There is no real shame, at least on the surface, of losing to an NFL team with an 8-6 record. What we are about to lay out is not nearly as shameful, say, as a team with a winning record losing to all four teams in the NFL tied for the worst record (which happened to the 2003 Vikings, keeping them out of the playoffs).
But there is this: each team in the NFC North has lost this season to the Buffalo Bills, they of the aforementioned 8-6 record. So Buffalo has a .400 winning percentage against everyone else, but is perfect against the North. The Bills completed that sweep with what on the surface seemed an improbable 21-13 victory Sunday against Green Bay.
But given how Buffalo handled the rest of the division — and how each of those losses seriously altered the course of the losing team's season — should we really be so surprised? Consider:
• The Bears: Chicago was optimistic coming into 2014, and it lasted approximately one game. Playing host to the Bills in Week 1, Chicago fell behind 17-7 at halftime, scrambled to force overtime at 20-20, then lost on a field goal. Jay Cutler was intercepted twice, setting the tone for Chicago's tumble to the bottom of the NFC North standings. Instead of battling for the playoffs, they'll likely be playing the Vikings to avoid the division cellar in Week 17.
• The Lions: If Detroit (10-4) fails to win the division or even fails to make the playoffs in the crowded NFC, the Lions will rue their 17-14 loss to Buffalo. In that game, Detroit's Alex Henery missed three field-goal attempts, including a 50-yarder with less than a minute left. The Bills rallied from a 14-3 deficit in Detroit, with the final points coming on a 58-yard field goal set up with good field position after Henery's final miss.
• The Vikings: This year's squad likely wasn't going to the playoffs anyway, but a gut-wrenching 17-16 loss at Buffalo, which dropped it to 2-5, pretty much sealed that reality. Bitter fans will remember that Buffalo's Kyle Orton(!) converted a fourth-and-20 on a game-winning drive capped by a TD pass with one second left. Ouch.
• The Packers: And Sunday it was Green Bay's turn. Aaron Rodgers looked mortal. Jordy Nelson dropped passes. Coach Mike McCarthy threw tantrums. When the clock read :00, Green Bay had gone from NFC front-runner to a team that would be the No. 6 seed and have to play all its playoff games on the road, if the playoffs started today.
Michael Rand
