NFL Power Rankings: Division rankings after Week 3

4) NFC North

There is never a dull moment in the NFC North. The “lead story” of this week is, unquestionably, the lackluster play of the Green Bay Packers, and yet, they still have Aaron Rodgers on their side to inspire some level of confidence. Still, the Packers scored exactly 7 points in a road loss to division rival Detroit, and not even Rodgers could save what was a putrid offensive effort. Green Bay now sits at 1-2 on the season, and in their lone win, they needed a big comeback late to topple even the mediocre Jets. Panic time? Not yet, but the writing could be on the wall for a wacky season.

In addition to the aforementioned win by Detroit, who appears to be their “normal”, Jekyll and Hyde self, the Chicago Bears also won over the weekend, and they were impressive in doing so in a tough road environment in prime time. Granted, the Bears needed only to top the Jets, but Chicago is currently playing with some considerable injury issues, and they left no doubt in dispatching of a reasonably solid opponent. It was impressive.

Lastly, the Minnesota Vikings are in obvious turmoil and it is tough to read them as a squad right now. The Adrian Peterson absence sends shock waves throughout the offense, simply because their entire identity has been based around him toting the rock for most of the last decade. Now, Matt Cassel is on the sideline with injury, and the Teddy Bridgewater era begins in earnest. I am a fan of the young quarterback from Louisville, but when the rookie takes over in week four, the season could go in many directions. Cautiously optimistic is the phrase of the day.