The NFC North has been a two-team race for much of the season, and like much of the season, the Green Bay Packers held on to their narrow lead. Aaron Rodgers led the Packers to a solid victory over the Atlanta Falcons on Monday Night Football, lifting Green Bay to its 10th win of the season and tying them with a few other elite teams for the best record in the NFL.
They’re maintaining a narrow one-game lead over the Detroit Lions in the NFC North. Detroit is 9-4 after a dominant win over the Tampa Bay Buccaneers Sunday. They’ve got games against the Minnesota Vikings and Chicago Bears up next, and then a rematch with the Packers in Week 17, so the NFC North isn’t quite locked up just yet.
Both the Vikings and Bears are struggling this season. The Vikings are still trying to find a solution in the running game after the loss of Adrian Peterson for the season, and rookie quarterback Teddy Bridgewater has a long way to go. Jay Cutler doesn’t look like his old self for the Bears, and there’s talk of Marc Trestman’s job being in danger.
Whatever the case, it’s still a two-team race, though the Packers have the edge. Let’s take a look at the rest of the divisions and where they stand after Week 14:
Whether Peterson will win his appeal could hinge on how Henderson interprets Peterson’s decision to skip a disciplinary meeting. Though Vincent admits he told Peterson he would not be subject to the new personal conduct policy, a report by USA Today suggested that Vincent’s assurances depended on Peterson’s attendance at the meeting, which Peterson protested.
Henderson could also determine that Vincent didn’t have the authority to interpret Peterson’s potential discipline based on Vincent’s testimony.
An attorney for the NFL, Daniel Nash, during the arbitration hearing asked Vincent if in his position he’s responsible for interpreting the Personal Conduct Policy for the league.
“No, sir,” Vincent said.