Well, at least the Bears still suck. Let's get it over with. 

Vikings

The Vikings held off the Packers in a 27-25 victory that wasn't that close. 

Game Notes

• We all saw the game, so we know how dominant Sam Darnold was. He didn't get pressured and completed whatever he wanted in the middle of the field. I don't know the solution to the middle-of-the-field thing because, according to Twitter at least, Xavier McKinney and Edgerrin Cooper are the two best players on the defense. They're in the middle of the field most of the time! Are we really only giving up big plays when it's Javon Bullard or Isaiah McDuffie in the middle? The defense has definitely improved. There's no question. We just shut out a team! But the defense isn't perfect when it's down five guys and the other team has like four pro bowlers catching passes or running the ball. 
• The whole thing begs the question on the Vikings side: if good quarterbacks can still carve up this defense a little does that mean Darnold is a good QB? Should they franchise him or give him a big extension? I'm not close to smart enough to know the answer but I will say that in this tree we've seen this issue a hundred times with Jimmy G, Jared Goff, Brock Purdy, Kirk Cousins, Matt Ryan, hell even Matt Schaub and Brian Hoyer. I don' know how many of those guys were worth $60mm a year or whatever the next step up is but I know that none of them won a super bowl. The scheme and surrounding talent can prop up a guy but once you pay the guy and the talent goes down you're stuck in purgatory.
• On the Vikings' defensive side of the ball, they confounded the Packers by using a lot more man coverage than they have been this year and blitzing more than 70% of the time. It's like Flores went back to last year's scheme and it worked. Whether because they weren't good enough or because the Vikings were being grabby, the Packers' receivers could not get separation. There are only so many drives where you can watch a deep incompletion on first down, a dumb run on second down and then either another incompletion on third down or a three-yard completion before you go on some sort of seven-state spree. 
• Last week, I talked about how confident I was in the Packers against the other NFC teams and this game made that look pretty stupid. A lot of these division games have gotten away from the Packers quickly. In this one, they had momentum going on offense early and spoiled it with a fumble, a wasted drive and then a lack of aggression on fourth down. Meanwhile, the Vikings were moving the ball at will thanks to wide open spaces down the spine of the Packers d. Can we put it together on offense? Can we figure out how to cover the damn middle of the field for the first time in decades? Sure. Will it happen this year? I don't know anymore. 

Bears

The Bears lost a laugher to the Seahawks, 6-3, on Thursday night. Wouldn't it be funny if the league made the Bears play all their games on Thursday night football? Can we get a petition going for that or something?

Game Notes

• We did Christmas with my in-laws this past weekend in Illinois and easily the best part was when I got to tell all my wife's uncles that the Bears had lost 6-3 already that week. Hilarious. Can you even imagine that score in an NFL game? Caleb Williams had 122 yards on 28 attempts. D'Andre Slow only had 55 yards. 
• Rome Odunze was the third receiver and ninth player taken in the draft. He's been the 66th-best WR statistically this year. Caleb Williams was supposed to be the second coming and Odunze's addition was supposed to give the Bears the best wide receiver corps in the league. That sure as hell hasn't worked out. Maybe forcing a young core to have three different offensive coordinators in one season isn't a great idea. 
• The defense played well, I guess. It's been a while. Geno Smith was held without a touchdown and there for just seven yards per attempt though the Seahawks did have 122 rush yards on 4.9 yards per carry. Montez Sweat, who has been just as disappointing as Rahsan Gary this season, had a sack.

Lions

The Lions held off the 49ers in a 40-34 victory. 

Game Notes

• The Lions took care of business in a game that barely mattered against the 49ers. Likely mad about Sam Darnold getting all the shine on Sunday, Jared Goff completed 26/34 passes for 303 yards and three TDs. Say what you want about the Lions defense, their offense still feels like the clear best in the league. Next week against Minnesota will be a good match-up. 
• Jahmyr Gibbs led the way among the weapons with 18 carries for 117 yards and 4 catches for 46. Even more so than Aaron Jones on the Vikings, people have wondered if Gibbs has the size to take a full load - in a surprising move, the Lions had him do that in this game that didn't matter. You'd think he'll get even more touches in the next three or four games as the stakes rise. 
•  The Lions defense was just bad in the first half. 49ers twitter members were talking about Brock Purdy having the best game in NFL history (lol). Purdy still accumulated 377 yards, but the Lions picked him twice (both Kerby Joseph, unfortunately) and sacked him a few times in the second half when they finally took over to get the win.