Week 3 NFC North Power Rankings and Previews

Here are the latest NFC North power rankings and a look at this week’s matchups, which include the Packers at the Titans and Texans at the Vikings.

Green Bay Packers wide receiver Romeo Doubs catches a pass for a first down against the Indianapolis Colts. / Tork Mason / USA TODAY NETWORK via Imagn Images

GREEN BAY, Wis. – The NFC North is one of only two divisions without a winless team through two weeks of the NFL season.

Here are the latest On SI NFC North power rankings, including a look at this week’s matchups.

On SI NFC North Rankings

As selected by the On SI team publishers: Bill Huber from Green Bay, John Maakaron from Detroit, Gene Chamberlain from Chicago and Joe Nelson from Minnesota.

1. Detroit Lions: Even with last week’s home loss to the Buccaneers, Detroit is the unanimous No. 1. The Lions are fifth in Packers on SI’s Consensus Power Rankings.

2. Minnesota Vikings: The Vikings received three second-place votes after upsetting the 49ers in Minneapolis. They are 11th in the On SI national power rankings. Up next: The Texans.

3. Green Bay Packers: Coming off an old-school victory over the Colts, the Packers got the other second-place vote. After carrying the load last week, it’s appropriate that Josh Jacobs is on the injury report with a sore back.

4. Chicago Bears: The Bears are the unanimous fourth-place team. On Sunday, they’ll get their crack against the Colts, who have a potent pass rush.

Bill Huber’s NFC North Rankings

1. Detroit Lions: Trailing 20-16 against the Buccaneers, the Lions had four chances to drive to the go-ahead/winning points. They went punt, interception, turnover on downs from the Bucs’ 11 and turnover on downs from the Bucs’ 26. The Lions had more than twice as many yards as Tampa Bay, so chalk this up as “one that got away” rather than a bad performance.

2. Minnesota Vikings: Sure, the 49ers played without Christian McCaffrey again, but that shouldn’t diminish what the Vikings accomplished. The Vikings pummeled Brock Purdy with six sacks and held the Niners to 2-of-10 on third down, and the special teams blocked a punt. Sam Darnold is fifth in passer rating.

3. Green Bay Packers: Green Bay played one half of dominant football to beat the Colts without Jordan Love. During the second half, Green Bay couldn’t run the ball at all and couldn’t stop Colts running back Jonathan Taylor. Thankfully for the Packers, Colts coach Shane Steichen decided to not give Taylor the ball in the fourth quarter.

4. Chicago Bears: Rookie quarterback Caleb Williams took a beating from the Texans yet had a chance to steal a win at Houston. Williams was sacked seven times and threw two interceptions (a third was nullified by penalty). He is 30th out of 32 in passer rating. As I wrote before Week 1, the hype train on Williams was out of control. Not that he’s to blame for the pass protection.

Best team in the NFL: Kansas City Chiefs.

Worst team in the NFL: Carolina Panthers.

NFC North Week 2 Games

As written by our NFC North team publishers.

Packers at Titans (noon Sunday)

Surprises through Week 2: The Packers were one of the worst teams in the NFL last season in creating turnovers. Their seven interceptions were second-fewest in the league. After nuking the safety corps this offseason, Green Bay enters Week 3 ranked No. 1 with five interceptions and six takeaways. With the additions of Xavier McKinney (two interceptions) in free agency and Javon Bullard and Evan Williams (one interception) in the draft, maybe the turnover production isn’t a “surprise,” but it’s been a huge development.

Keys to Week 3 win: We’ll pull this one from Page 1 of The Book of NFL Cliches. The Packers have to stop the run. They were mostly decent against Philadelphia but were filleted and flambéed by the Colts’ Jonathan Taylor last week. The Titans feature Tony Pollard, who had a couple 1,000-yard seasons for the Cowboys. If the Packers can stop the run, the door will be open to pressuring Will Levis into sacks and turnovers.

Texans at Vikings (noon Sunday)

Surprises through Week 2: Well, this Sam Darnold guy is pretty good. Should we be surprised? The narrative on Darnold all along has been that he’s blessed with tremendous arm talent but has never had a strong supporting cast to help him show off his talent. Minnesota’s offensive line is protecting him and he’s firing on all cylinders. That said, it certainly was a surprise when Darnold went 3-for-3 on critical third downs without his three best targets (Justin Jefferson, Jordan Addison, T.J. Hockenson) to help Minnesota secure a win vs. the 49ers with a scoring drive late in the fourth quarter. 

Keys to Week 3 win: Houston scored on six of nine possessions before running out the clock against Indy in Week 1, and then they scored on four of five drives in the first half against the Bears before falling apart in the second half. I think the first six quarters better represent who the Texans are than the last two, and that’s precisely why it’s going to be critical for Minnesota to find ways to get Houston off the field. Slowing down Nico Collins and Stefon Diggs will be huge, but if the Vikings were able to limit Deebo Samuel and Brandon Aiyuk, they’re capable of doing the same to Houston’s lethal receivers. 

Bears at Colts (noon Sunday)

Surprises Through Week 2: How little they’ve tried to lean on running backs to support a rookie quarterback. They have 33 rushes by backs, if you count Velus Jones Jr. as a running back, though most call him something else. They got rid of a running QB who led them in rushing and drafted a passer, and now Williams through Week 2 is their leading rusher. Go figure.  

Also, how ineffective their offensive line has been. They talked constantly about wanting the same group together and they essentially had it for the last two preseason games, and through two weeks the results have been a league-worst nine sacks and 2.48 yards per carry by the backs. 

Keys to Week 3 win: Looking at game film and actually seeing how the Packers and Texans ran the ball down the Colts’ throats, and then even doing the same thing or something very similar. Also, arriving to stop the run. They’ve leaked against the run in each of the first two games early before stiffening and finishing strong. They can’t let Jonathan Taylor get going because, at some point, Shane Steichen will actually figure out his team is better off with Taylor carrying 25 times than with Anthony Richardson throwing interceptions.

Lions at Cardinals (3:25 p.m. Sunday)

Surprises Through Week 2: The Lions offense delivered an underwhelming performance in the loss to Tampa Bay last week and has not been the juggernaut many thought it would be. Most notably, the Lions were 1-for-7 on trips to the red zone. Amon-Ra St. Brown bounced back after a quiet first week, but tight end Sam LaPorta has been held in check through the first two games. 

Keys to Week 3 win: Detroit must run the ball more effectively. The Buccaneers made the Lions one-dimensional by stuffing the ground attack on early downs, forcing Jared Goff to throw the ball 55 times. That lack of diversity in play-calling is a recipe for disaster for Detroit, so it must get better production on the ground against the Cardinals.

More Green Bay Packers News

Eric Wilson and Edgerrin Cooper played a combined 15 snaps for the #Packers last week. They need to play more.⬇️https://t.co/VsbG9n9hah

— Bill Huber (@BillHuberNFL) September 20, 2024

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