The NFC North Is Even More Dominant Than You Think, Best NFL Division Ever?
The NFC North is the best division in the NFL, and it's not particularly close. The Detroit Lions, Minnesota Vikings and Green Bay Packers have a combined seven losses this season.
What's more, four of those seven losses have come against each other. That means that those three teams are a combined 28-3 against every other team in the NFL.
That's absurd.
Of course, the division also includes the Chicago Bears. They are clearly the worst of the four teams, but probably not quite as bad as you think.
Three of the Bears losses were against the other teams in the NFC North, which makes them 4-6 against the rest of the NFL. Not great, by any stretch.
Consider, though, that two of Chicago's losses came by one score against two very good NFL teams: the Houston Texans and Washington Commanders.
Also, the 4-9 Bears have the second-best record among teams in last place in their division. The only division that doesn't have a worse team is the NFC West, where the Cardinals and 49ers are tied at 6-7.
That division doesn't have the dominance at the top, though, as the Seahawks lead the way at 8-5.
The NFC North is the NFL's best division in 2024, but is it one of the best of all-time?
The Packers need one more win to get to ten victories, which would put all three of those teams into double-digit wins. They still have games against the Saints and Bears, so they should get there.
Three teams with 10+ wins in one division isn't incredibly rare, and it happened last season in the AFC North. The 9-8 Bengals were the worst of the four teams and missed the playoffs.
The NFC North trio of the Detroit Lions, Minnesota Vikings and Green Bay Packers have demolished the rest of the NFL this season.
(Imagn Images)
Obviously, having three ten-plus-win teams and no teams under .500 makes for a compelling case for a better division.
But really the only dominant team was the Baltimore Ravens, who outscored opponents by over 200 points in the regular season. The other three teams had a combined -4 point differential.
And that wasn't dragged down by one bad team, either. The Steelers were the worst at -20.
That's not all that far from where the 4-9 Bears sit right now, at -24. But the Lions are likely to surpass the Ravens (Detroit is currently +183 points) and the other two teams are far ahead of the other 2023 NFC North teams (Vikings +99, Packers +75).
The 2021 NFC West has a strong case for the best division in recent memory. All four teams finished with a plus point differential, three teams had 10+ wins and the worst team was the 7-10 Seahawks.
But, again, they lacked the dominance of a top team. The Rams had the best record (12-5) and point differential (+88).
The best division in the NFL in the past 25 years was the 2013 NFC West.
The 2013 NFC West has the best case as being better than the 2024 NFC North. That division featured three double-digit-win teams, with the 7-9 St. Louis Rams as the worst team.
Plus, the 13-3 Seahawks outscored opponents by 186 points and the 12–4 49ers outscored opponents by 134 points. The division combined for a +359 point differential. The 2024 NFC North currently sits at +333.
Not only that, but the Seahawks and 49ers ultimately faced one another in the NFC Championship and Seattle demolished the Broncos in the Super Bowl.
After a dominant 2013 regular season, NFC West rivals Seattle Seahawks and San Francisco 49ers met in the NFC Championship, with the Seahawks winning and ultimately becoming Super Bowl Champions.
(Joe Nicholson/USA Today Sports/Imagn Images)
And that's where this debate ultimately will be settled. While the 2024 NFC North is putting together a dominant regular season, it's the playoffs that matter.
If none of these teams reach the Super Bowl, then it can't call itself the best division. Especially based on the Seahawks Super Bowl win, there's an argument that one of these teams has to win the Super Bowl to make a real case.
One thing this year's NFC North has going for it is that it's likely to have three teams make the playoffs. The 10-6 Arizona Cardinals missed the 2013 postseason by one game.
To be fair, if the league had seven playoff teams per conference, as it does now, the Cardinals would have made it.
So, it still comes down to the playoffs. Could the 2024 NFC North be the best division in the NFL since 2000? Yes, it could.
It's on pace to be the only other division with three 10+ win teams and a +300 point differential in the last 25 years, other than the 2013 NFC West, of course.
But the separating factor comes in the playoffs. That's where legacies are defined. And that's where the 2024 NFC North has a chance to stake its claim as the best division in modern NFL history.