NFL Season Preview: Green Bay Packers NFC North Favorite, Eyeing Super Bowl

Posted on: August 23, 2022, 02:00h. 

Last updated on: August 24, 2022, 12:37h.

Michael Schwartz Read More
Expertise: Regulation, Sports Betting, Sports.

There’s one thing that remains sure in the NFC North: if Aaron Rodgers is the starting quarterback in Green Bay, the Packers will be favorites to win the division title. They’ve won eight of the last eleven division titles, and another could be close behind.

Aaron Rodgers
Aaron Rodgers smiles on the field during a 2022 game. Rodgers may have much more to smile about if the team makes another Super Bowl appearance this year. (Aaron Rodgers during a 2022 game. (Image: USA Today)

For as long as the Green Bay Packers have had Brett Favre or Aaron Rodgers, they have always been the favorite to win the NFC North. And this season is no different, even though Rodgers is a year older, Devontae Adams has gone to Las Vegas, and the plan is to run the ball more than ever in Green Bay.

At -200 to win the division, the Packers are the third-biggest favorite in all of football, behind Tampa Bay and Buffalo, to win their division. Their biggest challenger appears to be the Minnesota Vikings. But they haven’t won the division since 2017, and haven’t had a winning record since 2019.

However, expectations in Wisconsin are about more than division titles. Green Bay is +1200 to win the Super Bowl this season, which is the fifth-biggest favorite in the league. Only Buffalo, Tampa Bay, Kansas City, and the Los Angeles Rams are bigger favorites to be Super Bowl champions.

Detroit and Chicago wrap up the back end of the NFC North, and while both should show improvement over last year, it can’t be lost on us that the Lions have won three games in two of the last three seasons and that Chicago has one winning season since 2012.

Vikings, Lions Trail Behind

At +275 to win the division, it appears to be another non-division-winning season for the Vikings. The last time they won the division title was in 2017.  Kevin O’Connell will take over as head coach this season after the team booted Mike Zimmer earlier this year.

Listed at +4000 to win the Super Bowl, the Vikings are in a spot where they appear to be the last decent team before the next team (Washington +6600), so there is hope in Minnesota. Still, they have an uphill climb, with not only a division that features Green Bay, but also a conference that features the Bucs and the Rams.

Dan Campbell has come into Detroit and seemingly changed the franchise’s philosophy. Yes, it was one season, but optimism is high in Motor City. At +900 to win the division, the expectations, however, are not as high.

Detroit still has a long way to go, but there has never been a better feeling surrounding a 3-win team and a franchise that hasn’t won a division title since 1993, when it was known as the NFC Central.

At +10,000, the Lions are a longshot to win the Super Bowl. But like Jacksonville, which is also +10,000, it seems both teams are trending in the right direction.

Chicago Out of Luck

Rounding up the division with odds of +1200 to bring home the title is the Chicago Bears. Things don’t look that promising in Chicago, only ahead of the Houston Texans (+2800) and New York Jets (+2000) as projected division winners.

After winning the NFC North in 2018, Chicago has not had a winning season since. At +10,000 to win the Super Bowl, it equals them with their division rival in Detroit.

Only Atlanta (+12500), the New York Jets (+12500) and Houston (+17500) have longer odds to win the Super Bowl than the Bears.