As we bask in the glory that was the Bears' spanking of the Atlanta Falcons, lets look at how other teams in the NFC North fared in week one, and next week's opponent, the New Orleans Saints. Jump like a fat kid in line for ice cream.
We'll take a quick look at the Bears' next five opponents on the schedule to see how they fared in week one, and what's on the horizon for them as they prepare to face the Bears in the near future.
New Orleans Saints: Lost to Green Bay 42-34 in an explosive offensive showcasing two elite quarterbacks and deep receiver groups. The Saints lackluster defensive performance has been a problem even during the team's Super Bowl run, and with the Bears offense running on all cylinders against the Falcons, Gregg Williams will have to utilize some of his elaborate blitz schemes to exploit the suddenly average (dare we say above average? not yet) Bears' O-Line. Lost WR Marques Colston for approximately four weeks, knocking him out of next week's Bears game. Saints will be at home against the Bears in a game they need if they want to be considered for home field advantage come playoff time.
Green Bay Packers: Defeated the Saints by unleashing a blitzkrieg of offense to start the season. Rodgers looked like a man possessed, and the defending Super Bowl champs proved that they're not going to go quietly from the champions' podium. Will face Carolina in week two before heading to Chicago for the rematch from last year's NFCCG.
Carolina Panthers: Lost to Arizona 28-21 on Sunday despite possibly the best first game by any rookie quarterback of all-time (more hyperbole!). Lost in the Newton lovefest was a struggling rushing game by the Panthers' newly minted D-Will and an injury to defensive stud LB Jon Beason (out for the year). Carolina may have spent money on their own free agents in the offseason like they won the Super Bowl last year instead of winning two games, but that hasn't changed things in the win column just yet.
Detroit Lions: Everyone's favorite up-and-comer squeezed out a solid 27-20 victory over last year's darlings, the Tampa Bay Bucs. The Lions showed why they have promise on both sides of the ball with Stafford surviving the game (and playing well) and that defensive line playing as good as advertised. Lions host the Chiefs, who may or may not still be in preseason mode next week.
Minnesota Vikings: Lost to San Diego 24-17 in a game that really wasn't that close. Factor in Chargers' kicker Nick Kaeding going out early in the contest forced San Diego to go for it on fourth down multiple times when they would typically kick field goals (before finally giving the punter a try... he nailed the field goal, by the way), and Donovan Van Winkle throwing only fifteen passes for 39 passing yards. One of their touchdowns came on a Harvin return, as well, so the revamped Vikings are still stuck in the same place as last year, the cellar. They will host the Bucs next week.