How does the NFC North compare to other divisions for 2019?

The Chicago Bears, Detroit Lions, Green Bay Packers, and Minnesota Vikings are all tough teams but how does the NFC North stack up to other NFL divisions?

Every year, there seems to be at least one instance where determining which team in a division will become the champion comes down to Week 17. In recent history, the Minnesota Vikings have been at the top half of the NFC North, but the Packers, Bears, and even the Lions are competitive.

While the NFC North should be one of the toughest divisions in the NFL, it’s also interesting to think about how the other divisions compare with the talent in Minnesota, Chicago, Green Bay, and Detroit have to offer.

Recently, Gregg Rosenthal released his divisional power rankings on NFL.com and the NFC North was well received by the Around The NFL editor. In fact, the division took the top spot on his list.

Here is what Rosenthal had to say about the NFC North in his article:

"“The Vikings’ defense has an almost unprecedented amount of continuity under coach Mike Zimmer, while the Packers’ defense could be more talented than Aaron Rodgers’ side of the ball for the first time in a long time.”"

Of course, Gregg Rosenthal also praised the Bears, who he says has “the league’s most talented defense” as well as the Lions, which he could see “winning eight or more games” this season.

It’s not surprising to see love for the Bears considering they are the reigning NFC North champions, but he is much higher on the Lions than many NFL fans are. Detroit brings the division down since they have never won the NFC North…ever. In fact, the last time the boys in Honolulu Blue won their division was all the way back in 1993 when it was still the NFC Central.

Still, It wouldn’t be surprising to see the division account for 35 or more wins between the four teams. If that can be accomplished, they would prove to be one of the most balanced and competitive divisions in the NFL. But hopefully the Vikings will be on top of those standings when the regular season ends.