NFC North Week 16 picks: Will the Packers keep rolling? Can the Lions stay healthy?

In Detroit, the Lions (12-2) head into a two-game road trip against the Bears and 49ers as the league’s only undefeated road team (6-0). They’re also 3-0 outdoors and 2-0 on grass. Another thing they are, according to coach Dan Campbell, is resilient. And deep, he added this week as a chunk of NFL followers began to write Detroit’s obituary by leading with the now 20-plus players on injured reserve and a defense that’s especially beat up. “We’re good, and we’ll figure out how we need to play,” Campbell said. “We still have really good players here on defense.”

In Chicago, interim head coach Thomas Brown hasn’t snapped an eight-game losing streak, but he is giving his successor some creative tape to watch when it comes to utilizing receiver DJ Moore’s qualities as a runner. Besides matching his season high with eight catches for 46 yards, Moore also had three carries for 24 yards in the 30-12 loss to the Vikings. He had back-to-back 9-yard jet sweeps in opposite directions and another carry for 6 yards. “Just trying to find multiple ways to get [Moore] the ball in space,” Brown said. “Trying to find different wrinkles to be creative … and also find different ways to use him in motion.” Moore has 60 yards on 10 carries this season. He hasn’t had a role like this since he ran 13 times for 172 yards as a Panthers rookie in 2018.

In Green Bay, last week’s 30-13 win at Seattle was the first time since a 55-7 win over Tennessee on Dec. 23, 2012 that the Packers had a game in which they posted at least seven sacks (seven), had multiple takeaways (two) and gave up fewer than 225 yards (208). Meanwhile, offensively, the Packers have scored at least 30 points in four straight games. That’s the second-longest active streak in the NFL behind MVP frontrunner Josh Allen and the Bills (eight).

Sunday, noon

Any chance the Bears had of sucker-punching the Lions and ending an eight-game losing streak disappeared when the Bills handed Detroit its second loss a week ago. Another thing refocusing Detroit and working against Chicago is a team coached by kneecap-biting Dan Campbell having a week to listen to the experts say it won’t be able to overcome all of its injuries. Lions 40, Bears 17

Sunday, 3:05 p.m.

It’s been a minute, but the Vikings will lose a game they’re not supposed to lose. What? Did you really think there wouldn’t be an unexpected pothole somewhere along the road from Week 9, when this seven-game roll began, to Super Bowl LIX, where the Vikings are more than good enough to represent the NFC? This is the NFL. This is why you don’t complain when you win ugly against Jacksonville or Tennessee. The Vikings want to keep winning to get the No. 1 seed. The Seahawks need to keep winning just to make the playoffs. And Seattle can still be a very tough place to play. Seahawks 27, Vikings 24

Monday, 7:15 p.m.

The Packers would lead four of the NFL’s eight divisions. In the NFC North, they’re in third place with all four losses coming to the NFC’s three 12-2 teams – Vikings, Eagles and Lions (twice) – by a combined 20 points. This is a quiet team, but it’s also a fast, powerful, offensively explosive and defensively opportunistic team that’s poised to make a lot of unexpected noise in the postseason. Packers 34, Saints 13

Record/vs. spread: 34-14/27-20-1.

Vikings pick/vs. spread: 8-6/6-7-1.

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