Week one is officially in the books, and we get our first look at the NFC North division standings. The four teams went .500 over the weekend with the Chicago Bears and Minnesota Vikings starting 1-0, while the Green Bay Packers and Detroit Lions are winless to start the season.
The standings are going to shake up quite a bit as the season wears on, but how do these teams stack up against each other? Here’s our NFC North power rankings following week one.
1. Minnesota Vikings (1-0)
- Last week’s ranking: N/A
- Week 1 result: 23-7 win vs. Green Bay Packers
The Vikings began a new era with a bang against the division-rival Packers. New head coach Kevin O’Connell had the offense humming from the start as Kirk Cousins and Justin Jefferson toyed with the Green Bay defenders. Their defense looked solid as well, roughing up the Packers offense and holding them to just seven points for the entire afternoon. Minnesota was in control for the entire 60 minutes of game time and couldn’t have started out much better than they did. They face the Philadelphia Eagles in primetime to try and start out 2-0 for the first time since 2016.
2. Chicago Bears (1-0)
- Last week’s ranking: N/A
- Week 1 result: 19-10 win vs. San Francisco 49ers
Things looked grim for the Bears during the first half of their game against the San Francisco 49ers. Their offense was nonexistent, they looked slow against their opponent, and their field had turned into an actual swamp at one point due to heavy rainfall. But they came out of halftime guns blazing, scoring 19 unanswered points and clamped down on defense to stun the 49ers in the opening week. The Bears will need to play more of a complete game next week when they face the Packers on Sunday Night Football, but they did enough to find a way to win this week.
3. Detroit Lions (0-1)
- Last week’s ranking: N/A
- Week 1 result: 38-35 loss vs. Philadelphia Eagles
Looking at this year’s opener vs. last year’s opener for the Lions, you would think they were basically the same game. Like last season, Detroit fell behind quickly to their opponent and all hope seemed lost as they trailed 31-14 early in the third quarter. But Dan Campbell’s crew rallied to make things interesting at the end, outscoring the Eagles 21-7 to pull within three. Time wasn’t on their side, however, as the comeback fell short. The Lions host the Washington Commanders in week two.
4. Green Bay Packers (0-1)
- Last week’s ranking: N/A
- Week 1 result: 7-23 loss at Minnesota Vikings
This isn’t Bears bias coming across with this ranking. The Packers were easily the worst team in the division during week one. They failed to score double-digit points and Aaron Rodgers looked lost and frustrated without some of his offensive weapons on the field. Even when plays were being made, mistakes followed suit that negated any momentum. Week one seems to be a struggle for the Packers as it’s the second year in a row they lost by double digits to start the season. They will face the Bears at Lambeau Field next week to try and climb back to .500.
