The Vikings had all sorts of predictable weaknesses exposed in Sunday's 24-10 loss to New England. Their offensive line didn't hold up in key spots and influenced meek decisions in other spots. Dan Bailey missed another field goal. And oh, by the way: The vaunted defense, which has been up and down all year, allowed 471 yards to New England.
At the end of the day, though, the Vikings had only the third-worst day of the three teams that currently matter in the NFC North. The Bears had the second worst, rallying improbably to force overtime before losing to the underwhelming Giants. That keeps the Vikings just 1½ games back of Chicago and within range of grabbing the division title if they can gain a game in the next three weeks before the teams meet in Week 17. Keeping that margin the same this past week given the opponents they played was a net win for the Vikings.
But the worst day? That belongs to Green Bay. The Packers lost 20-17 at home to Arizona, which is quite possibly the worst team in the NFL. Not long after that, Green Bay fired head coach Mike McCarthy — whose tenure with the Packers started so long ago that it coincided with Brad Childress' first season in Minnesota in 2006.
McCarthy accomplished plenty in Green Bay, directing some top offenses and helping the Packers win a Super Bowl after the 2010 season. But he also coached several teams that sputtered out in the playoffs, including three NFC title game losses (one with Brett Favre, two with Aaron Rodgers). There's a sense that he could have done more even after achieving plenty. He's Green Bay's Dennis Green, plus a Super Bowl ring.
The Packers job will no doubt be attractive this offseason — mainly because they still have Rodgers, the All-World QB whose subpar play (by his standards) in McCarthy's aging system this season likely got the coach fired. Rodgers turned 35 Sunday, but in QB years he still has at least a few very good ones left.
Now the rush is on to make lists of potential head coaching candidates in Green Bay, and near the top of a lot of those lists you'll see an interesting name: John DeFilippo.
DeFilippo is in his first season as Vikings offensive coordinator after coaching QBs in Philadelphia. If Green Bay wants an offensive-minded head coach, which is probably the best way to preserve offensive continuity these days, DeFilippo could be a good fit.
Then again, the Vikings offense has underwhelmed on several occasions this year, and DeFilippo's play-calling continues to be at odds with what head coach Mike Zimmer wants. That reared its head again Sunday. So this wouldn't quite be the same as 2006, when Vikings fans gnashed their teeth over losing Mike Tomlin after just one season as defensive coordinator when he went to Pittsburgh as the head coach.
