One Thing Every Nfc North Team Can Do to Win the Division
Photo Credit: Sports Illustrated
The NFC North is a division that has a lot of questions to it this year, and there is a very clear path that every team can take to be competitive and maybe even take the division crown. This is where these predictions come in. Shall we?
Green Bay Packers: Jordan Love manages the game extremely well.
After moving off of quarterback Aaron Rodgers this offseason, the Packers turn to Jordan Love in hopes that their future winning prospects are safe with him. Their defense is stacked with talent, their skill position groups have been rebuilt (without the expenditure of a first round pick at that) to assist the 2020 first round pick in leading the Packers to success this season. After sitting behind Rodgers for three years after being drafted, Love has one season to prove if he was worth the investment in 2020, or if Green Bay should move on. If Love lives up to even three quarters of what Rodgers could do on the field, he will be worth it, and the Packers will have a mid-to-high tier quarterback for a while to come.
Detroit Lions: Offense explodes!
The Lions were so close to making the playoffs last season, and they are favored this year to win the entire division. This comes from a lot of trust in what the Lions’ offense can do, piloted by Jared Goff. Goff performed fantastically in head coach Dan Campbell’s system, especially with the weapons he had around him: wide receiver Amon-Ra St. Brown and running back Jamaal Williams. Goff’s weapons have undergone a bit of a change this offseason. St. Brown still sits as the first wide receiver on the depth chart, but the lead back in Detroit is now first round pick Jahmyr Gibbs, running back from Alabama. Gibbs is closely followed at his position by free agent acquisition David Montgomery, who is a consistent rushing threat and played most recently for the division rival Chicago Bears. If the Lions can put up a league leading offense, they will be able to blow everyone else in the division out of the water, and stack up wins en route to a division championship.
Minnesota Vikings: Keep the other teams in your division in check.
The Vikings are a team this season who are primed to decline from their performance last season, but still prove a threat to anyone who may underestimate them. Kirk Cousins proves that he can take care of the game very well and help big-time weapons produce. Those big-time weapons this season are wide receivers Justin Jefferson and Jordan Addison, as well as tight end TJ Hockenson and running back Alexander Mattison. If Cousins can continue to perform this way; even in big-time situations, the Vikings will have no problem getting out to a big division lead and taking the entire thing as they did last year.
Chicago Bears: Fields works out.
The track record for Ohio State quarterbacks in the NFL isn’t great, but Justin Fields is looking to turn that around this year for the Bears. With a revamped offensive line and set of skill position players, Fields has everything he needs to help the worst team in football from last season turn the ship around. To do this, his passing game will need to improve drastically, both in his arm and his decision-making. If he shows improvement and the weapons Chicago gathered through free agency, trades, and the draft are as advertised, the Bears could be a team that goes from worst to first in their division this season.
This division is a question mark, every team could win it, but also all four teams could absolutely collapse. With no guarantee as to a good or bad team, the NFC North will be extremely fun to watch in the coming season.
