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(CBS Chicago) — A acquainted communicative whitethorn already beryllium opening to play retired successful the NFC North, with the Green Bay Packers sitting atop the part and the Detroit Lions inactive looking for their archetypal win. In between, the Minnesota Vikings look to beryllium rounding into form, portion the Chicago Bears are falling apart. At slightest that’s however things look from Week 3 successful the NFL.
The Packers needed a last-minute thrust and a last-second tract extremity to unafraid their 2nd win. The Lions dropped their third, erstwhile the Baltimore Ravens bushed them the aforesaid way. The Vikings enactment unneurotic a implicit effort to flooded the Seattle Seahawks. But the Bears were implicit overwhelmed by the superior Cleveland Browns.
Week 4 matchups successful the part could make immoderate separation successful the standings. Green Bay draws a battered and struggling Pittsburgh team. The Vikings big the Cleveland Browns, who are coming disconnected different beardown showing. And the Bears and Lions effort to debar the part cellar.
CBS Chicago sports manager Marshall Harris looks astatine the 3 NFC North matchups.
All times listed are Eastern.
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Cleveland Browns @ Minnesota Vikings, Sunday, October 3 @ 1:00 p.m.
The Browns are coming disconnected a dominating 26-6 triumph implicit the Bears to amended their grounds to 2-1. The defence gave rookie backmost Justin Fields fits successful his archetypal NFL start, sacking him 9 times and knocking him down 15 times. Myles Garrett unsocial had 4.5 sacks, mounting a franchise record. The Browns constricted the Bears to a small implicit 1 gait per violative play.
While the Browns merit recognition for the triumph — not to notation downing the Houston Texans to unfastened the play and astir knocking disconnected the Kansas City Chiefs successful the opener — it’s inactive a small unclear however bully this Cleveland squad is. “I deliberation we’re looking astatine a concern wherever the Browns are good,” Harris conceded. “But I don’t cognize however bully they are, due to the fact that I conscionable saw them play a Bears squad that looked similar they had nary hint what was going connected on the shot tract connected the violative end.”
The Browns, connected the different hand, person a bully consciousness of what they privation to bash with the ball. And that is manus it to Nick Chubb and Kareem Hunt. The 2 combined for 165 yards connected the crushed connected 32 carries. Mayfield continued to tally the discourtesy efficiently. And Odell Beckham Jr. returned to the lineup, hauling successful 5 passes for different 77 yards.
The Vikings are coming disconnected a beardown show of their own, topping the Seattle Seahawks 30-17. Quarterback Kirk Cousins continued to look comfy successful the pocket, tossing 3 touchdowns passes successful the archetypal fractional and yet completing 30-38 for 323 yards. Running Back Dalvin Cook sat retired with an ankle injury, but Alexander Mattison enactment up 112 yards connected 26 carries and caught six passes for 59 yards retired of the backfield connected a engaged afternoon.
“I’m funny to spot if Kirk Cousins tin truly accidental they’ve made a determination to doing much affirmative things,” Harris said. “I deliberation this is going to beryllium a tightly contested game. It’s a existent proving crushed for the Browns to spell connected the roadworthy to effort to bushed Minnesota. But I truly judge that the Vikings are going to triumph this game, somehow, immoderate mode successful a choky one.”
Detroit Lions @ Chicago Bears, Sunday, October 3 @ 1:00 p.m.
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The Bears were embarrassed by the Browns successful Week 3, astatine slightest connected offense, wherever they couldn’t bash anything. They held their ain connected defense, sacking Baker Mayfield 5 times and holding Cleveland to 10 points successful the archetypal half. They’ll person an easier matchup erstwhile they big the winless Lions successful Week 4. But thing astir the Bears truthful acold inspires confidence.
That starts astatine quarterback, wherever injuries person created a imaginable revolving door. “I don’t cognize who the Bears are going to commencement astatine quarterback,” Harris admitted. “We’re told by Matt Nagy that they don’t cognize who the Bears are going to commencement a quarterback. Of people it depends connected the wounded to Andy Dalton, who missed past week with a genu injury. And Justin Fields, if you instrumentality 9 sacks, you mightiness get deed a fewer times, successful a mode that you don’t privation to. He’s got a dinged-up hand, truthful we’ll spot however that shakes out. Nick Foles, you know, Super Bowl MVP Nick Foles, could beryllium the starter for the Bears aft being your third-string backmost to commencement the season. We’ll conscionable person to spot however the injuries play out.”
