(Photo: The Score)
1. Detroit Lions: They put together the best season in franchise history a year ago winning the division for the second consecutive season, winning 15 games which is the most in a single season and they clinched the number one seed in the NFC Playoffs meaning they had the first-round bye and Jared Goff put together the best season of his career throwing 37 touchdown passes and was an MVP candidate. What hurt the Lions was the number of injuries they had, especially on the defensive side of the football and they were without Aidan Hutchinson for the remainder of the year after he suffered a leg injury. The Lions fell short to the Washington Commanders in the divisional round of the playoffs ending what was looking to be a magical season. When healthy, this is a tough group and they look to show this year that they can hang with the best of the best.
2. Green Bay Packers: Jordan Love did indeed take steps back compared to his 2023 season which was his first as a starter. After one season, there is more tape on a specific player and I think that was the case in 2024. Now, he gets ready to enter his third season as the full-time starting Quarterback. Last year, the Packers got a boost from two key free agency signings on both sides of the football in Xavier McKinney on the defense and Josh Jacobs on the offense. What hurt the Packers was their inconsistent play at Wide Receiver and this is exactly why they drafted Matthew Golden out of Texas in the first round of the draft in April as he will provide Jordan with a true number one receiver. What will always concern me with them is their defense, especially their pass rush and they have their share of Quarterbacks to face on their schedule this year such as Jalen Hurts, Jared Goff (twice) and Caleb Williams twice just to name a few.
3. Minnesota Vikings: I truly did not expect them to be as strong as they were in 2024 as they won 14 games and started their year undefeated. Kevin O’Connell deserved that Coach of the Year award after losing his projected starting Quarterback in Training Camp in J.J. McCarthy and had to turn to Sam Darnold who ended up having the best year of his career with the Vikings in the one season he spent with them. This offense will always have a splash about them with Justin Jefferson on the field and they also have two other solid receivers in Jalen Nailor and Jordan Addison. This year the Vikings will officially turn to J.J. McCarthy to be their starting Quarterback and coach just has a way with offenses, after all, he was the reason why Cooper Kupp had a standout year with the Rams in 2021 and Justin Jefferson won Offensive Player of the Year in 2022, then Sam Darnold had a breakout year in 24. Don’t sleep on these Vikings.
4. Chicago Bears: They did what they had never done in their franchise’s history and that’s fire a coach in season as they parted ways with Matt Eberflus after their disastrous Thanksgiving game against the Detroit Lions last November. Bears fans were able to rejoice because they got the guy they wanted in former Lions Offensive Coordinator, Ben Johnson as their new Head Coach and I can’t wait to see how he will work with Caleb Williams. Speaking of the Quarterback, Caleb showed flashes of what he can be, it wasn’t his fault he had a coach who didn’t know how to prepare him to be an NFL Quarterback. I hope they can win some games this year and improve because they make the league buzz when they are relevant and winning games. This is the Bears’ first offensive minded Head Coach since Matt Nagy and Ben was highly sought out and decided to pick the Bears to lead. I loved the hire.
2025 Predictions
1. Lions (11-6)
2. Packers (10-7)
3. Bears (9-8)
4. Vikings (8-9)
This could be the best division in all of football this year as last season, three teams from the NFC North made it to the playoffs. I could make a case for at least three of the teams in this division to win the division, but right now, I’m leaning towards the Detroit Lions to win the North for the third consecutive season. I don’t think they’ll run away with it as they did a year ago because they will have somewhat of an uphill battle to climb after losing their offensive and defensive coordinators to head coaching jobs and it takes time learning the ins and outs of a new system under new coordinators. Aidan Hutchinson will return and give this Lions defense a boost and many of their key skill players such as Amon-Ra St. Brown, David Montgomery and Jahmyr Gibbs are back for another year. The Lions also have a tougher schedule this year, but I still like them to take the North once again.
Great Job!