The Chicago Bears were enjoying the final day of their four-day weekend after getting an early-season bye. Their weekend was something out of "Weekend at Bernie's" with the disaster that ensued on Sunday.
In the early window, the Bears' NFC North rivals, the Minnesota Vikings, played in London against the Cleveland Browns. While Cleveland was clinging onto a small lead over the Vikings, it was Carson Wentz connecting with Jordan Addison in the final minute to escape the U.K. with a 21-17 win.
Later in the day, the Detroit Lions had a road matchup with the Joe Burrow-less Cincinnati Bengals, and it went as many would have expected. Jared Goff threw just four incompletions and three touchdowns to notch an easy 37-24 win over the Bengals.
Luckily for the Bears, the Green Bay Packers joined them on the couch for the bye week, so they remain the same with their record.
Latest outlook for Bears in the NFC North after five weeks of play
Unfortunately for Chicago, the Vikings' win now puts the Bears in last place with a 2-2 record and the only team in the NFC North that isn't over .500. The good news is that they are only a half game behind Minnesota for third place in the division.
Detroit seems to have strong control of the North at 4-1. The only issue with the Lions is that they are 1-1 in the division after beating the Bears but losing to the Packers in Week 1.
Green Bay isn't too far behind the Lions in the standings with a 2-1-1 record. The bye week came at a good time for the Packers, who had lost and tied their last two matchups.
As for the Bears, they are sitting at .500, but their division record leaves much to be desired. Two losses to the Vikings and Lions have put them behind the eight ball a bit. As the only team in the NFC North without a division win, Chicago can't afford to lose any more games in the division.
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Chicago will have to survive their upcoming Week 6 matchup with the Washington Commanders first before looking forward to what needs to be done to get back in the NFC North division title race.