The postseason picture is still quite blurry. The NFC, especially, has a few potential sleepers within in that can make the entire picture burst into flames. Think of a healthier San Francisco 49ers team, or a Los Angeles Rams squad with Myles Garrett back for the long haul. These are the teams that the Detroit Lions, and the rest of the NFC North, have to worry about beating out by record this season.
Just within the NFC North, things are beyond chaotic. The Lions snagged their sixth win of the year over the Miami Dolphins in Week 9, pushing them to 6-2 and making it their fourth win in a row. 6-2 would be the far and away best record in two of the four divisions in the NFC - the NFC South and NFC East - but it lands Detroit in third place, behind the 6-1 Minnesota Vikings and 7-2 Chicago Bears.
Through Week 9 and headed into Week 10, it's obvious that the Lions are going to have to nearly win out in order to earn a shot at first place in the division this year.
NFC North Week 9 power ranking: Lions still hold a slight edge
4. Minnesota Vikings (6-1)
The Vikings are 6-1, so having them at 4th on these rankings probably seems ridiculous. However, we know that they're struggling beyond belief on offense, and are about to trot out Carson Wentz on Monday Night Football against the Buffalo Bills after Kyler Murray was demolished a few times against the Lions in Week 9.
Minnesota's currently averaging a fourth-lowest 279.4 yards per game on offense, and a third-worst 165.6 yards per game in the air. They're holstering a middling ground attack, posting just 113.9 yards per game there, but it's at least one sign of life for the nearly-unbeaten team. Maybe Wentz, who did look pretty darn good for Minnesota in Week 1 with three touchdowns and a 123.5 passer rating, can revive their air attack, too.
Lots of "ifs" with this 6-1 team, which is a tough pill for them to swallow as the rest of the division seems to be hitting their stride.
3. Green Bay Packers (6-3)
The Packers are a bit scary in this division for two reasons: Jordan Love seems to be the kind of quarterback that only gets better as the season progresses, and they're getting Micah Parsons back very soon. The star edge rusher has returned to practice, which would indicate that he could be back for either their huge Week 10 bout against the Vikings, or after their bye week against the Rams.
Green Bay's offensive line remains their biggest question mark, although Love doesn't seem to struggle against pressure - he's posting a third-best -0.11 EPA/play against pressure this season amongst quarterbacks with at least 100 plays logged, and a 0.15 EPA/play against the blitz, per Sumer Sports.
The Packers' remaining strength of schedule is third-hardest in the league, according to Tankathon, although that just measures their remaining opponents' winning percentages and calculates difficulty from there.
Green Bay is going to be a tough out as they get healthier throughout the season, and they're absolutely a formidable opponent for the Lions to have to deal with in Week 18.
2. Chicago Bears (7-2)
This is another ranking that folks may scratch their head at - the Bears are 7-2, have the most wins in the division, and aren't first here. There's one specific reason for that, and that's the viability of Caleb Williams' hero-ball antics. Williams is an electric quarterback, there's no doubt about that. He can kill you on the ground or in the air, and he's only gotten more accurate while working with head coach Ben Johnson.
But, we saw how his sometimes improvised play can lead to some huge mistakes for Chicago - he threw four interceptions against the Tampa Bay Buccaneers in Week 9. The Bears got the win, to be sure, but throwing four picks against a team like the Lions or Packers - a.k.a., teams with far more functional offenses than the Bucs currently run out - could be deadly for Chicago.
With both aforementioned NFC North teams' defenses getting better, Williams will have to focus on cleaning things up to give the Bears their best shot at contending for a divisional title. It's mistakes like these that can snowball into a Wild Card finish.
1. Detroit Lions (6-2)
It feels like our worries about the Lions' terrible defense happened eons ago. Over their last four games, the Lions have allowed 15.5 points per game, four interceptions, and 12 sacks. They've gone away from heavy zone coverage against the pass, letting their defensive line do the work up front and giving themselves the opportunity to defend the pass with more man coverage.
Their two biggest areas of improvement remain their need for better coverage against tight ends, and their need to get going faster on offense. Miami held them to just 19 points, and that's with a ton of credit owed to the Dolphins' defense under Jeff Hafley. The former Packers DC obviously knows Jared Goff and Detroit well, and it was evident in this matchup.
Still, you take the steady quarterback play, the superstar running back, the wrecking-ball defensive line, and the (presumably) suddenly healthy safety room against those issues, and you can only shrug. Detroit doesn't have many holes that can't be repaired, and we'll see if the trade deadline does even more good on the front of adding to their cornerback room.
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