NFC North Week 11 picks: Will the Bears’ changes change their fortunes against the Packers?

In Detroit, coach Dan Campbell said the key to last week’s comeback victory at Houston centered around one thing: Stonewalling Texans running back Joe Mixon. Houston led 23-7 at the half and tried to shorten the game. But Mixon had just 46 yards on 25 carries, a 1.84 average, his lowest since Week 7 of the 2019 season. CBS Sports also noted that Mixon has the lowest yardage total for a player with 25-plus carries since 2013.

In Chicago, coach Matt Eberflus said something about his offensive coordinator that Bears management probably will be saying about him in short order. Eberflus canned offensive coordinator Shane Waldron on Tuesday, saying that it was his decision and that it was a “well-thought-out” decision. Please. Thirty days earlier, the Bears were 4-2 and riding a three-game winning streak in which they had scored 95 points. Waldron made it nine games into his Bears career. The guy he replaced, Luke Getsy, was fired by the Raiders a week earlier after also surviving only nine games. The NFL gets more impatient by the year.

In Green Bay, the Packers (6-3) are eyeballing something that’s never been done by either side in the 121-year history of their rivalry with the Bears (4-5): an 11-game winning streak. Green Bay heads to Chicago on Sunday having won five in a row at Chicago while not giving up more than 20 points. That hasn’t been done by a Packers team since 1928-30. Green Bay has gone 17 consecutive games at Soldier Field without giving up more than 28 points. Only one other team has done that at Chicago since the merger: the 1971-88 Vikings.

Sunday, noon

Tennessee has a few decent players – like Calvin Ridley, Jeffery Simmons and Tony Pollard – that cause concern, but not nearly enough. The Titans also are 2-7 and just muddling through the final stages of making darn sure Will Levis isn’t a starting quarterback, which he most certainly is not. Levis played OK last week and is a threat to convert short-yardage situations with his powerful build, but overwhelming him should be a layup for Brian Flores. If Sam Darnold curbs the turnover fest – a big if – Tennessee’s top-ranked defense in yards (273.6) entering Week 11 is vulnerable because the Titans defense also ranks fourth worst in points (26.7). Vikings 28, Titans 14

Sunday, noon

A new offensive coordinator isn’t going to make Caleb Williams magically mature. Williams isn’t a bust at this point, but he’s not Jayden Daniels or C.J. Stroud. He’s unpolished and is going to struggle like a more typical rookie. He’s going to take nine sacks like he did last week. He’s going to have losing streaks. And his current one will reach four games as the Packers return from their bye with Jordan Love’s groin injury presumably healthier. Packers 27, Bears 10

Sunday, noon

The Lions (8-1) got the sloppy, five-interception game out of Jared Goff’s system in Sunday’s comeback win over Houston. The Jaguars (2-8) got the spirited effort out of their system in last week’s narrow loss to the Vikings. Result: Detroit drops the hammer. Lions 35, Jaguars 3

Record/vs. spread: 22-11/21-11-1.

Vikings pick/vs. spread: 4-5/3-5-1.

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