Yes, Sunday night's game between the Vikings (5-3-1) and Bears (6-3) is a big deal since the winner gets first place in the NFC North unto itself.
But …
At a time when Super Bowl contenders and pretenders are being separated by loud, forceful, high-scoring statement games, the NFC North is the shy kid in the corner looking down at his shoes.
Thirteen teams carry a winning record into Week 11 of the NFL season. The NFC North is a league-worst 1-6 against teams with winning records outside of the division. The AFC East is a league-best 7-8 with lowly Buffalo and average-at-best Miami chipping in two victories apiece.
Meanwhile, the Vikings (0-2) and Bears (0-1) are a combined 0-3 with 108 points allowed (36.0). The Packers are 0-3, while last-place Detroit posted the lone win when it beat New England two months ago.
Of those 13 teams with a winning record, the Vikings and Bears rank 11th and 12th in strength of victory.
The winning percentages of the teams the Vikings and Bears have beaten are .322 and .321, respectively. Only the Chargers (.300) come in lower.
So one can look at these two solid but suspect teams two different ways. At least until they rise up and slap down a bigger dawg.