Week 7 was good for the Green Bay Packers, as they picked up their second-straight win on Sunday evening on the road against the Arizona Cardinals. Before they played, the Packers also saw the Minnesota Vikings lose to the Philadelphia Eagles, dropping the rival franchise to fourth place in the NFC North.
The weekend would’ve been even better if the Chicago Bears had fallen to the New Orleans Saints and the Detroit Lions had lost to the Tampa Bay Buccaneers on Monday night. The Packers would’ve loved to see the Lions lose to give them a little bit more breathing room in the NFC North standings; however, that’s how the cookie crumbles sometimes.
Having said that, Detroit did the Packers a favor as its 24-9 win over Tampa Bay in primetime helped Green Bay claim the No. 1 seed in the NFC, as pointed out by Matt Schneidman of The Athletic.
Packers Claim Top Spot in NFC After Lions’ MNF Win Over Buccaneers
Despite only having four wins on the season, Green Bay technically has the best record in the NFC, even though five other teams in the NFC are 5-2. However, the tie the Packers picked up in Week 4 over the Dallas Cowboys has been a huge benefit.
The Buccaneers entered into Monday night’s game on a two-game win streak and were looking to take advantage of a Lions’ defense missing multiple key starters in the secondary. Tampa Bay underestimated the Lions’ secondary, though, as they held quarterback Baker Mayfield to 28-of-50 on 228 passing yards, a touchdown, and an interception.
Mayfield also had a 66.1 rating (the lowest of this season) and was sacked four times. Detroit’s defense also neutralized the Buccaneers’ ground game to 41 yards.
Meanwhile, the Buccaneers’ defense had no answer for Lions star running back Jahmyr Gibbs, who had 218 yards from scrimmage and a rushing touchdown on 20 touches. He was one of the stars of last night’s game, as it was the first game this season with 100 or more rushing yards.
When you play the Lions, you've got to get after QB Jared Goff and contain their running game. If you remember, that’s what Green Bay did in Week 1 to Detroit. The Packers sacked Goff four times, forced him into an interception, and held Gibbs and David Montgomery to 44 yards on 20 carries.
The Packers hope to increase their lead in the NFC and NFC North as they’ll go on the road to play Aaron Rodgers and the Pittsburgh Steelers.