If the playoffs were to begin this week, all four teams from the NFC North – Minnesota (No. 2 seed), Green Bay (No. 5), Chicago (No. 6) and Detroit (No. 7) – would qualify. That's how competitive the division is to start the season.

There's still a lot of football to played, including the Lions' first division game Sunday against the Packers, but this has been as good a division as there is through six weeks.

"You feel like everybody else has played each other and we haven't had a chance to play anybody in our division yet," head coach Dan Campbell said Monday. "So, this is exciting to be able to open up with our division. Obviously at home against a really good opponent who's playing really good football right now. That's exciting. So, we'll be ready to go. This will be fun."

Here's a look at where things stand in the NFC North heading into Week 7:

MINNESOTA VIKINGS

2026 record: 5-0

Week 6 result: Bye

Next opponent: vs. Indianapolis (2-4), Sunday, Oct. 25 at 1 p.m. (CBS)

3 headlines:

1. RB Jordan Mason to return to practice this week

This opens a 21-day practice window for Mason (thumb) to return from IR. He and Aaron Jones form a nice duo in the Vikings' backfield when healthy. Mason, 27, rushed 15 times for 59 yards and a touchdown in Week 1 vs. Green Bay before his injury. Jones rushed 12 times for 40 yards and a touchdown in that contest.

2. Kyler Murray continues to settle in at QB

Quarterback Kyler Murray completed 24-of-30 passes for 229 yards and a touchdown Week 5 against the Saints. He seems to be settling in nicely to Kevin O'Connell's scheme and faces a Colts secondary Sunday that could be minus top cornerback Sauce Gardner due to injury.

3. Minnesota's defense tops the rankings

The Vikings have the No. 1 scoring defense (12.8) and No. 2 overall defense (259.8) entering Week 7. They blitz 65.6 percent of the time, per Pro Football Reference, which is nearly 30 percent higher than the next defense (Tampa Bay, 37.9). That's led to 17 sacks and the third most pressures (66) in the league.

Twentyman: Let's look at the quarterback play from each team this week, a big reason why all four teams are above the .500 mark so far. Murray is 4-0 on the season completing 68.3 percent of his passes for 662 yards with two touchdowns, two interceptions and an 84.7 rating. He's also added 93 yards on the ground.

Those numbers aren't gaudy, but Minnesota's found a winning formula — play great defense, run the football and don't make mistakes at the quarterback position. Backup quarterback Carson Wentz stepped in and earned a Week 2 win in Chicago when Murray was out due to a concussion.

GREEN BAY PACKERS

2026 record: 4-2

Week 6 result: Green Bay 23, Dallas 13

Next opponent: at Detroit (3-2), Sunday, Oct. 25 at 4:25 p.m. (FOX)

3 headlines:

1. Will Josh Jacobs be back Sunday?

Head coach Matt LaFleur said Monday that Packers running back Josh Jacobs would be on the practice field Wednesday and get a full week of work. His status for Sunday's game in Detroit has yet to be determined after coming off the commissioner's exempt list Monday.

2. Penalties piling up

The Packers and Cowboys combined for 22 penalties for 206 yards Sunday night. On the season, Green Bay is the most penalized team in football with 57 in six contests, costing them 465 yards. It's something LaFleur and Green Bay are looking to clean up moving forward.

3. Deep passing attack flourishing

The Packers have the second-most completions of 20-plus yards this season (24) with the average distance of those being 34.5 yards (third-longest). Packers quarterback Jordan Love has attempted the most passes in the NFL that travel at least 20-plus yards in the air with a 110.8 passer rating on those attempts.

Twentyman: Love trails only Matthew Stafford (1,794) and C.J. Stroud (1,714) with 1,684 passing yards on the season. He's thrown 11 touchdowns vs. four interceptions, but his completion percentage of 59.7 percent is the lowest of his career. He has a 91.8 rating and one rushing touchdown through six games.

CHICAGO BEARS

2026 record: 4-2

Week 6 result: Chicago 31, Atlanta 23

Next opponent: vs. New England (4-2), Thursday, Oct. 22 at 8:15 p.m. (Amazon Prime Video)

3 headlines:

1. Caleb Williams shines in return

After missing Chicago's previous three contests with a hamstring injury, the third-year pro set career highs with 12-straight completions and an 83.3 completion percentage while throwing for 305 yards and a touchdown with a 111.3 rating in the win over Atlanta.

2. Great debut for Kyler Gordon

Cornerback Kyler Gordon racked up three sacks, two quarterback hits and forced two fumbles earning a 95.3 grade from Pro Football Focus in his return from a calf injury that prevented him from playing the first five games of the season. He's a crafty player at nickel.

3. Chicago's run defense steps up

The Bears' defense held NFL leading rusher Bijan Robinson to his lowest output of the season and are now the No. 8 rushing defense in the league in average rushing yards allowed per game (90.5) under defensive coordinator Dennis Allen. Chicago's allowed 70 or fewer rushing yards per contest in each of their last three games.

Twentyman: Williams has a 2-1 record in three starts, completing a career-high 72.5 percent of his passes. He's thrown three touchdown passes and one interception to go along with an 89.9 rating. Always elusive, Williams added 110 rushing yards and two more scores on the ground. It's a much more efficient and explosive offense with Williams under center.

DETROIT LIONS

2026 record: 3-2

Week 6 result: Bye

Next opponent: vs. Green Bay (4-2), Sunday, Oct. 25 at 4:25 p.m. (FOX)

3 headlines:

1. Reinforcements on the way

Pro Bowl safety Brian Branch is likely to return to the lineup Sunday for the first time since suffering an Achilles injury last December. Branch can play several different positions in the secondary. He recorded 75 tackles, five tackles for loss, 2.5 sacks and nine passes defended in 12 games last season. He does a little bit of everything. Center Cade Mays’ return from a wrist injury gives Detroit great depth upfront with Juice Scruggs playing so well the first five weeks of the season.

2. Offensive line leading the way

Detroit moved into the No. 1 spot in the most recent PFF offensive line rankings.

"The Lions move into the top spot having been named our Offensive Line of the Week from each of the past two weeks," PFF wrote. "Penei Sewell has earned a PFF grade above 90.0 in two of the past three games after a slow start having switched to left tackle, but the biggest story is how quickly right tackle Blake Miller has looked comfortable in the NFL. He has yet to allow a sack in the first four games of his NFL career and has given up just nine pressures from 166 pass-blocking snaps."

3. Defensive line looks to keep it rolling

The best way to limit Green Bay's deep passing attack Sunday is to get after Love. Coming off the bye, the Lions still lead the NFL in sacks (20.0) and are top 10 in pressures (60) and pressure percentage (24.6). Detroit has four different players with at least 3.0 sacks through the first five games of the season for the first time in team history.

Twentyman: Jared Goff is off to the best start of his career, completing 67.0 percent of his passes for 1,485 yards with 12 touchdowns, no interceptions and a 111.3 rating. He joins Russell Wilson (2019) as the only players in league history to record at least 12 touchdown passes and no interceptions through a team's first five contests.