RESOLVING THE LEDGER
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See the full story · 1 sourcesThe NFC North was one of the most competitive divisions in the NFL last season. Two games separated the first-place Chicago Bears (11-6) and fourth-place Detroit Lions (9-8). The Green Bay Packers (9-7-1) made the playoffs as a wild card, while the Minnesota Vikings (9-8) finished the season on a five-game winning streak.
That makes the division hard to project in 2026, but whoever comes out on top will have earned it. Even then, the NFC North could produce one or even two additional wild card teams to add to the playoff field.
Kristopher Knox of Bleacher Report ranks the NFC North as the second-toughest in all of football .
The wild card here is Minnesota, which got very inconsistent play from quarterback J.J. McCarthy in 2025 but still recorded nine wins. If Murray can provide the stability that McCarthy hasn't, the Vikings may be back to where they were two years ago when they won 14 games with Sam Darnold.
With Justin Jefferson, Jordan Addison, T.J. Hockenson, and Jauan Jennings leading their receiving corps, the Vikings are possibly a quarterback away from fielding the NFL's most dangerous passing attack.
In a vacuum, all four NFC North teams could be playoff threats in 2026—and divisional matchups are likely to prevent any one team from running away with the division.
The path to winning the division is there for the Vikings. They swept the Lions after five consecutive losses dating back to 2022. If not for a breakdown in kickoff coverage late against the Bears in Minnesota, the Vikings may have swept Chicago as well.
We saw what happened in 2024 when Minnesota didn't win the division. Despite a 14-3 record, the Vikings finished second in the NFC North and had to go on the road to face the Rams in Arizona. Minnesota got destroyed, 27-9.
If they can take care of business and win the division, the Vikings would host a playoff game for the first time since 2022. Maybe then they could win their first postseason game since the 2019 season.
This article originally appeared on Vikings Wire: Bleacher Report shows respect to the NFC North in rankings
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