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I was wrong.
I’ll start very simply there. Back in August, we ran a point/counterpoint on which division would be the NFL’s best in 2024. I made the case for the AFC North — which had all four teams with winning records last season — and my FOX Sports colleague, Carmen Vitali, chose the NFC North.
What is the NFL’s best division? Let’s debate!
She was soooooooooo right. In my defense, the readers agreed with me, with 38% choosing the AFC North in the poll that ran in the story, compared to 31% for the NFC North. We were all wrong.
How good is the NFC North in 2024? Its teams are 16-4 in non-division games, with the Vikings 5-0, Lions 4-1, and the Packers and Bears both 4-2. The most insane stat I can offer is this: All four NFC North teams are plus-40 or better in point differential right now, and no other teams in the NFL are plus-40 or better in point differential.
We knew the Lions and Packers would be strong contenders, and Green Bay even went 2-0 with quarterback Jordan Love out with a knee injury. What’s been surprising is how dominant the Vikings have been, both with Sam Darnold’s passing and stellar defense under Brian Flores, and how well the Bears have quickly bonded around rookie quarterback Caleb Williams.
Tom Brady says Lions are the best team he’s seen this year
Meanwhile, the AFC North features two of the league’s most glaring disappointments, with the Bengals scrapping just to be 2-4 and the Browns one of the NFL’s worst teams at 1-5. My mistake was thinking that more Deshaun Watson in 2024 would be a good thing, but his 21.5 QBR is the worst in the league. And Cleveland’s defense, arguably the NFL’s best a year ago, has taken a step back as well. The Ravens and Steelers are legit teams, but the division doesn’t have nearly the depth it had a year ago, even if the Bengals are a team that could rally and compete for a wild-card spot.
The bigger story is the NFC North’s teams — the four losses they’ve taken outside the division have…
Source link : https://www.foxsports.com/stories/nfl/nfc-north-nfls-best-division-vikings-lions-packers-bears
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Publish date : 2024-10-15 12:41:45
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