The 2024 NFC North: The Group of Death

If you had told me before the season started that the NFC North would be the best division in the league in 2024, I'd have thought you were nuts.

I know the NFC North is basically the original NFC Central before the Tampa Bay Buccaneers joined the division in 1977, but since these divisions were realigned in 2002, the NFC North had never been really good. For a lot of those years, the South and West were good, and the East was real good, but the North? The North was usually adequate at best. Most of that was due to the Lions being awful for years, and the Bears having more bad seasons than good ones, as well as the Packers basically ruling that division for a long time.

Here's more proof ot the North's adequate status. 22 Super Bowls have been played under this current division alignment. You know how many times the NFC North was represented in the big game? Twice. The Bears reached Super Bowl XLI, and the Packers won Super Bowl XLV. That's it.

One of the reasons why I was excited for this season is because I figured that the North would be between the Lions and Packers, I was happy the Lions were good again, the Bears would show more life, and that the Vikings would suck and I'd get to laugh at them all season.

Yet...

Minnesota Vikings (5-0)

To borrow a line I've heard in two Looney Tunes cartoons, "I don't know how they've done it, but I know they've done it!" Somehow, the Vikings are undefeated. With Sam Darnold at QB, the Vikings are undefeated. With only Justin Jefferson as their source of offense, the Vikings are undefeated. They are the NFC's only undefeated team, and one of two overall in the league along with the Chiefs. And here's the real crazy thing: the Vikings are the better of these two teams. Minnesota has had more convincing wins than KC this year.

Week 6 saw Minnesota take a siesta from their sudden winning tear. I thought this team was doomed without Cousins. They never started like this with Cousins. However, if I know Minnesota's history, they'll blow this. I've seen this team start 5-0 twice and miss the playoffs. Why should this year be any different?

Detroit Lions (4-1)

For years, my mentality has been, "Fuck the Bears, fuck the Vikings, but poor Lions." The Lions have been through too much bad stuff for pretty much all of my life. I've seen it all unfold. The horrible years, the terrible play, and of course, 0-16 in 2008. I was very happy for the Lions when they won the NFC North last year, because they deserve something good. Now they have it, and it looks like the encore is going well for them.

The Lions decimated the Cowboys, 47-9, in Week 6. Even worse for Dallas, this was in Jerry World, on Jerry Jones' birthday. YIKES. So the Lions are now 4-1 and continuing their roll from last year, which saw them playing for the conference.

Green Bay Packers (4-2)

It's been an adventure, especially with Jordan Love missing two games, but we're here. Now, in a normal North, we'd be either in first place, or very close, but it would be definite either way. However, the NFC North has now become the group of death, and all wins are important. We're actually one down in division play, as one of Minnesota's was in Lambeau. Thankfully, there's five division games to go, but we only have two left at home, while we'll have to go to all three of our rivals' homes in due time.

In Week 6, the Packers soundly defeated the Arizona Cardinals behind another four TD performance from Love. We are keeping pace in this suddenly wild NFC North, but we are not the only ones doing so.

Chicago Bears (4-2)

This I saw coming. I knew the Bears would be somewhat good this year. Look at last year. They traded the #1 pick for DJ Moore and other picks, and as a result, the team lasted until New Year's Eve and finished 7-10, a vast improvement from 2022. Because they had Carolina's first round pick, and the Panthers won two games last year, the Bears won the #1 pick again! This time, they kept it and drafted Caleb Williams. There have been a few hiccups, but not enough to cause the Bears to regress.

Week 6 saw the Bears in London, trashing the Jacksonville Jaguars. It wasn't even close. The Bears won big time, 35-16, to keep in pace with the rest of this division.

Here's how crazy this is. 4-2 leads a number of divisions. Three wins leads the NFC West right now. Any of the NFC North's teams would lead the NFC West. At the moment, it looks like at least three of the NFC's seven playoff teams will come from the North, if not the whole division making it. As it stands right now, the NFC North represents half of the conference's top eight, and it's the Bears who are the odd team out behind the playoff line via tiebreaker.

So what does Week 7 have in store for the NFC North? The Bears are off next week, the Packers host the Houston Texans, and on a larger scale, the Vikings and Lions face each other. That's going to be a big game with first place in the North on the line. The NFC North, right now, is the best division in the league. All that means for this Packers fan is this: I have to keep an eye out for literally everything this season.