As the season starts to take shape, it’s fun to take a look at who are the powerhouse divisions in the NFL.
The attention in the mainstream media always shifts towards the NFC East as a default each year. Why? The media is, for some reason, still stuck in the 1990s and thinks that’s where “America’s team” resides.
Regular season records don’t unveil champions, but they can certainly be indicative of them. The NFC North has the most win combined than any other division in the NFL
The NFC North Standings are as follows:
Vikings 5-0
Lions 4-1
Packers 4-2
Bears 4-2
So which team is the real deal?
Minnesota Vikings
This team has really shocked the football world. According to ESPN before the season started, the projection for the Vikes was to win about 7 games.
The biggest strength cited, “With the exception of QB, the Vikings have their best roster since GM Kwesi Adofo-Mensah and Coach O’Connell arrived in 2022” with the biggest concern being Darnold thereafter.
Now? 5-0. Before the bye week, Darnold was tied for most TD passes in the league at 11 and just looked like a different QB1 in comparison to his recent tenures with the Jets and Panthers.
They’ve looked good, but I do think it’s up to Darnold and the offense to keep this going. The offense has done a great job getting through some of the toughest defenses in the league like the Texans and Jets, but I think it’s too early to tell whether the Vikings are contenders.
I understand that TJ Hockenson will be back at some point this season, but Justin Jefferson is one injury away from Darnold not knowing which receiver to trust. Jefferson leads the team in targets by a margin of 23. The next man? Running back Aaron Jones, who is as of now Questionable for Sunday’s game. A win against the Lions would move the needle for me, but right now? No.
Detroit Lions
The Lions are picking up right where they left off last year as they look to reclaim an NFC North Championship.
Sitting at a near-perfect 4-1, Detroit is coming off a great win, beating the living daylights out of “them ’Boys” in Dallas, 47-9.
Detroit, unfortunately, lost a great defender and homegrown talent in Aiden Hutchinson to a gruesome broken tibia and fibula. Fortunately, on the other side of the ball, the offense is clicking for the team as they are ranked 3rd in total offense, picking up 416 yards per game.
Jared Goff, returning for his third year as Lions starter, is looking for vengeance after a collapse against the 49ers in last season’s NFC Championship game. Though the Lions have the 9th youngest team in the NFL, the experience of Jared Goff makes me believe they have the edge over the Vikings. . Just remember this isn’t Madden—putting up 40 points in back-to-back weeks is insane.
Only two of their next six games feature teams with records below .500, including matchups with the Packers and Vikings. Right now they sit strongly at contenders status, but this next month or so of football will be huge for them.
Green Bay Packers
It’s pretty much a miracle that this team is 4-2. Malik Willis held down the fort for two weeks, getting wins in both starts.
Jordan Love has strung together another two W’s.
Love comes off one of his best games this season, throwing 4 TDs and an INT(field issue) on 22/32 for 258 yards. Jayden Reed and Tucker Kraft are solidifying their roles as Love’s favored targets. Reed has 27 catches for 442 yards and 3 TDs while Kraft has 18 catches for 231 yards and 3 TDs. The defense too, is clicking on all cylinders as they lead the league with 17 turnovers. Finally, they got rid of Brayden Narveson and signed a kicker who can make 40-plus-yard field goals in Brandon McManus.
Let’s chat about Love’s decision-making for a bit. Circling in on the Arizona Cardinals matchup, there were some head-scratching passes (two in particular). The early 4th down completion to Christian Watson over three defenders, and the sailing duck pass TD to Romeo Doubs late in the 3rd quarter.
This Packers team is good and there’s a lot of football left this season. But the issue is (and Packers fans have seen it before) a lack of maturity/discipline in the passing game. It’s like Loves throws like Aaron Rodgers one game and then Brett Favre the next game.
Additionally, I don’t think the Pack has a “prove it” win, making it too early to tell. The combined record against opponents they beat, is 7-15, which is not as bad as someone else in the division… This game against the Texans is a big test and a fantastic early window matchup.
Chicago Bears
After an impressive offseason, the Chicago Bears find themselves at 4-2 and tied for last place in the division with Green Bay. Caleb Williams had a good game on Sunday in London against the Jaguars, throwing for 226 yards with 4 TDs and an INT.
The Bears had offensive woes and weren’t able to muster any points in their week 1 game against the Tennessee Titans, but have gotten on a roll recently, scoring an average of 30 points over the last 3 games. Williams has bounced back nicely after going two straight games without a touchdown pass to start his NFL career.
It’s nice to see Caleb Williams have a good couple of games. Having that said, the Chicago Bears are Pretenders. The combined record of the opponents they’vee beaten is 4-16. That means each team has only 1 win on average.
12 weeks to go!
There’s lots of football to play. As of now, the NFC North is the most interesting and competitive division in the NFL. Who knows, it’s possible we could see all four teams in the playoffs!
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