Green Bay Packers quarterback Jordan Love (10) passes during the first half of an NFL football game against the Minnesota Vikings Sunday.
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Lions and Packers and Bears — oh my.
The NFC North race is down to three teams, and the final six weeks of the regular season should be thrilling.
Chicago leads the division with an 8-3 record, followed closely by Green Bay (7-3-1) and Detroit (7-4). Minnesota, sitting at 4-7 with overmatched quarterback J.J. McCarthy, is no longer a factor.
The Packers and Lions meet Thursday at noon in an enormous Thanksgiving Day game. Green Bay and Chicago square off in Weeks 14 and 16. Then the Lions and Bears meet in Week 18.
“It’s a good stretch of NFC North games right here that we’ve got to go out there and find a way to go 1-0 next week as well,” Green Bay quarterback Jordan Love said after the Packers whipped Minnesota, 23-6, Sunday. “But the mindset is always to get back as quickly as possible, start studying for Detroit and trying to get your body back as quickly as possible.”
Green Bay coach Matt LaFleur owned the NFC North early in his Packers career.
LaFleur was 24-8 inside the division during his first six seasons, but went 1-5 last year. That played a huge role in Green Bay slipping to third place in the NFC North in 2024.
Green Bay is off to a 2-0 start this season, with a 27-13 win over Detroit in Week 1 and a dismantling of Minnesota Sunday.
“We’re on a positive track,” Packers center Sean Rhyan said. “It’s that mindset of like ‘You’ve got to win these’ and I wouldn’t want it any other way. So, we’re grooving on, playing some good complimentary football and finding our groove. Just got to keep doing it.”
That won’t be easy.
Detroit has won back-to-back NFC North crowns and is still positioned to win a third straight with a strong finish.
The Lions rank second in the NFL in scoring (29.0) and fourth in total yards (378.5). Detroit is also ninth in total defense (312.3) and 11th in scoring defense (22.1).
“They’ve won the North the last few years and we’ve struggled against them,” Green Bay coach Matt LaFleur said of the Lions. “I’m sure it’s going to be a heck of a football game.”
Five of Green Bay’s final six opponents have winning records and that group is 42-24 collectively (.636).
Chicago’s final six opponents are 39-25-2 overall (.606) and Detroit’s last six foes are 38-25-2 (.600).
The Packers, who haven’t won the division since 2021, have their destiny in their own hands. Win their divisional games, finish strong and set themselves up for a big postseason.
“I think we have the best division in football right now,” defensive end Micah Parsons said. “Like by far it’s the best division in football. Every win matters and this stretch of division games this is going to matter for playoffs.
“Whether we have home games, seeding, whatever. What you guys see last year it’s crazy. It’s going to be competitive as hell and the fact that we got two of them, we’re on the right path.”
Source: https://www.forbes.com/sites/robreischel/2025/11/23/the-green-bay-packers-are-in-a-dogfight-for-nfc-north-supremacy/
