Minnesota Will Not Win the NFC North

I know this one is going to cause some outrage, but the NFC North is a strong conference that is only going to get better. John Fox is no longer holding the Bears and Mitchell Trubisky back, and Bill Belichick disciple Matt Patricia replaces the incredibly average Jim Caldwell in Detroit. Aaron Rodgers is returning after an injury-plagued 2017 season and the Packers finally let go of Dom Capers.

This conference has three of the top ten quarterbacks in the league and the number two overall pick, one year removed. Additionally, you have two of the historically toughest road games in the league in Lambeau Field and Soldier Field. Winning this division isn’t going to be easy.

Because of Minnesota’s success last year, they now face the division winners of each division within the NFC plus their cross-conference division series is the AFC East. This means the Vikings get a game against the Super Bowl Champion Philadelphia Eagles, last year’s divisional game foe New Orleans Saints, Sean McVay’s strong Los Angeles Rams team, and the New England Patriots. That is four games against very strong opponents, and only one of them is in Minnesota.

Inversely, the Lions and Packers face the second and third place teams from each division. Although I don’t think the Vikings will win the NFC North, I do think they will secure the number five seed in the playoffs, and they will be a tough team to face.

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