Last Season:
Minnesota Vikings: 13-3
Detroit Lions: 9-7
Green Bay Packers: 7-9
Chicago Bears: 5-11
2018 Season Outlook:
Green Bay Packers: Aaron Rodgers-less Packers are a 7-9 team, the Packers with Aaron Rodgers, however, are Super Bowl contenders. Rodgers is simply the greatest quarterback talent of all-time and without him the Packers had the 26th ranked passing offense, but expect them to have an elite passing attack with Rodgers on the field. The Packers also added key pieces like Muhammed Wilkerson and Jimmy Graham while maintaining their core of key players like Davante Adams, Randall Cobb, and Clay Matthews. Simply put, the Packers will win this division.
Minnesota Vikings: The Vikings, the 2017 NFC North champions, will only diminish a little because they will not go 2-0 against a healthy Packers team again. However, this team is still extremely talented and will vie for a Super Bowl bid. Their stellar defense returns everyone including three All-Pros and their offense is stocked with dynamic threats like Stefon Diggs, Adam Thielen, and Dalvin Cook. Although I’m not sold on Kirk Cousins in a new system with a completely new coordinator, I still think he will get the job done.
Chicago Bears: Da Bears were originally at the bottom of my list until they traded for defensive player of the year, Khalil Mack. Currently, the Bears have a capable defense featuring Adrian Amos, Eddie Jackson, Leonard Floyd, and Kyle Fuller; all high-ceiling players that, collectively, can induce turnovers and limit possession time. The Bears, without Mack, were 10th in the NFL last year in yards allowed, an impressive statistic by itself, so his presence should only make them that much better. On the other hand, Mitch Trubisky seems like “a deer in the headlights” kind of quarterback to me that can’t properly execute a game plan so I think the Bears’ offense will limit them.
Detroit Lions: The Lions are an interesting team because they seem to be in Wildcard contention every year but their roster doesn’t jump off the page to me besides Matthew Stafford. They were a respectable 13th in total offense last year but had one of the worst defenses last year, ranking 27th in team defense. Again, as this division gets tougher, you need a solid coaching foundation and a dynamic roster in order to succeed, two things the Lions don’t have.
Green Bay Packers: 12-4
Minnesota Vikings: 11-5
Chicago Bears: 6-10
Detroit Lions: 6-10
Just The Phacts 