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We're Black and Blue All Over:

Now then. I can't say this is what I expected for our holiday week.

The Chicago Bears are dealing with the loss of quarterback Jay Cutler, who broke his right thumb Sunday. The Minnesota Vikings, in the midst of one of their worst-ever seasons, are crossing their fingers on an upcoming MRI test for tailback Adrian Peterson. And the Green Bay Packers are hoping the news isn't too bad on tailback James Starks, who has a sprained knee.

Only the Detroit Lions were left unscathed by Week 11, but they now face a tough run of games against the Packers (twice), the New Orleans Saints and the Oakland Raiders.

The good news is that if the 2011 season had ended Sunday, the Packers (10-0), Lions (7-3) and Bears (7-3) would all be in the playoffs. It's still all there for our taking.

We'll start ramping up coverage of our Thanksgiving Day showdown at Ford Field soon enough. For now, let's check in on local coverage from around the NFC North:

• The Bears really needed Cutler in Sunday's victory over the San Diego Chargers, writes Dan Pompei of the Chicago Tribune.
• Cutler suffered the injury trying to make a tackle on an interception, notes David Haugh of the Tribune.
• Sean Jensen of the Chicago Sun-Times thinks the Bears might keep Cutler on the active roster in the hope that he could return in time for the playoffs.
• The Bears are "in deep trouble," writes Melissa Isaacson of ESPNChicago.com.
• Cutler wasn't the only injured Bears player. Long snapper Pat Mannelly, who was participating in his 215th career game, suffered a knee injury. Jeff Dickerson of ESPNChicago.com has more.
• Packers quarterback Aaron Rodgers said he was "frustrated" with his performance Sunday against the Tampa Bay Buccaneers. Mike Vandermause of the Green Bay Press-Gazette hardly saw it as an off-day.
• Jason Wilde of ESPNMilwaukee.com reviews the 2011 debut of Packers defensive end Mike Neal.
• Gary D'Amato of the Milwaukee Journal Sentinel looks at the Packers' upcoming short week of preparation before their Thanksgiving Day game against the Lions.
• Alex Marvez of Fox Sports offers his take on Packers receiver Jordy Nelson.
• Lions quarterback Matthew Stafford on how he settled down after two first-quarter interceptions, via Drew Sharp of the Detroit Free Press: "You’ve got to keep throwing. I mean, that's the way it is. That's the way you get yourself back in those games and it's [the] shooter's mentality. [You’re] not going to make them all, but you gotta go out there and keep throwing it."
• Bob Wojnowski of the Detroit News on Stafford: "If you're a slinger, you sling, simple as that, no matter where it takes you. It's how Matthew Stafford plays, it's how the Lions' offense rolls."
• No offense to John Niyo of the Detroit News, but the best part of clicking the link to his column is seeing the photograph of Lions tailback Kevin Smith kneeling on the bench with near the end of the game. It's powerful.
• Philip Zaroo of Mlive.com grades the Lions' performance.
• Tom Powers of the St. Paul Pioneer Press after the Vikings' 27-21 loss to the Oakland Raiders: "It would be really nice if someone got fired this week. It doesn't matter who, just as long as somebody's head is spotted rolling along Vikings Drive in Eden Prairie. That would at least serve as an acknowledgement that things aren't quite as they should be with the team. Call it a feel-good gesture. Plus, it would demonstrate that someone really is in charge of the Vikings and that someone really is paying attention."
• Referee Jerome Boger's crew didn't have a great day, according to the Pioneer Press. Among other things, it miscounted the Vikings' downs during one series in the first quarter.
• Jim Souhan of the Star Tribune: "The Vikings now have a realistic chance of landing the second pick in the 2012 NFL draft. That should be their goal. The way they played for most of Sunday's game, they should be up to the task."
• Tom Pelissero of 1500ESPN.com: "If the Indianapolis Colts hadn't folded the moment Peyton Manning's neck short-circuited, the Minnesota Vikings would have a strong claim as the worst team in the NFL."

Posted by ESPN.com’s Kevin Seifert

I’ll admit it: I did a double-take this week while watching Green Bay’s 26-0 victory over Detroit. Twice in the first half, once in the first quarter and once in the second, Packers left tackle Chad Clifton was penalized for not being on the line of scrimmage at the snap.

Sometimes you see a tackle penalized for illegal formation when it’s not his fault. Most often, that happens when a wide receiver mistakenly gets set behind the line and leaves the tackle as an ineligible “receiver.” But in both cases Sunday, Clifton got caught using the veteran strategy of purposely lining up behind the line to give himself more space -- and time to react -- to the oncoming pass-rusher.

NFL rules require the offense to have seven players on the line of scrimmage; in effect, that counts all five linemen because their jersey numbers make them ineligible to line up anywhere else without first declaring themselves. I suspect Clifton isn’t the only veteran tackle who uses this technique; when you watch the replays, his position was more pronounced by the fact that tight end Donald Lee was next to him and noticeably closer to the line.

The penalties were technically correct, but you rarely see them called. For it to happen twice in the first 20 minutes of the game suggests the Lions might have brought it to the attention of referee Jerome Boger. (Each head coach meets with the referee before the game.)

More than anything, I think this is a commentary on Clifton’s confidence as a pass protector Sunday. No NFL left tackle should feel compelled to cheat the line of scrimmage against Lions defensive end Copeland Bryan, a waiver-wire pickup who has two sacks in his NFL career.

Now, on to our updated Challenge Tracker:

NFC North Challenge Tracker Team Coach Challenge Overturned Success rate Chicago Lovie Smith 4 1 25.0 Detroit Jim Schwartz 2 0 -- Green Bay Mike McCarthy 3 1 33.3 Minnesota Brad Childress 3 1 33.3 Source: NFL