In the 2024 NFL season, there has been a lot of talk about the NFC North. That’s understandable because, through the first third of the campaign, the division looked head and shoulders above everything else in the league.
It’s fully established itself as the powerhouse division of NFL 2024 and bettors are probably watching the NFC North teams very closely this season. From the regular rounds of betting action where must-win teams today with big odds take a fancy, to Conference and Super Bowl winner markets, the teams from the NFC North have taken center stage.
With the NFC North being so hot through the early stages of the 2024 season, can it be regarded as the best division in NFL history? It will certainly be hard to deny that if the division carries on the way that it has started.
History at Six Weeks
The stats from the NFC North after six matches of the 2024 season were spectacular, with all four teams, the Vikings, Lions, Packers, and Bears above 0.500. Not once in the last five decades of the NFL have all teams from one division posted at least four victories after six weeks of the season.
But it has happened now thanks to the strong opening form in the NFC North. This pace-setting start has naturally led to questions about whether this is the greatest division ever, but the answer won’t come until the end of the regular campaign.
The Scoring Threat
Forecasting is part and parcel of tracking the NFL season, just as it is in any sport. Whether it’s looking at the latest NBA action, or ClubSport prediction records for soccer, bettors like to make calls on how a season will shape up.
How many people, after six weeks of action, would have had the NFC North teams pegged to have taken a phenomenal 16-4 record collectively against non-divisional teams? That came with the four teams collectively outscoring opponents by 211 points from the twenty matches.
The Vikings led the way in points differential in the entire NFL across the first six weeks of the season, followed by the Lions, the Bears, and then the Packers. So they have all hit the ground running and the question will be, can they sustain it?
Playoff Goals
The first main goal of the season is to reach the NFL Playoffs. The Detroit Lions were always expected to be in the hunt for a Playoff spot this season, along with the Vikings. The Bears and the Packers perhaps didn’t quite have the same degree of expectancy to make it past the regular season.
But there is a chance that for the first time since the NFL opened things up to three wildcard spots, that all teams from a single division can reach the Playoffs. That would be a remarkable, defining moment. But, is it realistic?
It is. The competition across the NFC for wildcard spots isn’t particularly strong on the evidence of the opening six weekends. The Tampa Bay Buccaneers and Seattle Seahawks could have a say, but the NFC North taking two wildcard spots doesn’t look out of the question.
Who Could Slip Up?
One wildcard spot taken by an NFC North team looks like something of a lock. But if it’s not two, then which of the teams is most likely to trip up at the final hurdle? The history-making bid of the NFC North could hinge on the Bears’ end-of-season run-in.
They have a tough finish, playing each of their divisional rivals twice in their final eight games. That’s going to be an absolute blockbuster of a rollercoaster ride for them, not only for how the final standings of the division play out but also for how history is going to be shaped.
Greatest Division
There is still a lot for all teams to prove across the course of the season, of course, and the debate around the NFC North being the greatest ever will rumble on. There are perhaps two things that need to happen for the NFC North to claim that “title”.
The first would be to see the Vikings, Lions, Packers, and Bears all in the post-season. The second would be seeing one of them standing with the Vince Lombardi trophy in their hands at the end of the season.
If both happen, then hands down, the case for the 2024 NFC North being the greatest division ever in the history of the NFL is going to be hard to shut down.
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