NFL groups can often establish their strengths and weaknesses after 5 weeks of the season. No crew is ideal, however some have a lot greater points than others.
Right here is one probably deadly flaw for each NFC North crew:
Chicago Bears: Offensive line
Right here’s what legendary NFL coach Bill Belichick said about Chicago on “The Pat McAfee Present” in mid-September:
“Chicago, simply when it comes to their general crew building, the way in which that they determined to do it, you take a look at groups like Detroit of their division, and Detroit has acquired three actually good linemen with [Penei] Sewell, [Frank] Ragnow and [Taylor] Decker. And people guys give, usually, [Jared] Goff quite a lot of safety. The Bears have actually put their assets into … receivers. However they’ve had issues on their offensive line, and it would not actually appear like that is gotten significantly better.”
He is proper. Rookie quarterback Caleb Williams has been sacked 17 instances, third most of any quarterback. The road isn’t serving to Chicago’s run recreation, both. Even with 166 yards from D’Andre Swift of their previous two matchups, the Bears rank twenty ninth with 95.4 rush yards per recreation.
Proper guard Nate Davis has already been benched, and the crew could begin undrafted free agent Invoice Murray over veteran guard Teven Jenkins in opposition to Jacksonville in London in Week 6. They higher determine issues out to maintain Williams wholesome.
Detroit Lions: First down
It’s not simple discovering fault with the defending NFC North champions, who sit at 3-1, however a minimum of one crew reporter thinks Detroit’s protection may very well be stingier in relation to first downs.
According to Tim Twentyman of the crew’s web site, the Seahawks picked up 38 first downs in opposition to the Lions in Week 4, two shy of the NFL file. Altogether, Detroit entered its bye week permitting 95 first downs, greater than every other crew.
It shouldn’t be a difficulty so long as the crew continues to realize the third-most yards per recreation (397) and rating the eighth-most factors per recreation (36). But when the offense sputters, Detroit’s Twenty second-ranked protection may very well be in hassle.
Inexperienced Bay Packers: Second-quarter scoring
The Packers personal the primary quarter, outscoring opponents 40-21 in 2024, however they’ve been outscored 44-26 within the second quarter.
By no means have been the crew’s struggles extra apparent than in Week 4, when head coach Matt LaFleur did not get the timeout he was asking for. After the Vikings jumped to a 28-0 lead within the second quarter, LaFleur tried to cease the clock, solely to be flagged for unsportsmanlike conduct, forcing him to make use of the timeout to keep away from a 10-second runoff.
