Six weeks into the NFL season, no division has been more competitive than the NFC North. The Lions, Bears and Packers all won Sunday to notch their fourth wins of the season. The 5-0 Minnesota Vikings had their bye week.
As a result, the division became the first since the 1970 merger to have all four teams with at least four wins through the first six weeks of the season. The Vikings are 5-0, the Lions are 4-1 and the Packers and Bears sit at 4-2.
The 2002 realignment made such a feat a bit easier by going back to four-team divisions. From 1998-2001, the NFL had five five-team divisions and one six-team division (AFC Central). Still, it took 22 years since the realignment for this to happen.
Albeit early still, the division has a chance to be the first to send every team to the playoffs. They wouldn’t as of yet, as the Tampa Bay Buccaneers are also 4-2 and the Packers knock out the Bears via the divisional tiebreaker. But with 12 weeks remaining, there is plenty of time for that to become reality.
The NFC North will be the first division since the 1970 merger in which every team has 4+ wins through the first 6 weeks of a season.
No division has ever had each team make the playoffs in the same season:
Vikings 5-0 #Skol
Lions 4-1 #OnePride
Bears 4-2…— Tony Holzman-Escareno (@FrontOfficeNFL) October 13, 2024
