Chicago Bears

The Chicago Bears entered the final week of the regular season with the NFC North already in hand and the outlying possibility of overtaking the Los Angeles Rams for the second overall seed in the conference with a win and a Rams loss to the San Francisco 49ers.  On the road in a tough environment in Minnesota, the Bears came to play with a chance to knock the Vikings out of the playoff and avoid a potential home and home matchup with the Vikings in the Wildcard round of the playoffs.

The Bears defense stifled the Vikings offense from the start and their offense was able to make key plays to put the game out of reach in the second half.  The Bears offense rolled behind the performance of running back Jordan Howard, who gashed the Vikings for 109 yards and two touchdowns on the ground.  Running back Tarik Cohen added another rushing touchdown as well.  The Bears 24-10 victory didn’t help their playoff seeding in the end with the Rams winning, but knocking a division rival out of the playoffs certainly had a sweet effect for the team.

The Bears dominated the NFC North in 2018 with a 12-4 record and their season truly came out of nowhere.  The quick turnaround to success for the team can be attributed to many things: new head coach Matt Nagy, a great free agency period this past offseason and some successful drafts in recent history.  Heading into the Wildcard round of the playoffs this coming weekend, the Bears host the defending champions Philadelphia Eagles at Soldier Field this Sunday in the late afternoon contest.  With a lot proven during the regular season, the Bears defense will likely keep them in games in the playoffs.  How far they’ll go likely hinges on head coach Matt Nagy, second-year quarterback Mitch Trubisky and the Bears offense.

Minnesota Vikings

The Vikings entered the final week of the regular season with their playoff hopes on the line in a win and in scenario against the division rival Chicago Bears.  Right out of the gate, the Vikings offense sputtered against the vaunted Bears defense and the struggle continued throughout the entire game.  Down 13-3 at the half and pulling within 13-10 at the game entered the fourth quarter, the Vikings defense couldn’t hold back the Bears in the final period of play and the Vikings fell by a final score of 24-10.  In a scenario where a Philadelphia Eagles loss would help backdoor the Vikings into the playoffs, the Eagles took care of the Washington Redskins in the same timeslot this past Sunday to earn the final spot into the NFC playoffs.

An 8-7-1 finish was surely a disappointing season for the Vikings and their fanbase when expectations were Super Bowl or bust after being on the cusp last season.  $84 million man Kirk Cousins was signed to be the player that put them over the hump in the playoffs this season, but he won’t get his chance in his first season under center for the Vikings.  As of Monday morning, fans and media of the Vikings were left questioning the quarterback and the coaching staff for answers as to where things went wrong in 2018.  Truly a heartbreaking story!

Detroit Lions

With their season faltering and looking to show some pride and save some face at the end of the season, the Lions stormed into Lambeau Field this past Sunday and stuck it to the Packers to the tune of a 31-0 shutout.  The Lions offense came out rolling early in the game and their defense stifled the Packers offense from the start.  The game turned early in the second quarter as the Lions trotted out for a short field goal attempt.  After sneaking a tight end out wide with no Packer defender following, a direct snap to Lions kicker Matt Prater led to an easy touchdown pass to up 14-0 and knock the wind out of the Lambeau Field crowd.  The Lions controlled the rest of the game against an Aaron Rodgers-less Packers team.

The Lions overall record of 6-10 to finish the season was certainly disappointing for new head coach Matt Patricia.  After rumors swirled early in the season that Patricia’s strict approach to coaching and aggressive practices during training camp had upset the veterans on the Lions squad, it appears that the first year coach will get a second season at the helm of the team.  The head-scratcher of a year that the Lions had in 2018 featured losses to the New York Jets and the San Francisco 49ers early in the season, with the team turning around and dominating the New England Patriots.  Following that game, the team couldn’t gather any momentum through the rest of the season.  With several more years on quarterback Matthew Stafford’s contract, many are wondering if his big payout was worth it due to his up and down play over the last couple of seasons.