Justin Fields making the leap; Packers banged up; Vikings underrated: NFC North Notebook

Are the Chicago Bears must-see TV now? Could the Minnesota Vikings be poised for a deep playoff run? Are the Green Bay Packers quite literally broken? There was no shortage of storylines in Week 9 inside one of the NFL's most interesting divisions. Here's a wrap-up of the NFC North from this past weekend.

Justin Fields is becoming That Guy

For the Bears this season, moral victories are the ones that matter. No coach, player or staff member is going to say that, given that they are all the ultimate competitors, but considering the expectations and the amount of work the Bears need to do to retool the entire roster, that's a realistic sentiment. And what's more is, the Bears are getting those moral victories, especially in the form of their young quarterback.

Evaluating and determining if Fields is The Guy was the new regime's top priority in Chicago. The first part of the season was a learning curve as Fields got used to his second system in as many years. But Fields already looks like he's beyond the learning curve over the past few weeks.

Ever since the team's mini-bye between their Thursday night game against the Commanders and their Monday night shocker against the Patriots, Fields has made tangible improvements (as has the offense as a whole). Each week the narrative isn't about how Fields had one of the best performances of his career even though Chicago lost on Sunday. There isn't an air of dejection around the city. It's jubilation: The Bears finally have a quarterback.

On Sunday against the Dolphins, Fields completed 17 of his 28 pass attempts for 123 yards and three touchdowns. He didn't throw any interceptions. His passer rating ended up at 106.7 — the third-best of his career.

But even more impressive was what the Bears QB accomplished on the ground. Fields broke Michael Vick's single-game rushing record by a quarterback in the regular season by five yards. Fields carried the ball 15 times for 178 yards and a touchdown. Per NFL Research, he's the first player since at least 1950 to record more than 150 rushing yards and three passing touchdowns in a single game.

"I think we are doing a lot of good things in protection to help ourselves, moving the pocket and giving sight lines and vision lines for the quarterback that he likes," head coach Matt Eberflus said. "That is really good for him, and he's doing a great job with that. He still obviously has the ability to use his feet when things break down."

The NFL quarterback prototype is changing. No longer do teams need a pocket passer throwing the ball 40 times a game to win. In fact, with how sophisticated defenses are these days, having a dual-threat quarterback like Fields, like Lamar Jackson, like Josh Allen, is perhaps the only way to get a leg up on your opponent, and like Fields in Chicago, could be the future.

"We have the sweeps and the powers and the counters and the misdirections," Eberflus said. "[On Sunday] our runners didn't have the numbers they usually have, but they have had great numbers. And having that one-two, punch, with really the third punch with the quarterback being able to run the ball that way, I think it's very difficult for the defenses."

Vikings best equipped for postseason in NFC

A coach once told me that the teams that often have the most successful seasons aren't the ones for which everything goes perfectly all year. It's often the team that has to overcome adversity along the way.

Sunday marked the Vikings' sixth straight one-score win — this after going 6-8 last season in such games. Struggling against the Commanders isn't a good look, but the Vikings still pulled out the win, and that's what matters. Say what you want about the Commanders, but they feature one of the toughest front sevens in the league. Minnesota quarterback Kirk Cousins was under duress all day, yet he didn't crumble. The offense didn't crumble. The Vikings find ways to win week in and week out, and we aren't talking about that enough.

We aren't talking about them enough.

Green Bay at a breaking point … literally

Eight different Packers suffered injuries on the turf of Detroit's Ford Field Sunday, and those injuries are all over the spectrum. News surfaced Monday that Green Bay's best pass rusher, Rashan Gary, is out for the season with a reported ACL tear. Wide receiver Romeo Doubs could be out as many as six weeks with an ankle sprain. Cornerback Eric Stokes could miss a significant amount of time with ankle and knee injuries. 

Running back Aaron Jones left the game in a boot. Wide receiver Christian Watson exited early to be evaluated for a concussion. Left tackle David Bakhtiari was in and out. So were guard Jon Runyan and linebacker Krys Barnes. Tight end Robert Tonyan was hurt late.

It proved too much for the Packers to overcome, especially given the fact that they were already dealing with plenty of shortcomings on both sides of the ball. But this game was extremely costly, and it has led many, including veteran Green Bay linebacker De'Vondre Campbell — who was inactive Sunday with a knee injury — to question the playing surface.

"I think the majority of the players, if you polled them around the league, would say they prefer grass," said Packers coach Matt LaFleur on Monday. "That's a big reason, even when we do play on turf, that we get a majority of our practices outside on the grass. I think it's a little bit easier on their bodies."

Carmen Vitali covers the NFC North for FOX Sports. Carmen had previous stops with The Draft Network and the Tampa Bay Buccaneers. She spent six seasons with the Bucs, including 2020, which added the title of Super Bowl Champion (and boat-parade participant) to her résumé. You can follow Carmen on Twitter at @CarmieV.