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The Green Bay Packers had an interesting 2024 campaign. While they posted an 11-6 record, the strength of the NFC made it so that they did not win their division, the NFC North. In fact, they didn’t even finish second in the division, as they finished in third place, and eventually settled for the No. 7 seed in the NFC playoff picture. With that in mind, the strength of the division led to some interesting comments from safety Xavier McKinney.
After spending the first four seasons of his career in the NFC East with the New York Giants, McKinney signed with Green Bay on a four-year, $68 million contract, and promptly earned the first Pro Bowl and All-Pro selections of his career. McKinney recalled thinking that playing in the NFC East was tough, before he quickly realized that things were different in the NFC North.
“You got four teams that are playoff contending teams, and Super Bowl contending teams really,” McKinney said on “NFL Spotlight.” “I think the Bears are gonna have a really good team, especially with (Ben Johnson) now … It’s gonna be tough, but we accept the challenge … We can’t wait to compete with these teams every year.”
#Packers S Xavier McKinney on the NFC North: We got four teams that are Super Bowl contending teams. I think the Bears are gonna have a really good team now with Ben Johnson. It's gonna be tough, but we accept the challenge.
Full episode: https://t.co/QhvNdrUHT7 https://t.co/MucRCyqjin pic.twitter.com/7VWQ2pcnDp
— Ari Meirov (@MySportsUpdate) January 28, 2025
While five of the Packers six losses on the year ended up being against NFC North teams, McKinney immediately stepped into the division and put his best foot forward. On the year, McKinney racked up 88 tackles, eight interceptions, 11 passes defended, a fumble recovery, and a sack. That made him one of the most productive safeties in the league, as evidenced by him earning a spot on the All-Pro first team.
After flaming out in their wild card round matchup with the Philadelphia Eagles, the Packers will be intent on finding a way to perform better against their division rivals moving forward. If McKinney can continue to play at the All-Pro caliber level he just put forth in 2024, though, Green Bay should have a good base at which they can start from in 2025.
The post Packers’ Xavier McKinney gets real on challenge of playing in competitive NFC North appeared first on ClutchPoints.