Whoever it is volition request immoderate help. The Bears discourtesy enactment up a measly 114 yards past week, and that’s earlier netting retired sacks and penalties. A batch of that load falls connected coaches putting their players successful a presumption to succeed. And that didn’t hap past week.
“Matt Nagy says helium doesn’t privation to uncover who is going to telephone plays,” Harris said. “It astir apt should not beryllium him. Expect Bill Lazor, the violative coordinator, to instrumentality implicit the play-calling. If helium doesn’t, Matt Nagy could precise good beryllium coaching for his job. Not that he’ll get fired adjacent week, but for each intents and purposes, this could beryllium his past go-round with the Bears, if they suffer to a winless Detroit Lions team.”
The Lions mislaid to the Baltimore Ravens past week successful possibly the astir heartbreaking mode possible. Jared Goff drove Detroit good into tract extremity scope successful the game’s last minutes, allowing them to instrumentality the pb with a tract goal. But Lamar Jackson brought his Ravens backmost conscionable acold capable for Justin Tucker to footwear a record-setting 66-yard game-winning tract goal.
Lost successful the excitement is that the Lions were capable to enactment with the Ravens and could easy person won. Baltimore moved the ball, but the Detroit defence mostly contained Jackson and mostly kept the Ravens retired of the extremity zone. Jared Goff was an businesslike 22-30 for 217 yards.
The Lions tin astir apt expect different adjacent 1 successful Chicago. “That’s not however they privation to extremity the game,” Harris said of the Lions’ loss. “But with the Bears, we don’t adjacent cognize wherever they’re going to start, oregon much specifically, who they’re going to start. But I think, due to the fact that it is simply a location game, the Bears find a mode to eke this 1 out. And I bash mean eke it out, 13-10.”
Pittsburgh Steelers @ Green Bay Packers, Sunday, October 3 @ 4:25 p.m.
The Steelers and Packers look to beryllium heading successful other directions. The Steelers looked lifeless successful losing 24-10 to a Cincinnati Bengals squad that’s agelong been the AFC North punching bag. The Packers looked conscionable the opposite, coming backmost to sound disconnected the San Francisco 49ers with a walk-off tract goal.
Ben Roethlisberger completed 38 passes for 318 yards, but mostly of the abbreviated variety. Najee Harris hauled successful 14 of them retired of the backfield. The moving crippled was non-existent down a makeshift violative enactment that couldn’t get retired of its ain way. Big Ben was sacked 4 times and knocked down 5 more.
“Here successful Chicago, we cognize a small happening oregon 2 astir 39-year-old aboriginal Hall of Famers trying to clasp connected to that past spot of glory,” Harris said. “That’s what’s going connected close present nether halfway for the Pittsburgh Steelers. Ben Roethlisberger is washed. I deliberation I tin accidental that with a grade of assurance and the portion volition carnivore that out. The happening is tin Mike Tomlin and the Steelers bash thing astir it to person them triumph much shot games?”
It won’t beryllium casual against a Packers squad firing connected each cylinders. That starts with Aaron Rodgers, who aft a dud of a crippled to unfastened the season, is backmost to his aged ways. Rodgers completed 23 passes for 253 yards, 2 TDs and a passer standing of 113.3. He recovered Adams a full of 12 times for 132 yards. Aaron Jones averaged an effectual 4.3 yards per transportation connected his 19 carries. The defence pushed astir Jimmy Garoppolo, sacking him 4 times and hitting him 11 more.
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The Packers are favored by a touchdown, but it whitethorn not extremity up that close. “I deliberation helium (Rodgers) is going to beryllium successful a presumption wherever helium possibly throws the shot 25 times astatine the most, goes for 3 oregon 4 touchdowns and they cruise successful this game,” said Harris. “I’m going to accidental 31-10, giving Pittsburgh the payment of uncertainty that somehow, immoderate mode they get into the extremity zone. But this 1 has each the imaginable to get ugly, due to the fact that similar I said, Ben Roethlisberger doesn’t look similar helium should beryllium inactive playing successful the NFL.”
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