Episode 13: Forecasting the NFC North's Path to the Playoffs

Imagine a world where all NFC North teams make the playoffs—how thrilling would that be? Join us as we explore this exciting scenario, diving into the standout performances that made it possible. From Jordan Love's impressive comeback leading the Packers to victory over the Texans to the Lions narrowly edging out the Vikings with Jameer Gibbs in the spotlight, there's never a dull moment in the NFC North division. We also peek into the Packers' upcoming clash with the Jaguars, dissecting each team's strengths and what to expect in the games ahead.

In the second half of the episode, we tackle NFL Week 8 Spread Picks, offering our expert analysis and betting insights. With Cooper Kupp potentially returning for the Rams, we predict a Vikings win and delve into the enticing matchups, such as the Lions' solid prospects and strategic plays for the Jaguars vs. Packers game. Don't miss our take on the Bears' battle against the Commanders, especially with Jaden Daniels' uncertain status looming. We wrap up by inviting you to engage with us through our interactive text message link, promising more thrilling football discussions and a fresh perspective next week as we hint at a journey "north.

Table of contents
0:00-1:53 Intro
1:54-2:11 www.OffRacksShop.com (Ad)
2:12-5:09 Texans sent Packing!
5:10-9:46 Lions & Vikings Clash!
9:47-12:37 Spreading The Field
12:38-13:19 Closing Thoughts

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Chapters

• 0:00 NFC North Football Podcast Recap
• 9:11 NFL Week 8 Spread Picks
• 12:43 Engagement Invitation for NFC North

Transcript

Speaker 1: 0:00

Yo, before the show, I'd like to just say if you could like and share the podcast. I am a one man show and I really do appreciate both the feedback and the support that you give. As a matter of fact, down in the comments you can actually reach me directly if you ever want to share a message or get featured on the show. All right, let's get into the episode. Are you still talking about football? Yeah, football, nfc North, the list of football. Welcome back everybody. This is heading north and nfc north podcast and I'm your host, detron. It is week eight. You're probably hearing this show on thursday, maybe friday, depending on when you catch us, and we are talking about the hottest division. When I say that, that's not just me making up stuff because I'm a Detroit Lions fan, it's legit. As a matter of fact, if the playoffs were today and yes, I know they're not, but if they were, every team from the NFC North would make the playoffs. It'd look a little something like this the Lions in one, commanders in two, seattle's in three, atlanta's in four, Then you've got the Minnesota Vikings, green Bay Packers and the Chicago Bears closing out the NFC. That would be wild and it's still a possibility. The Chicago Bears are the bottom of the NFC North and they have four wins, which no other division can say that right now. So we're talking about some premier football happening in the NFC North and we've got everybody playing this week. So let me quickly get you caught up on what happened last week. We'll spend a whole lot of time there and then I'll tell you about how I think this week is going to work out for all the teams in the North and I'll also get you spread in the field. But before I do any of that, I'm going to kick it over to our sponsor so they can tell you about their stuff. Our sponsor for the week is OffRagShopcom. Offragshopcom is an online thrift store. They sell men and women's clothing, shoes, accessories and more. So, if you haven't already, check out the link in the description to get a discount on your next purchase at OffRackShopcom. All right, now that we have got our ads and our sponsors out of the way, let's talk about the highest division in football, and we're going to get started with the Green Bay Packers.

Speaker 1: 2:20

The 4-2 Packers took on the 5-1 Texans in Lambeau. The Texans had, you know, boasted a pretty good defense for the year. They were stingy. I told you that they were going to be without some firepower in Nico Collins, and the Green Bay Packers were two and a half point favorite. Well, when I mentioned the thing about the Texans defense and them missing Nico Collins on offense, I was right. Their defense held up. They did okay. Nico Collins was missing. Cj only completed 10 of 21 for 86 yards, so that also means Green Bay's defense showed up in a pretty big way.

