8. Green Bay Packers
I am not going to be too harsh on the Green Bay Packers for taking a loss against the Detroit Lions, even if it was on their home field.
The Packers have been dealing with a number of key injuries, including their quarterback, who was clearly not 100 percent in this game against Detroit.
The Lions are legitimately a team that could make a case as the best team in the NFL right now. They are such a well-oiled machine that it didn’t even seem to matter the fact that they were playing outdoors for the first time this year, and in the elements on top of it all.
The Packers need to get healthy and they need to wash the taste of this particular loss out of their mouths as quickly as possible. They’ve got a bye week to prepare for a road game against Chicago to get another much-needed divisional win. I’m still buying the Packers as a threat in the NFC this season.
7. Minnesota Vikings
When the Minnesota Vikings are rolling, they are a fun team to watch. The Vikings have all of the elements to be a spoiler in January, at least when it comes to the offensive side of the ball. But when you see the defense come out and play like they did against Joe Flacco and the Colts?
It gives you more than just spoiler vibes.
Brian Flores knows how to scheme it up and after a couple of duds from the Vikings’ defense in consecutive games, they balled out against Indianapolis.
And Sam Darnold continues to be impressive this season with three more touchdowns. It wasn’t a flawless performance from Darnold, but with what we’ve seen in the first half of this season, we can confidently say the Vikings are going to be a factor. The sample size has grown to the point that this is clearly not a fluke or anything.
Darnold has a stellar group of skill players and a coach who is setting him up for success. I’d expect this team to hang with almost anybody.