packers and Minnesota Vikings are facing off to be No. 2 and keep their chances of qualifying for the postseason alive.

Minnesota will host the Packers on Sunday night with a new quarterback under center. After Nick Mullens threw four interceptions to the Lions in Detroit’s Week 16 win in Minnesota, the Vikings are turning to rookie Jaren Hall at quarterback.

Hall was Minnesota’s fifth-round pick out of BYU. He started one other game but was quickly knocked out with a brain injury.

The winner of Sunday’s game will finish level its record at 8-8 and stay alive in the chase for one of the final two wild card spots. That could include a trip to Ford Field in the wild card round to meet the Lions, depending on how the final two weeks play out.

There is only one possible way the Lions don’t win the NFC North title

The NFC North title is all but clinched for the Lions after Week 15, with just one possible set of outcomes that keeps it from happening

The Detroit Lions are poised to win their first-ever NFC North division crown. The outcomes around the division in Week 15 made it almost a certainty.

Well, technically not a mathematical certainty. There is still a pathway to the Lions not capturing the divisional crown. But after Minnesota and Green Bay each lost over the weekend, it feels like quite a longshot that any outcome other than the Lions winning the division will happen.

Detroit’s dominant win over Denver elevated the Lions to 10-4. The Vikings lost to the Bengals earlier on Saturday, dropping them to 7-7. Green Bay was eliminated from the divisional race when Detroit won, but the Packers getting run by the Buccaneers put a capstone on Green Bay’s tomb. The Packers are 6-8. Chicago lost in heartbreaking fashion in Cleveland on Sunday to fall to 5-9.

The Lions and Vikings meet in Week 16 and also in Week 18. For the Vikings to win the division, they need to win all three of their remaining games and also have the Lions lose all three of Detroit’s games. When they’re not facing each other, the Vikings play the Packers in Week 17, and the Lions visit the Cowboys. Detroit is an early road favorite for the Week 16 game in Minnesota.

Minnesota has lost three of its last four games, with the win a 3-0 snoozer over the Raiders in Week 14. The Vikings and Packers are both still very much alive in the NFC wild card race.

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NFC North watch: Packers collapse in bad loss on Monday Night Football

Both the Packers and Dolphins lost to teams with much worse records on Monday Night Football

The Detroit Lions path to the franchise’s first-ever NFC North division title got a little closer on Monday night thanks to an undrafted rookie quarterback and a former Lions kicker.

One-time Lions kicker Randy Bullock, who lost Detroit’s preseason kicking competition in 2021, nailed a game-winning 37-yard field goal as time expired, lifting the New York Giants to a 24-22 win over the Green Bay Packers. It capped a wild ride of a game from Giants undrafted rookie quarterback Tommy DeVito, who won for the third time in four starts.

The stunning win on national television dropped the heretofore resurgent Packers to 6-7, while the Giants improved to 5-8. Green Bay is now three full games behind Detroit with four to play. They’re also a game behind the Minnesota Vikings after that team eked out a 3-0 win over the Raiders on Sunday.

NFC North standings after Week 14

Lions: 9-4

Vikings: 7-6

Packers: 6-7

Bears: 5-8

The Lions play the Vikings twice in the final three weeks, and Minnesota’s other game sandwiched between is hosting the Packers in Week 17.

Right now, all three teams would qualify for the postseason. The Lions are the NFC’s No. 3 seed, with Minnesota No. 6 and Green Bay clinging to the final spot. The Lions would host the Vikings in a wild-card round game if the season ends like this.

How the Bears’ thrilling 4th-and-13 touchdown came together

The Bears never intended to snap the ball on 4th-and-13…until the Lions gift wrapped them a free play.

The Chicago Bears felt destined to blow another lead to the Detroit Lions in the third quarter of Sunday’s divisional matchup. After leading 10-0 in the first quarter, the NFC North foes were deadlocked at 13-13 in the final minutes of the third quarter.

The Bears needed a spark on offense. And all it took was the dynamic duo of Justin Fields and DJ Moore (with a little help from the Lions).

Facing a fourth-and-13 from Detroit’s 38-yard line, Chicago’s offense lined up as if they were going to run a play. But it felt like they were trying to get the Lions to jump offsides to make a Cairo Santos field goal attempt easier.

Instead, Lions edge rusher Aidan Hutchinson jumped offsides — and the rest is history.

Fields dropped back and fired a deep shot to Moore, who caught it in stride for the game-changing touchdown.

“When he jumped, I was like, ‘Shoot, I’m out,’ and it was like, ‘meep meep,'” Moore told reporters after the game.

It’s crazy that we almost didn’t get to see what could develop into a turning point for the Bears this season, as the play wasn’t supposed to happen.

Tight end Cole Kmet admitted he was “shocked” that they actually ran a play, when there was no intent to snap the ball. But the Bears were ready when the Lions gave them a free shot.

“Fourth-and-13, hell of a cadence,” Kmet said. “I thought no way in hell are they jumping… If they do jump, we all know what we’re getting to. But it was fourth-and-13, and we’re at the 938-yard line). That’s prime take-a-delay (time).”

While the play itself might have been a surprise, Fields said it wasn’t a challenge given it’s something they’ve prepared for every week.

“We practice it multiple times a week,” Fields said. “We’re used to it. Might have happened like three times this week during practice and walk-throughs. Like I said, we practice it. It happens every week, and the guys are ready for it, and we executed it. It ended up being a big play.”

Bears help the Lions, beat the Vikings in epic display of bad offense

The Bears beat the Vikings to lower Detroit’s magic number to clinch the NFC North to 4

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. 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 Bears improved to 4-8. Chicago is also on its bye week, with its next game hosting the Lions in Week 14.

Packers rookie TE out with a ‘significant’ abdominal injury

Packers rookie TE Luke Musgrave will not play against the Lions after suffering a lacerated kidney

The Detroit Lions aren’t the only NFC North team with an impressive rookie tight end. Green Bay selected Luke Musgrave a few spots after Detroit took Sam LaPorta in the second round and has seen the Oregon State product quickly emerge as a good receiving weapon.

The Packers will miss Musgrave in the second meeting between the two teams. Musgrave is out with a lacerated kidney, an injury suffered in Green Bay’s Week 11 win over the Los Angeles Chargers.

Head coach Matt LaFleur deemed Musgrave’s injury “pretty significant” in ruling out Musgrave. The rookie was hospitalized after suffering the injury, which appeared to soccer when he was tackled onto the point of the ball in the Chargers game.

Musgrave is third amongst rookie tight ends with 33 receptions for 341 yards in 10 games, trailing only LaPorta (50 catches, 492 yards) and Dalton Kincaid (51 catches, 436 yards). He caught one pass for one yard in Detroit’s Week 4 win in Green Bay.

NFC North roundup: A Week 11 full of thrillers in the division

Sunday was a crazy one in the NFC North, with all four teams having games decided in the final minute

Week 11 proved to be a thrilling Sunday across the NFC North. All three games involving the four teams in the division wound up being decided in the final minutes, with two winners and two losers.

The Lions, of course, eked out a 31-26 win over the Chicago Bear in Ford Field to improve to 8-2. With the rest of the outcomes on Sunday, Detroit holds a three-game lead atop the division entering the final seven weeks of the season.

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