Speaker 1: 3:02

The game started off slow for Green Bay, but eventually Jordan Love got it together, throwing two touchdowns. Mixon also got in the mix for the Texans, getting two touchdowns on the ground for himself. Jordan Love threw 24 for 33 220 yards. Three passing touchdowns, two picks to three different receivers with touchdowns though. So Jordan Love has started to put it together in each of his last couple of games after getting back from that injury, and the Green Bay Packers do not show any signs of slowing down right now.

Speaker 1: 3:35

Green Bay didn't look panicked in this Texans game as well, and Texans were supposed to be this five and one superior team, definitely coming in with a lot of momentum, and Green Bay came in and played their game, even with them being like middle of the league as far as their defense is concerned, they are 10th when it comes to points allowed, so top 10 in the league for points allowed, only giving up 20 points per game, which is pretty good for the matchup that they got coming up next, which is the Jacksonville Jaguars, who average 20 points a game. So that's all that Green Bay's giving up. That's all that the Jaguars seem to be able to put on the board, which means it lines up pretty well for Green Bay to go into Jacksonville and get a dub. Green Bay is a four-point favorite, with the Jags coming off their big win against the Patriots team, who, if we're being honest, is in shambles. The game should be closer, though, than one might expect, with the Green Bay Packers rolling the way that they are Mainly, I think, because the Jacksonville Jaguars are playing at home. That heat there gets to some teams. It can cause some issues for players on the field. So I think that the Jaguars keep it close, and, with both of these teams having this long list of potential questionable players or injuries coming into this game, that could certainly change how the game is played out, but I'm taking Green Bay in a close win over the Jaguars.

Speaker 1: 5:10

Next up we're going to talk about the big game of the week. I know you watched it. I watched it. If you didn't watch it, let me tell you what happened.

Speaker 1: 5:16

The 4-1 Lions took on the 5-0 Minnesota Vikings and this was much CTV. This game between the two top teams in the top division, where the Lions were able to pull out a nail biter 31 to 29, with a late game field goal from Jake Bates. Minnesota basically owned the first quarter. They put up 10 points and this thing started to look weird for the Lions, a space that they haven't been in a whole lot of games, where they were just being dominated. And then the Lions came back and ran off 21-0 in the second quarter. A late fumble in the fourth made this thing get really interesting, but the Lions were able to march down, get in position and then, like I said, win it with Bates.

Speaker 1: 6:04

A big day on the ground for Jameer Gibbs during this game 15 rushes, 116 yards, two rushing touchdowns, and he also added four catches for 44 yards in the air. Amon Ra gave you a compliment of eight catches for 112 yards, a passing touchdown, and Jared Goff also threw a passing touchdown to Kalief Raymond Goff 22 for 55, 280 yards. He was sacked four times. But what I was impressed with is Jared Goff never looked shook in this game, despite constant pressure, being sacked, getting forced fumbles, even though they were recovered, minnesota was never able to get him off his mark and you could see it late in the game. He was striking receivers which was really good to see as a Lions fan, and help them get the win against Minnesota. On the other side of the ball, darnold completed 22 of 27, one passing touchdown, one pick, four sacks.

Speaker 1: 7:02

He did not look as sharp during today's game, even though he almost got them to win. Aaron Jones, who I thought was going to be injured going into the game, it was like a shock that he played. He finished with 14 rushes, with 93 yards on the ground and a touchdown. Jj finished with seven catches, 81 yards modest day for him. He did get a touchdown, but otherwise the Vikings receivers were pretty quiet this week.

Speaker 1: 7:28

So where does that leave us? We've got a bunch of 5-1, well, not a bunch, there's three. There's a 5-1 team and the Lions a 5-1 team, with Minnesota a 5-win team in Green Bay, although they've got two losses in Chicago 4-2. So this division, like I mentioned at the top of the show is lining up to be potentially special this year. With that being said, next week the Lions or I guess technically this week, if you're listening to the show on Thursday this week the Lions are going to be taking on the Tennessee Titans, and this should be a lopsided affair. I don't think it's going to be close. As a matter of fact, the Titans were smacked by the Bills last week, 34 to 10. The Lions are coming in as 11 point favorite in this game and although the Lions will be without Jamison, he got caught up in some violating PED stuff with the NFL, so it looks like he's probably going to be out two games. Word on the street and this is unconfirmed clearly is like Adderall or something of that nature that got him busted for this PED violation. Whatever it is, he's not going to be on the field with the team violation. Whatever it is, he's not going to be on the field with the team. So it's going to leave them a receiver down, but I don't think that's going to matter against the titans, who can't seem to get it together and looks like they're actually going to be moving on from their star but aging wide receiver hopkins. So, with all that being said, lions win this thing big. I can see this being a I don't know a 28, 30 to 10 kind of game, so there's going to be some room on that line if you are a betting person.

