Week 7 NFC North Power Rankings and Previews

Here are the latest NFC North power rankings and a look at this week’s matchups, including the huge showdowns: Texans at Packers and Lions at Vikings.

Green Bay Packers wide receiver Christian Watson (9) celebrates scoring a touchdown with a Lambeau Leap vs. Arizona. / Dan Powers/USA TODAY NETWORK-Wisconsin / USA TODAY NETWORK via Imagn Images

GREEN BAY, Wis. – The NFC North’s four teams are an unprecedented 17-5 entering Week 7. Now, the plot really thickens, with the Green Bay Packers hosting the Houston Texans in a potential Super Bowl preview and the Detroit Lions battling the Minnesota Vikings in a division showdown.

Here are this week’s NFC North power rankings and looks at those games.

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. Minnesota Vikings: The undefeated Vikings (5-0) received three of four first-place votes in our NFC North rankings and are No. 2 in the On SI Power Rankings and the Consensus NFL Power Rankings.

2. Detroit Lions: The surging Lions (4-1) received the other first-place vote. Jared Goff has back-to-back games of 150-plus ratings. They are third in the On SI Power Rankings as well as the Consensus NFL Power Rankings.

3. Green Bay Packers: Green Bay, winners of two in a row heading into Sunday’s game against the Texans, swept the third-place votes. The Packers (4-2) are sixth in the Consensus Rankings and eighth on the On SI rankings.

4. Chicago Bears: The Bears (4-2) have found their way, too, albeit against Charmin-soft competition. With Caleb Williams’ three consecutive 100-rating games, they are 14th in the On SI rankings.

Bill Huber’s NFC North Rankings

1. Minnesota Vikings: The Vikings are the NFL’s only undefeated team. Their strength of victory is third-best in the NFL, so it’s not as if they’ve been beating up on the equivalent of FCS competition.

2. Detroit Lions: The Lions lost their NFL Defensive Player of the Year candidate, defensive end Aidan Hutchinson, to a broken leg last week. The Lions are loaded with talent but that will be tough to overcome.

3. Green Bay Packers: The JV is schedule is over. Here come the Texans this week and the Lions in two weeks.  

4. Chicago Bears: Of teams that are at least .500, the Bears’ strength of victory is the lowest in the league. Each of their four wins has come against one-win teams.

Best team in the NFL: Kansas City Chiefs. The two-time defending Super Bowl champions are 5-0. Coming off their bye, they’ll host the 49ers on Sunday and visit the Buccaneers in two weeks.

Worst team in the NFL: New England Patriots. Can rookie quarterback Drake Maye lift them out of the abyss? Their next four games are at Jacksonville, home against the Jets, and at Tennessee and Chicago.

NFC North Week 7 Games

As written by our NFC North team publishers.

Green Bay Packers

Texans at Packers (noon Sunday)

One thing that gives you pause after a strong start to the season: The Packers’ four wins have come against teams with a combined seven wins. So, are the Packers an apex predator or just a paper tiger? Obviously, the Packers will get a gauge of that against the Houston Texans, who are 5-1. Green Bay’s record has been fueled by a league-best 2.8 takeaways per game. The Texans are ninth with 1.2 giveaways per game. Are the Packers good enough to beat a good team that doesn’t hand them the ball two or three times? Because that’s what it’s going to take to have success in the playoffs.

The biggest key to victory in Week 7: It’s cliché but the Packers have to stop the run. It’s been their Achilles heel forever, it seems, but they did a tremendous job in bottling up the Cardinals’ thunder-and-lightning duo of running back James Conner and quarterback Kyler Murray last week. Houston’s top running backs, Joe Mixon and Dameon Pierce, returned to the lineup last week and both had runs of 50-plus yards. If the Packers can’t stop Mixon, it might be Mission Impossible against quarterback C.J. Stroud, whose play-action passer rating of 121.5 ranks seventh in the league.

Minnesota Vikings

Lions at Vikings (noon Sunday)

One thing that gives pause after a strong start: The health of Aaron Jones. It wasn’t a coincidence that Minnesota’s offense wasn’t effective after Jones left the game in London against the Jets with a hip injury. He’s considered week-to-week with what the team now describes as an upper-hamstring injury. When healthy, he’s the straw that stirs the offensive drink for Minnesota. If not healthy, Ty Chandler and Cam Akers, whom Minnesota traded for earlier this week, have giant shoes to fill. 

The biggest key to victory in Week 7: Giving Sam Darnold time to throw. We all know that there’s a chess match about to unfold between Ben Johnson’s scheme on offense against Brian Flores’ plan on defense, but Darnold having time to throw will be critical. The thought here is that he’ll have plenty of time to pass since Aidan Hutchinson won’t be on the field. Hutchinson owns 38 percent of Detroit’s QB pressures and without him there isn’t a true threat off the edge to punish Darnold. If the Vikings can handle Detroit’s interior, Darnold could have a big day. 

Detroit Lions

Lions at Vikings (noon Sunday)

One thing that gives pause after a strong start: The injury to Aidan Hutchinson is a major blow. At 4-1, the Lions have looked borderline unstoppable the last two weeks, but losing an elite pass rusher has the potential to cause a major issue for the defense. With no big moves imminent, how Detroit’s reserves perform in their effort to pressure Vikings quarterback Sam Darnold will be an enormous key to this NFC North showdown.

The biggest key to victory in Week 7: The Lions are at their best when they’re able to establish the run early. Minnesota ranks second in the league in run defense, and defensive coordinator Brian Flores is one of the best in the game. There’s an avenue for the Lions to take advantage of Minnesota’s 30th-ranked pass defense, but Detroit’s offensive success tends to tail off when they are one-dimensional. Getting going on the ground, and doing so early, would create a major advantage for the Lions in a pivotal division matchup.

Chicago Bears

Bye (Next game Oct. 27 at Washington)

One thing that gives you pause after a strong start to the season: Naturally it’s the soft schedule. Not only have the four teams they beat compiled a 4-18 record, but they lost to the only teams they played .500 or above. Plus, Caleb Williams’ passing improvement came against three consecutive weak defenses. Then again, they won those three games in impressive fashion.

The biggest key to victory in Week 7: Even though they don’t play, they’ve already achieved the key to winning the bye week. If you’re going to have injuries, do it prior to the bye so you have time to heal. Their injured secondary players have a chance to rest before facing the Commanders on Oct. 27. Safety Jaquan Brisker (concussion), slot Kyler Gordon (hamstring) and cornerback Tyrique Stevenson (calf) need time to heal. Also, backup cornerback Terell Smith (hip), Stevenson’s replacement, still is recovering.

More Green Bay Packers News

“Coop brings a lot of juice,” defensive coordinator Jeff Hafley said last week of Edgerrin Cooper.

The #Packers are squeezing more and more out of their talented rookie linebacker.https://t.co/4uMJsXyPj5

— Bill Huber (@BillHuberNFL) October 17, 2024

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