NFC North 2022 Season Preview
The Packers own the NFC North until proven otherwise. Yes, Davante Adams is gone. Yes, the WRs there have a bunch of question marks. Yes, Aaron Rodgers absolutely stunk in their playoff loss last season. But he’s still Aaron Rodgers. And they have a top o-line in the league along with arguably the top RB duo in the league. And on top of that, their defense may be the best in the league. So I have no problem feeling great about them winning this division once again, and being in the conversation for the Super Bowl. My play is on them is to win the division.
Once again, the Vikings enter the season absolutely loaded, on paper, with talent. There’s no reason this team shouldn’t be considered one of the best in the NFC. And yet, every year, they wind up somewhere on that Wild Card bubble, which is where I have them this season as well. It’ll be interesting to see what their new coach, Kevin O’Connell, will do with his new toys of Cosuins, Cook, Jefferson and Thielen. How much of his success in LA was the product of Sean McVay? How much of it was him? That’s the main question. My play here is on Dalvin Cook and the under for rushing yards, mainly because I can easily see Alexander Mattison getting more involved, along with the passing game being more of a focal point than it’s been in recent years.
The Lions have some unusual hype surrounding them, after an offseason in which they starred on Hard Knocks. The love surrounding Dan Campbell and the gritty culture that he and Brad Holmes are building in Detroit is noticeable, as he is currently the most bet on coach to win Coach of the Year. And people are all over the Lions making the playoffs this year. I’m not quite there. I love this o-line, which should be a top-5 unit in the league. I love their skill players. I don’t love Jared Goff, but I do realize he had a very strong finish to last season and has shown capable in the past if surrounded with talent. The main question on this team is their defense. Their pass rush should be much improved (the odds on Aidan Hutchinson to win DROY have dropped from 6 to 1 to 4 to 1 in the past couple of weeks). But can they stop the run? And can their secondary hold up? That’s why my play here is them finishing 3rd in the division at plus-odds. I find it very hard to envision them being ahead of the Packers or the Vikings, but they look to be miles ahead of the Bears.
Speaking of the Bears, they appear to be a team destined to pick in the top 3 of next year’s draft. I feel bad for Justin Fields. I genuinely think he is talented. But first he was given Matt Nagy as his head coach and now a guy in Matt Ebrflus who to me does not inspire much confidence. To be fair, I’m making that statement following watching his speak a couple times, which isn’t much to go off of, but he came off to me like a coach who will be gone in a couple seasons. Coaching aside, this Bears o-line may be the worst in the league, and they have very few offensive playmakers. I just find it hard to believe they’ll be competitive. Hammer the under for their win total.
