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We know that the NFC North has the potential to be one of the best divisions in the National Football League. Outside of the Minnesota Vikings, the rest of the teams in the division feature a team with the NFL’s best quarterback (the Green Bay Packers), a team that’s one of the chic picks to be a breakout team in 2018 (the Chicago Bears), and a team that. . .well, nobody can quite make out what’s up with the Detroit Lions, but there’s no denying that they have talent.
According to Gregg Rosenthal of NFL.com, that’s good enough to declare the NFC North the second-strongest division in the National Football League, trailing only the NFC South (which sent three teams to the playoffs in 2017). Here’s what Rosenthal has to say about our favorite division.
This is no longer the Aaron Rodgers Invitational. The Vikings kept all the best parts of their NFC title game squad while upgrading at quarterback, defensive tackle and the No. 3 receiver spot. Matthew Stafford has the perfect combination of scheme continuity, weapons and a bolstered offensive line to enjoy a career season. Rodgers is due for another MVP campaign that reminds everyone he might be the most talented ever at his position, while the Bears finally look interesting again.
Chicago’s anticipated revival is the key. I don’t need to watch another six-minute montage prior to a Bears-Packers national television game calling it the sport’s greatest rivalry before another 38-13 target-practice sesh for Rodgers. If the Bears’ hype pans out, the NFC North has the highest ceiling of any division: Two true title contenders and two dreaded “teams no one wants to face.”
The top three divisions on Rosenthal’s list are all NFC Divisions, as the NFC West (who the NFC North will face off with this season) checks in at #3.
Honestly, I think Rosenthal has this one pretty much spot-on. I’m not sure if there’s an argument to be made for putting the NFC North ahead of the NFC South, but I think there’s even less of an argument to be made for putting any of the other six divisions ahead of the NFC North.
What do you think of Rosenthal’s divisional rankings? Does he have the NFC North in the right place?