NFC North Know-It-All 10/15/13

Oct 13, 2013; Cleveland, OH, USA; Detroit Lions tight end Joseph Fauria (80) celebrates his touchdown against the Cleveland Browns during the first quarter at FirstEnergy Stadium. Mandatory Credit: Ron Schwane-USA TODAY Sports

Joseph Fauria, Adrian Peterson, and Randall Cobb were the across the NFC North this week. The Vikings are still scrambling to find the right quarterback to win for them. Green Bay took a blow to their wide receiving core. While Detroit may have just amped up their game…on the road. But still, what’s this mean for the Bears?

NFC North Standings

Detroit Lions: 4-2 (2-1 in division)

Chicago Bears: 4-2 (1-1 in division)

Green Bay Packers: 3-2 (1-0 in division)

Minnesota Vikings: 1-4 (0-2 in division)

Green Bay Packers

The Green Bay Packers traveled to Charm City to face the Super Bowl champion Baltimore Ravens. The Pack took a beating to their roster and slid by with a 19-17 victory.

Aaron Rodgers had a lot on his plate on Sunday as two of his favorite wide receivers went down with injuries, Randall Cobb and James Jones. Jones only has an MCL sprain and his injury is likely something little. On the other hand, it seems as though Cobb will be out for at least a month. NFL Media Insider Ian Rapoport tweeted Monday that Cobb fractured his fibula, and he was put on the IR. Cobb can return to practice in six week. So good news for Packers fans is that they won’t be out for the whole season. This will mean that WR Jarrett Boykin will need to step up in their absence. Sunday, Boykin was targeting multiple times but could only hold onto one catch for 43 yards.

A.J. Hawk was sort of an eye-opener on Sunday sacking Joe Flacco three times by himself. If he can play like this until Clay Matthews is back, the Packers might be in good shape. For now, this is what the LB situation might be looking like for next week:

Brandon Weeden will try to continue he’s worthy of a starting QB job as he heads to Green Bay this Sunday at 3:25 CT.

Detroit Lions

On the road against the Cleveland Browns, the Detroit Lions pulled out a much needed 31-17 win. The Lions proved they can acquire a second half spark to get a road win.

Uhm, what’s up tight end Joseph Fauria? Fauria had two touchdowns coming into this game, but he racked them up against the Cleveland Browns. Fauria scored three touchdowns and is the first Lions player since Calvin Johnson in 2010 with three touchdown catches in a game. He helped elevate quarterback Matthew Stafford to four touchdowns. I think Stafford found a new end zone target (that’s 6-7 and 255 lbs by the way).

Sunday running back Joique Bell left the game with a rib injury. Bell tweeted Monday that he will be back in no time. Former Illini Mikel Leshoure exited the Jim Schwartz doghouse and entered the game for the first time all season versus the Browns. It was only two rushing attempts, but it was enough to know there’s potential for more playing time there. Detroit Free Press Lions beat reporter Dave Birkett reported Monday that Schwartz expects to be practicing this week, and could be eyeing a return after the bye week. There’s a chance that the next time the Chicago Bears face the Lions their backfield could be a little more diverse.

Also, wide receiver Patrick Edwards got released per Dave Birkett.

The Detroit Lions and the Cincinnati Bengals square off in Detroit for probably the best match up at noon on Sunday.

Minnesota Vikings

The Vikings took a turn for the worse Sunday as the Carolina Panthers handed them as easy loss 35-10. Matt Cassel went 32-for-44 with one touchdown and two interceptions. If it counts for anything, the touchdown came at the very end of the game.

Week 7 for the Minnesota Vikings will be a different beast. This week the Vikings front office sat Christian Ponder down and told him (basically) it was his job to lose. Yet, he didn’t play a snap against the Panthers. With one week of the playbook under his belt, Josh Freeman might be the leading candidate to start against the New York Giants on Monday night. Head  coach Leslie Frazier said the starting quarterback decision would come on Wednesday and it’s truly up in the air.

Sadly there are those few weeks that are swept away by a remarkably sad moment. Unfortunately, this week was for Adrian Peterson. Peterson’s 2-year-old son passed away after he was abused by the boyfriend of his mother. Peterson was it was a tough week to play, and one can only imagine.

The big NFC North debacle this off-season was for linebacker Desmond Bishop. The Vikings received sad news this week as it was revealed that Bishop tore his ACL.