After ranking eighth in the NFL in points scored per game in 2022, the Minnesota Vikings saw their ranking in this category drop all the way to 22nd last season.
Justin Jefferson and Kirk Cousins missing multiple games due to injury in 2023 certainly had a significant impact on the Vikings' scoring average suffering a notable decrease. So, with Jefferson back healthy, Minnesota should have a good chance to score more points per game next season than they did in 2023.
And even though an improvement in scoring won't necessarily mean the Vikings will finish as a top-10 offense in the league during the 2024 campaign, the team's offense performing better than they did last year would still be an accomplishment.
Two NFC North teams not named the Minnesota Vikings predicted to be a top 10 NFL offense in 2024
While Minnesota probably isn't going to have one of the best offenses in the NFL next season, two of its biggest rivals might.
NFL.com's Gennaro Filicere recently attempted to predict which 10 teams around the league would finish the 2024 campaign with a top offense, and he included not one, but two members of the NFC North on his list.
After making a surprising run to the divisional round of the playoffs in 2023, Filicere believes the Green Bay Packers and quarterback Jordan Love have the talent to end next season as the seventh-best offense in the NFL.
Then, in the No. 3 spot, he went with the Detroit Lions. This prediction seems to have a good chance of becoming a reality since the Lions finished the 2023 campaign with the fifth-best scoring offense in the league.
During its history, the NFC North has been known as the "Black and Blue" division for featuring teams with top defenses, strong rushing attacks, and an embrace of brutal physicality.
But with the expectations of the Packers and Lions' offenses next season, the current era of the NFC North seems to be more about teams embarrassing their opponents on the scoreboard rather than punching them in the mouth.