What to watch for during Lions bye in Week 8

The Detroit Lions are entering their Week 8 bye with some much-needed rest on tap.

The Lions have several key players in their secondary slated to come back in the coming weeks, but a full week off after a tough stretch of opponents to start the season should still be a welcome sight. The Lions were missing both starting safeties and two corners entering last week’s win over the Tampa Bay Buccaneers.

The Lions join five other teams on a bye in Week 8:

Arizona CardinalsJacksonville JaguarsLas Vegas RaidersLos Angeles RamsSeattle Seahawks

This also means all three of Detroit’s NFC North rivals are in action this week, including the Minnesota Vikings who played and lost on Thursday Night Football. Their loss combined with the remaining results of the weekend will have an impact on the Lions’ place in the NFC in the second half of the season.

Here are some things to look out for between now and the Lions’ return to action:

Will Minnesota turn back to J.J. McCarthy?

The Vikings lost 37-10 to the Los Angeles Chargers on Thursday night behind an increasingly-regressing Carson Wentz at quarterback. Wentz completed just 15 of 27 passes for 144 yards, a touchdown, and an interception.

Wentz is playing hurt, but he’s been getting progressively worse while filling in for the injured J.J. McCarthy. Wentz won two of his five starts, and had a chance to beat the Philadelphia Eagles late in Week 7, but ultimately isn’t the answer if the Vikings at 3-4 are going to climb back into the division race.

J.J. McCarthy suited up for Thursday night’s game and has been listed as the team’s emergency quarterback for the last two weeks, but he is now two weeks beyond the estimated recovery time for his high ankle sprain that’s kept him out since Week 2. McCarthy missed all of his rookie season last year with a knee injury, giving him just those first two games of experience so far in his NFL career.

The Lions host the Vikings in Week 9, which would put the maximum amount of pressure on McCarthy to return and be great to right the ship in Minnesota.

Can the Bears maintain momentum against the return of Lamar Jackson?

The Chicago Bears (4-2) are in the mix in the NFC North, but they’ll have to keep churning out wins to keep themselves alive with the Lions and Green Bay Packers at the top. The Lions currently have the head-to-head tiebreaker over the Bears with their second matchup coming in Week 18, but the Bears have two matchups with the Packers still to come in December.

Head coach Ben Johnson has the Bears rolling with four straight wins against the Cowboys, Raiders, Commanders, and Saints. Those aren’t the cream of the crop, but they’ve put that streak together with some rather erratic quarterback play from Caleb Williams.

Chicago travels to take on the 1-5 Baltimore Ravens on Sunday, which probably sounded like a cake walk before the return to practice by former MVP Lamar Jackson. Jackson is nursing a hamstring injury that has kept him out since Week 4.

The Bears had an early bye week in Week 5, making their second half of the season a little more grueling than most. Their performance this Sunday will be another stepping stone toward remaining a consistent football team.

Aaron Rodgers faces the Packers for the first time

In what sounds like the worst uniform matchup in recent memory, Aaron Rodgers and the Pittsburgh Steelers (4-2) will host the Green Bay Packers (4-1-1) on Sunday Night Football in Week 8. This will mark the first time Rodgers faces his former team for whom he played for 18 seasons.

The Steelers are debuting a new uniform for the matchup, including a yellow helmet and jersey with tan pants. The Packers, in turn, announced they’ll be going with their all-white uniforms to counteract the potential all-yellow clash.

The game will be crucial to the Packers holding onto a slight division lead in the NFC North as they’ve also already gone through their bye week early this season. They currently hold the head-to-head tiebreaker over the Lions with a decisive Thanksgiving Day matchup coming up next month.

The Lions will also be paying attention to the play of Rodgers and the Steelers in this game as they’ll meet in Detroit in Week 16.