Revisiting Micah Huff's expectations for NFC North in Week 18

5 days ago 2

It was a game that went the complete opposite of what I predicted. The Bears ended the regular season getting dominated by the Lions, and Dan Campbell proved to still have the edge over Ben Johnson. The Vikings ended the season with a win but a loss of faith in their quarterback. The Packers and Bears will be put to the test: Which team can respond the best to a poor finish to the regular season?

Here is how my five expectations for the NFC North for Week 18 played out:

Rashan Gary no sack streak continues

"As disappointing as someone who is viewed to be a top pass rusher in the league can be, Rashan Gary has been that. It has been 9 games without a sack this year. The person who has been looked at the most to step up to fill the void of losing Micah Parsons for the rest of the season is Gary, and he simply has been a non-factor. I think against the Vikings, his dry spell will continue, and he could very well be a reason that the Packers end up being a first-round exit come playoff time."

Rashan Gary ends the season on a two-month sackless streak. As bad as things have been in Chicago with their pass rush, it has not been as bad as the Packers' situation with Rashan Gary. If the Packers have any shot in the playoffs, it will be because Gary finally met his high expectations.

JJ McCarthy ends season on a high note

"After battling many injuries this season and his own struggles, Week 18 will be an important week for McCarthy to finish the season, giving hope to the Vikings. Prior to his most recent injury, McCarthy looked to be turning a page, but the ups and downs mixed with inconsistent play gives the Vikings no choice but to look at all options next season. A good closeout performance to end the season would instill more confidence that McCarthy should hold onto his job at least until the start of next season. I think McCarthy shows out and has a good game, especially given the fact that the Packers will be without some starters."

J.J. McCarthy, unfortunately, couldn't even finish the game on a high note, as he exited yet another game with an injury. It is getting harder and harder to have faith that he can be the Vikings' long-term solution at quarterback.

Justin Jefferson does not finish the season with 1,000 yards

"It continues to be a very disappointing year for Justin Jefferson. He has had 11 straight games without a 100-yard receiving game. Dealing with struggles from a rookie quarterback and a third-string quarterback who got a couple of games as a starter. Getting 1000 yards for Justin Jefferson was a breeze; now it seems simply impossible. J.J. McCarthy and his receivers have not put up a game where they were on the same level as last year, when Sam Darnold was running things. While I think J.J. McCarthy will have a good game, I don't think his encouraging play involves Justin Jefferson having a big day. I think Jefferson will fail to get 53 yards receiving ultimately, falling short of 1000 yards receiving this year."

After having the worst quarterback production in his career, Justin Jefferson proved he is quarterback-proof, and he reached 1000 yards receiving on the season. He also snapped his 100-yard receiving-game streak, with his first 100-yard receiving game since Week 5 against Cleveland.

Bears put up the most total yards in game versus Detroit

"The Chicago Bears will be looking to prove a point versus the Detroit Lions, who embarrassed them, handing them a 52-21 loss in Week 2. Factor in the point that Caleb Williams has 270 yards to get to be the first Bears quarterback to ever throw for 4000 yards. Achieving that would really show things have changed for the Bears as an organization, and this is a team finally heading in the right direction. I think the Bears build off of their dominant offensive day against the 49ers and have success through the air and on the ground. I think the Bears duo of Swift and Monangai led the Bears to 200 total yards on the ground. Caleb reaches his milestone and throws for close to 300 yards on the day. At the conclusion of this game, I think the Bears will eclipse 500 total yards, and that will be the best performance out of any team in the NFC North offensively."

The Bears didn't even have more total yards than the Lions; if anything, they didn't come close to the Lions' 433 total yards, as they barely reached 270. Very disappointing game from the Bears offense as Caleb Williams failed to get 270 yards passing to reach 4k, the Bears instead met that in total yards. They got away from the run game, and they failed to end the season on a high note. Instead, they enter the playoffs with concern on both sides of the ball.

Bears beat Detroit by two possessions

"With the Bears posting up 500 total yards of offense, I believe they will win convincingly. It was a lopsided loss for the Bears last time these two teams met up in Week 2, but now the rest of the season has drastically been different for both squads. The Lions have nothing left to play for in Week 18, while the Bears clinched the NFC North and want to hold on tight to the 2nd seed in the NFC. This game will definitely mean a lot to Ben Johnson, as it would be less than ideal to go down 0-2 versus your former team. No starters will be resting for the Bears, and I think this team will look to put on a show and right the wrongs of Week 2's horrible showing."

The Chicago Bears got outplayed for the majority of this football game. Exactly what the Bears can bet the house on, them being the best team in the 4th quarter, the Lions ended up beating them in that too. Tough way to end the season.

This article originally appeared on Trojans Wire: Revisiting Micah Huff's bold predictions for NFC North in NFL Week 18

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