Speaker 1: 9:11

The vikings, on the other hand, they got a short week. They play on thursday thursday night football against the la rams. The rams are looking to have Cooper cut back in the lineup. He's they're trying to extend a win streak that they just had. They beat the Raiders last week, so they're hoping to add to that. And the Minnesota Vikings are trying to fend off a second straight loss after starting the season. Again 5-0. Vikings win this game. I believe and I expect jj to have a big day on the road in la.

Speaker 1: 9:46

So let's kick it over to spread in the field, since chicago didn't play this week in spreading the field. Here's a rundown of how I've done so far week two 50. Week three 25. Week four 33 percent percent. Week five 33. In. Week six went a hundred percent, got you three for three on that one. And then week seven, I went one for two. I got you right with the lions, but unfortunately the green bay packers only won their game against the texans by two. So if you bought the two and a half line, unfortunately you missed out on that one. So week eight we got all the teams in action.

Speaker 1: 10:25

Let me tell you how I feel about spreading the field. So first, the Vikings are going to get a win minus three against the Rams this Thursday. I think it's probably going to be more like a six point win, six to eight point win, but they're a minus three right now against a Rams team who is getting Cooper cut back. But I don't know that that's going to be enough to take on a team that's coming off of their first loss and probably feeling away about it. The Lions are minus 11, and I'm going to tell you to take the Lions minus 11. This could be 28 to 10. This could be 32 to 7. This'm going to tell you to take the Lions minus 11. This could be 28 to 10. This could be 32 to 7. This is going to be a pretty big win on the Lions part. I don't think this thing is going to be close by the fourth quarter.

Speaker 1: 11:10

You should be getting ready to count your money on this one in the Jags and Packers, although I think the Packers win this game. I'm going to tell you to take the Jags right now if your line is still plus four. I think this game is going to be a bit closer than anyone might predict, with the Green Bay Packers being the better team against the Jaguars. Either way, I'm taking the Jags plus four, but I do believe that the Packers get the win here. And then Chicago Bears, who were off last week, are going to be taking on the Commanders. Then Chicago Bears, who were off last week, are going to be taking on the Commanders.

Speaker 1: 11:46

Now big development Jaden Daniels went out of the Commanders' previous game with a rib injury. They don't know whether or not Jaden Daniels is going to play. So on this line I'm taking Chicago minus three if Jaden Daniels is not in the lineup and I'm taking the Commanders plus three if Jaden Daniels is in the lineup. I know that line will likely change once they announce whether Jaden Daniels is going to play. So you might have to do a coin toss and, you know, risk it. If you think that he may end up playing, just take that bet before they make the announcement. That way you can get the line where it is. But that's what I'm going with. Minnesota vikings minus three, the detroit lions minus 11 all the way back to potentially minus 17. Take the jaguars plus four, and then chicago minus three, unless jayden daniels is playing, and then I take commanders plus three. Those are my picks for spreading the field and that is our show for the day. Quick and easy.

Speaker 1: 12:43

Look, if you've made it to this point, I appreciate you listening to the show. Down in the comment section or somewhere in the description of the show, there may be a link that allows you to send a text message to us. I would love to hear from you your thoughts on the show, maybe get your input. Love to put some voice notes on the episode next time. So feel free to send us a message and if you come back next week, which I hope you do, make sure you've got your bags packed, because we are headed north. I'm detron peace. Are you still talking about football? Yeah, but without nfc nor the list of football.