Calvin Johnson's Return Will Help Lions Separate from Packers in NFC North

Many probably felt that the Detroit Lions would fall apart without Calvin Johnson in the lineup. That clearly hasn't happened. With Megatron set to return after the bye week, the Green Bay Packers and the rest of the NFC North might be competing for second place.

Detroit is 3-0 in the games Megatron has missed, and the team has found itself on both sides of the ball in the process. Detroit is averaging an efficient 21 points per game, and the defense has only given up an average of 15.6 since Johnson went out with a bad ankle.

Are the Lions better without Johnson? Of course not. But his absence has helped the team's passing game to develop and become more balanced.

Golden Tate has emerged as a legit No. 2 option. In the last three games, Tate has 24 receptions and 349 yards. Those are Megatron-like numbers. With the real deal returning to the lineup, the Lions have the best one-two receiving punch that quarterback Matthew Stafford has had during his tenure in Detroit.

There have been times when Stafford has been guilty of depending too heavily on Johnson, but because of this stint without his all-world receiver, the Lions quarterback has found confidence and chemistry with other guys.

Johnson will still be Stafford's go-to guy, but expect the latter to go through his progressions a little quicker with Tate and others having proved themselves.

When the Lions return to action on Nov. 9 against the Miami Dolphins at home, they will have the opportunity to gain ground on either the Packers or the Chicago Bears. The latter two NFC North rivals battle each other at Lambeau Field.

If things go as expected and the Packers hand the Bears their third straight defeat, Chicago's chances of winning the division and making the playoffs will be all but squashed. At 3-6, with two losses in the division already, the Bears may as well start looking at first-round selections in the 2015 NFL draft.

The Lions and Packers would remain separated by one game, and thus far, Detroit owns the head-to-head tiebreaker on the strength of a 19-7 win in Week 3.

With the Lions having established a more diversified passing game and with the defense playing so well, this is going to be a very difficult bunch to handle as long as Johnson remains healthy.

We just might be looking at the team to beat in the NFC.