A look at the carnage that was the NFC North on Sunday afternoon:
First, the Lions to the Rams in a game that was largely off the NFC North radar, in part because Detroit has established itself as the weakest team in the division. It was a bigger deal in Los Angeles, though, because it meant that the Rams clinched the NFC West title.
Then, the Bears had their five-game losing streak ended in an overtime loss to the New York Giants, which was marked by the Bears scoring 10 points in the final 73 seconds, including a game-tying touchdown on the final play of regulation. With all of that momentum, should Chicago have gone for two after that touchdown, which came on a one-yard pass by running back Tarik Cohen?
After that, the Packers finished off the losing by Vikings division rivals with a 20-17 loss to Arizona in Green Bay that left stunned fans and the postgame firing of head coach Mike McCarthy in its wake. The Packers, winless on the road, dropped 3 1/2 games behind the Bears with four games to play and are pretty well buried in the Wild Card race, too.
So the Vikings had a chance to create some drama by moving within a half-game of the Bears and widening the distance between themselves and Green Bay not to mention setting up a more dramatic two-night stretch for Week 14 with the Bears playing host to the Rams on Sunday night followed by the Vikings playing at Seattle on Monday night.
