Opening odds: Exploring the NFC North, with the Lions having a bye in Week 5

Every Monday morning we take a look at the latest odds for the upcoming week in the NFL, courtesy of the good folks at FanDuel Sportsbook. But with the Detroit Lions having a bye in Week 5, we decided to take a look at the rest of the NFC North teams.

While the Lions will use Week 5 to get healthy, the rest of the NFC North teams all have very winnable games on the schedule. Spoiler: They're all popular.

Minnesota Vikings (4:0) vs. New York Jets (2:2): Vikings -2.5

The Vikings took care of business against the Packers in Week 4 with a 31-29 win and remain one of the last undefeated teams in the NFL. Minnesota took a 28-0 lead against Green Bay, but allowed a touchdown late in the half to keep the door open. The Packers scored two touchdowns (and a two-point conversion) in the fourth quarter to pull within six points, but a Vikings field goal sealed the victory, although the Packers scored another late goal to keep the score close hold.

After dominating the first half, the Vikings looked incredibly vulnerable in the second half and almost let the game slip away. If they were to face a hot team in Week 5, they could be in trouble, but they face a Jets team that just lost to the Broncos 10-9 at their home stadium.

Although it's an overseas game in London, England, I'm honestly surprised the border isn't bigger.

Green Bay Packers (2-2) vs. Los Angeles Rams (1-3), Packers -3

The Packers couldn't complete the comeback against the Vikings, but Jordan Love seemed to find his feet in the second half after missing the past two weeks due to injury.

“We fought the whole game and started making plays later, but too little, too late,” Love said after the game.

Green Bay will travel to SoFi Stadium in Los Angeles next Sunday to take on a Rams team that continues to be decimated by injuries. Despite their simple team, you can never ignore Matthew Stafford, who showed that on Sunday in Chicago by staging a comeback but also falling just short of winning.

Chicago Bears (2-2) vs. Carolina Panthers (1-3), Bears -4.5

After the Rams hit two field goals, the Bears scored a touchdown and kicked their own field goal to take a 10-6 halftime lead. The teams traded points in the second half, but the Rams scored only one touchdown (they also failed the two-point conversion and made two field goals), while the Bears scored twice in the end zone for a 24-18 lead went. Stafford got the ball back with a minute and a half left and had a chance to win the game, but with pressure on his face, he forced a throw that was intercepted to seal the Bears' win.

Meanwhile, the Bears face a struggling Panthers team that comes to the realization that moving quarterback Bryce Young in favor of Andy Dalton may not be the key to success they expected. The Panthers spent most of their fourth week trailing the Bengals by two points and ended up losing 34-24.