Green Bay Packers Maintain NFC North Lead Over Minnesota Vikings, Chicago Bears No Longer Contenders

What was once the NFL’s most competitive division has turned into a two-team race. After Week 8 of the 2019 NFL season, the Green Bay Packers and Minnesota Vikings look to be the only legitimate contenders in the NFC North.

Green Bay maintained its lead atop the division with a 31-24 win against the Kansas City Chiefs Sunday night. The Packers have the conference’s second-best record at 7-1, trailing only the undefeated San Francisco 49ers in the overall NFC standings.

Minnesota is a game out of first place with a 6-2 record. The Vikings defeated the Washington Redskins 19-9 Thursday night. Since falling into last place with a loss at Soldier Field a month ago, Minnesota has won four straight games.

The Chicago Bears haven’t picked up a single win since defeating the Vikings in Week 4. The defending NFC champs dropped to last place Sunday, extending their losing streak to three games with a defeat at the hands of the Los Angeles Chargers. Chicago fell to 3-4 when Eddy Pineiro missed a 41-yard field goal as time expired in Sunday’s contest.

The Detroit Lions moved to .500 and third place with a 31-26 win over the New York Giants. Detroit is 0-2 in the division and three games out of first place. The Lions hadn’t won a game since Week 3.

Both Green Bay and Minnesota are undefeated since last losing in Week 4.

Aaron Rodgers might be the NFL MVP through the first half of the season. He threw for 305 yards and three more touchdowns in Kansas City, putting him second among all quarterbacks with 2,324 passing yards and 16 touchdowns on the year. Rodgers is fourth in the league with a 106.7 passer rating.

Kirk Cousins is second in the NFL with a 115.2 passer rating. Minnesota’s quarterback leads the NFL with 9.3 yards per attempt.

Chicago’s quarterback play is largely what has them out of the NFC North race. Mitchell Trubisky is the only subpar quarterback in the division with just five touchdown passes and three interceptions this season.

Green Bay beat Minnesota 21-16 in Week 2. The Vikings will host the Packers in a matchup that could potentially decide the division winner in Week 16.