The Viking Age
FanSided

NFC North Week 17 Report: Vikings and Lions win division home games

By Adam Carlson

MINNEAPOLIS, MN - DECEMBER 31: Xavier Rhodes #29 of the Minnesota Vikings knocks the ball away from Dontrelle Inman #17 of the Chicago Bears in the end zone in the fourth quarter of the game on December 31, 2017 at U.S. Bank Stadium in Minneapolis, Minnesota. (Photo by Hannah Foslien/Getty Images)
MINNEAPOLIS, MN - DECEMBER 31: Xavier Rhodes #29 of the Minnesota Vikings knocks the ball away from Dontrelle Inman #17 of the Chicago Bears in the end zone in the fourth quarter of the game on December 31, 2017 at U.S. Bank Stadium in Minneapolis, Minnesota. (Photo by Hannah Foslien/Getty Images) /
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Let’s look at what happened in Week 17 in the NFC North where the Minnesota Vikings faced the Chicago Bears and Detroit Lions played the Green Bay Packers.

The NFL season hasn’t been good to most of the teams in the NFC North. With the regular season coming to a close, only the Minnesota Vikings will be advancing to the playoffs while the other two teams will be preparing for next year.

However, the Chicago Bears, Detroit Lions, and Green Bay Packers all finished their seasons after Week 17 and are now looking to fix problems in their coaching staff or front office entering Wild Card Weekend.

But, before looking ahead to the Wild Card Weekend, let’s take a look at what happened in Week 17 to get to this point:

Minnesota Vikings vs Chicago Bears

There was a lot on the line in this game for the Vikings, but not much at all for the Bears. However, Chicago still wanted to finish the season strong and give their rookie quarterback Mitchell Trubisky more experience. However, it was Minnesota who took an early lead and never really looked back, clinching the second seed in the NFC and a first-round playoff bye in front of the crowd at U.S. Bank Stadium while the defense only allowed one conversion on third or fourth down.

  • FINAL SCORE: Vikings win 23-10
  • KEY STAT: Latavius Murray – 20 carries for 111 yards and 2 TDs
  • VIKINGS RECORD: 13-3
  • BEARS RECORD: 5-11

More from The Viking Age

Detroit Lions vs Green Bay Packers

The Packers have been able to muster little to no offense after Brett Hundley took over at quarterback. With both teams eliminated from the playoffs, the goal here was to earn some respect and go into the offseason with a win. But it was the Lions who once again made Hundley struggle and Detroit blew away their division opponents.

  • FINAL SCORE: Lions win 35-11
  • KEY STAT: Matthew Stafford – 20/29 for 323 yards and 3 TDs
  • LIONS RECORD: 9-7
  • PACKERS RECORD: 7-9

Wild Card Matchups

  •  – none –

Final NFC North Standings

  1. Minnesota Vikings (13-3)
  2. Detroit Lions (9-7)
  3. Green Bay Packers (7-9)
  4. Chicago Bears (5-11)

Next: Last Week's NFC North Report

This week, Minnesota will get some practice and rest during the week off and will face the highest-seeded winner in the NFC during Wild Card Weekend. That means it could be the Rams, Saints, or Panthers heading to U.S. Bank Stadium during the Divisional Game to meet with Minnesota.

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