Acme Packing Company
The NFC North makes up four of the five best records in the NFC standings.
Now that the NFL regular season is roughly halfway done, let’s start taking a weekly look into the NFC playoff picture. As it stands today, all four teams in the NFC North have two or fewer losses. For reference, the rest of the NFC combines for two teams with two or fewer losses.
To say the least, the NFC North is highly competitive. According to ESPN, the three teams most likely to make the NFC playoffs are all in the NFC North. You can pretty much assume that two of the three available Wild Card spots are going to the Green Bay Packers’ division, one way or another.
1. Detroit Lions (5-1)
2. Washington Commanders (5-2)
3. Seattle Seahawks (4-3)
4. Atlanta Falcons (4-3)
5. Minnesota Vikings (5-1)
6. Green Bay Packers (5-2)
7. Chicago Bears (4-2)
The Detroit Lions, Washington Commanders, Atlanta Falcons and Seattle Seahawks currently have a lead in the NFC’s four divisional races. The Commanders and Seahawks hold these leads outright while the Lions’ and Falcons’ leads are contested. At the moment, the Lions and Falcons hold their divisional tie-breakers because they’ve beaten the Minnesota Vikings and Tampa Bay Buccaneers, respectively, head-to-head.
Yes, every Wild Card team is an NFC North franchise. No, no division has ever sent all four teams to the playoffs in a single season. By all accounts, the North is going to be a knockdown, drag-out fight that should lead to some of the most important late-season matchups in the NFL this year.
The Chicago Bears currently have the tie-breaker over the Philadelphia Eagles due to their record (2-0) in the NFC besting the Eagles’ (3-2).
8. Philadelphia Eagles (4-2)
9. Tampa Bay Buccaneers (4-3)
10. Dallas Cowboys (3-3)
11. San Francisco 49ers (3-4)
12. Arizona Cardinals (2-4)
13. Los Angeles Rams (2-4)
14. New Orleans Saints (2-5)
15. New York Giants (2-5)
16. Carolina Panthers (1-6)
