The Power of Jordan Love (NFC North Preview)

Ah, the NFC North. What an absolutely beautiful and chaotic disaster!

I absolutely love the NFC North, and no, it's not just because I'm a Packers fan. The division is rich with history--at least six decades of rivalries. In addition, all of the teams are in cold weather cities, though two of them play in domes. The NFC North is basically the original NFC Central (before the Tampa Bay Buccaneers were placed in the old Central in 1978 until 2001), and as I said, it's an absolutely beautiful and chaotic disaster.

This year will no different. Here's what the division's facing in 2024:

Chicago Bears (7-10)

I can admit this as a Packers fan: the Bears are scaring me a bit. Not a whole lot, but just a bit. Bears ended up with the #1 overall pick in the 2023 NFL Draft. They trade it to the Carolina Panthers for DJ Moore and Carolina's 1st-round pick. Trading #1 is a big gamble, especially since that's the golden ticket, the golden goose. Nevertheless, the Bears persisted. What happens? Panthers completely sink. Worst record in the NFL. Bears get #1 again in a season where they win seven games and weren't eliminated from playoff contention until New Year's Eve.

Chicago drafts Caleb Williams with the #1 pick, and they move on from Justin Fields. They get Keenan Allen from the Los Angeles Chargers. So now they have Allen, Moore, and they still have quite a good tight end in the form of Cole Kmet. I repeat: the Bears are scaring me a bit. I'm not saying that this team will be in the playoffs in 2024. It is, however, quite a possibility that this team could sneak in somehow. The NFC is weak, and the Bears have just enough.

Minnesota Vikings (7-10)

One of the main reasons why I'm excited for this upcoming season is because I will spend 18 weeks laughing at the Minnesota Vikings. It is amazing how stupid this franchise is. Let me see if I got this right, Vikings. Aaron Rodgers, your longtime boogeyman, is gone. He's out of the division. Hell, he went off to the other conference. He can't hurt you anymore. This was your chance to take over the North on a perennial basis, because as much as I despise the Vikings and think very little of them (and rightfully so in both cases), between all three of our division rivals, the Vikings were the most likely team to take over that division. Yet what do you do? You get rid of Dalvin Cook and Ja'Darius Smith? Seriously?!

And yeah, the Vikings did manage to stay above ground, but in the final weeks, they did what they do best: fizzle. And they doubled down on their stupidity during this offseason by letting Kirk Cousins go. So who's going to throw the ball to Justin Jefferson now? And of course, the Vikings continued their long habit and tradition of taking our leftovers by nabbing Aaron Jones. Garfield said it best in an episode of his show: there are some people who you can definitely depend on to screw up. The Vikings are undoubtedly among those very people.

Green Bay Packers (9-8)

It's been six months, and I'm still just so wonderfully stunned over last season. None of this was supposed to happen. 2023 was supposed to be, what I call, our "mulligan" season. New QB after Rodgers was at the helm for years, which means a new system. This was supposed to be a starting over period. We started 3-6, and right there would have been the moment where talking heads would say, "Well, it's a new QB, a different feel, the team has to get used to this. When they do, things will happen in future seasons."

Things did happen, but it would come together right after that 3-6 start.

A win over the Kansas City Chiefs. The Chiefs! A Thanksgiving win in Detroit. Winning in Minnesota to earn a win and in scenario, and winning in the final week over the Bears to get into the playoffs. In all of those games, Jordan Love was an absolute beast, but he wasn't done yet! Love did the same thing that his predecessor did: take over Jerry World in the playoffs. He nearly stole the Divisional Playoff in Santa Clara, but even so, this Packers fan ended up over the moon with emotion over our 2023 season. This was way more than I expected. This was way more than anyone expected. What started as a "mulligan" season ended up being a "turning heads" year, and it gets better, as we actually nabbed Josh Jacobs during the offseason. Now all we need to do is give Love his extension, and we will see what he can do for an encore!

Detroit Lions (12-5)

What a dream season for Lions. I knew that the Lions would be on the rise from the moment the 2022 season ended with them at 9-8, a winning record. They narrowly missed out on the playoffs that year, but we all knew that would change in 2023. The Lions doubled down on their rise by actually taking the North for the first time ever. Remember: the NFC North was created in 2002. The last time the Lions won a division title was in 1993, when they won the old NFC Central. The Lions' year saw them actually play for the conference, and they were up big in that game, but Dan Campbell decided to go all in at the wrong time...twice.

Despite the bad ending to that game, 2023 was amazing for the Lions. What will this team do for an encore, though? Will they repeat as champions of the North? They do have a chance. This season is basically Lions vs Packers for North supremacy because the other two teams aren't at that level. Regarding the chances of the Lions having another long run in them? Well...that's difficult. Teams who catch lightning in a bottle like that hardly do it for a second year in a row. We will definitely see what 2024 brings to Detroit.

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Again, I love the NFC North, and this year should be very, very intriguing for this wild division. As usual, all 12 games inside the division will be gritty and nail-biting, but as for overall, I expect chaos for sure. It comes with the NFC North territory.