NFL Playoff Picture: Week 9

NFC North

1. Green Bay Packers (6-2)
2. Minnesota Vikings (6-2)
3. Chicago Bears (3-5)
4. Detroit Lions (1-7)

Mandatory Credit: Jeremy Brevard-USA TODAY Sports

This was unthinkable just two weeks ago, but the Vikings have caught up to the Packers atop this division.

I saw that Aaron Rodgers throwing his “official tablet” to the ground was the number one thing trending on Facebook last night.

Who gives a crap? Rodgers was pissed off on Sunday afternoon, and he should have been.

Elite quarterbacks don’t miss wide-open receivers in the end zone, they don’t throw game-ending critical interceptions. Most importantly, they don’t allow their team to be absolutely dominated by a combined score of 63-24 for seven straight quarters like they were by the Broncos and Panthers before they woke up too late like the Packers during the fourth quarter in Carolina.

They better watch out, because they play the Vikes in Minnesota after an easy home date with the Lions this Sunday.

The Vikings are winners of four in a row and are the definition of “momentum” right now. They even prevail in affairs that feature opponents making 61-yard field goals, running wild in the fourth quarter and a franchise quarterback literally knocked out of the game.

Their next five games are simply brutal: at Raiders, vs. Packers, at Falcons, vs. Seahawks and at Cardinals.

Will they be able to hang on?

As promised, we are going to talk about the Bears and Lions.

The Bears are 3-5 after a stirring comeback victory in San Diego on Monday Night Football and all of a sudden they look frisky, but they currently sit in 13th place in the NFC and catching up to the Falcons for the last Wild Card spot would require a seriously hot streak and leapfrogging a lot of teams.

As far as Detroit goes… What can I say about a team that is already looking towards the 2016 Draft? The Lions even dismembered their own organization from top to bottom like it was a house of cards.

Well, they have a “franchise quarterbacks” in Matthew Stafford that seems to be regressing with 13 touchdowns and 11 interceptions (third most in the NFL) this year. The sad thing for them is that the upcoming Draft probably won’t present the opportunity of obtaining an Andrew Luck or Jameis Winston, and their history of losing and making bad choices doesn’t fill me with confidence that they can find a Russell Wilson either.

Next: NFC West