Week 1 NFC North recap: How do Chicago Bears stack up so far?

A quick recap of how the first week of the NFL regular season treated the NFC North, including our Chicago Bears.

We know nothing before Week 1 of the NFL season. With the first week in the books, we may actually know even less for certain. Let’s try to figure out what was real from the first showings by the Chicago Bears, Green Bay Packers, Detroit Lions and Minnesota Vikings.

How do the Chicago Bears measure up so far with the rest of the NFC North after their spirited battle with the Atlanta Falcons? And who is going to be the team to beat in the division?

The Bears…

Impressed, relative to expectations. Playing the defending NFC champs, the Bears had four downs on the goal line to win the game at the end of the fourth quarter. Unfortunately for them, they couldn’t convert on any of them. But, overall, they held the explosive Atlanta offense to 23 points, with their only big play being an 88-yard touchdown to tight end Austin Hooper on busted coverage.

Rookie running back Tarik Cohen broke onto the scene in a big way with 113 yards from scrimmage and a touchdown, and defensive end Akiem Hicks lived up to his newly signed extension with a dominant performance, sacking 2016 MVP Matt Ryan twice and playing a big part in limiting the Falcons’ vaunted rushing attack.

But not only did the Bears not seal the victory, they lost their number one receiver, Kevin White, and elite inside linebacker, Jerrell Freeman, to season-ending injuries. Mike Glennon did a great job of not doing a bad job, effectively not ramping up calls for Mitch Trubisky, while not doing enough to temper them either.

Going forward, the loss of Freeman, who was just named a defensive captain, will hurt, but the front seven still has enough talent to be a respectable unit, at least. And the secondary, which projected to be a weakness, wasn’t all that bad outside of the crucial mistake on the Hooper touchdown.

Now with White out, Cohen may prove to be more essential than projected, as the Bears have the thinnest receiving group in the league and will need to use the exciting jitterbug rookie all over the field to create positive yards. For now, Chicago’s 0-1 and still has its eyes squarely set on the second-string quarterback.

The Green Bay Packers…

Are probably as good as most people thought. They’re the toast of the NFC North, if not the NFC. In a game where Aaron Rodgers threw as many interceptions (one) as touchdowns and the supposedly explosive Green Bay offense only put up 17 points, there’s definitely a contingent of people that were underwhelmed by the Pack’s showing. However, those 17 points might very well have come against the best defense in the league.

And as for the Packers’ own defense, it showed on Sunday it that maybe it shouldn’t be the offense’s overlooked sibling. Mike Daniels and Nick Perry stood out the entire game, generating constant pressure on Russell Wilson, and Green Bay’s defensive backs – a unit worthy of skepticism going into the year – held up and kept Seattle to a lowly 158 yards through the air.

But while no one should question the skill of Russell Wilson, he might be playing behind the worst offensive line in the league:

The Packers beat a team that should still be a contender, and their offense will probably explode sooner rather than later against lesser defenses. But let’s hold off on total praise of Green Bay’s own defense. The young Packers corners are sure to be tested more this week against the Eagles, who will give their franchise quarterback, Carson Wentz, more time to attack them than Wilson was afforded.

The Detroit Lions…

Might be the least predictable team in the NFC North after Week 1. The Lions’ offense put up arguably the most impressive numbers in the division, and their defense turned over the Cardinals four times while only having two touchdowns scored against them (one of Arizona’s scores came on a pick-six to start the game).

Newly-made highest-paid player Matthew Stafford gashed the Cards for 292 yards and 4 scores, and rookie receiver Kenny Golladay was impressive on the receiving end of two of those scores, looking like he can be an additional weapon for this offense going forward.

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Arizona was a popular pick to bounce back from a disappointing 2016 campaign and reemerge into contention, but maybe that’s not what the Cardinals are at all. It seems just as believable, if not more so now, that the Cardinals’ dip in 2016 wasn’t a fluke.

Quarterback Carson Palmer looked awful, all-world running back David Johnson dislocated his wrist, leading to a fumble in the game (and now surgery that will keep him out 2-3 months). Without those two, this offense has no way to move the ball.

Quarterback Carson Palmer looked awful, and all-world running back David Johnson dislocated his wrist, leading to a fumble in the game (and now surgery that will keep him out 2-3 months). Without those two, this offense has no way to move the ball.

The Cardinals defense, which was a top-tier unit last year, might not be that unit this year. Arizona lost the heart of its defensive line (and possibly entire D), Calais Campbell, and safeties Tony Jefferson and D.J. Swearinger in free agency this year. Patrick Peterson and Tyrann Mathieu are still stars, but without those guys, this defense reasonably could be quite a few notches down from what it’s been the past few seasons.

I know that’s a lot of Cardinals talk for a Lions recap. But if we can’t tell if the Cardinals are legitimately bad or good, how well can we evaluate the Lions? Detroit’s running game was non-existent (as it’s been for years now), so going forward all eyes will be on whether Stafford can step into the elite ranks of quarterbacks or if he remains in the same group of good-not-great quarterbacks that he’s spent most of his career in.

The Minnesota Vikings…

Were the most impressive NFC North team, beating the Saints 29-19 on Monday Night. Coming into this season, Vikings had to answer two main questions regarding its team.

For one, would the defense remain among the league’s best? And secondly, would the offensive line remain among the league’s worst?

The answer we got to the former was a resounding “Yes,” and that shouldn’t be a surprise. This Vikings defense boast stars at all three levels and returned the vast majority of its players. This talented group did get worn down during the second half of last season though, as the offense couldn’t stay on the field playing behind one of the softest lines in the league.

Minnesota worked to address their line issues in the offseason, bringing in former Lion Reilly Reiff to play left tackle and spending two draft picks on offensive linemen. Against the Saints, it looked to have paid off, as Sam Bradford looked as good as he ever has in the NFL picking apart the Saints secondary to the tune of 346 yards and 3 touchdowns.

That said, the Saints secondary, and defense as a whole, has been bottom three in the league for three years straight (and in a sport where defensive performance fluctuates greatly year-to-year, that’s insane).

Related Story: Offensive grades from the Bears loss to the Falcons

The Saints recent history of porous defense might be a slight asterisk. But Monday night, everything seemed to click. The Vikings’ perceived strength lived up to its own sterling reputation. And the unit the team addressed the most during the offseason showed the most significant improvement.

Therefore, Minnesota fans aren’t foolish to elevate their hopes for this team in 2017.