The preseason games basically proved how valuable Aaron Rodgers is to Green Bay. The Packers dropped three games in the preseason to the Texans, Jets and Bills, scoring just 21 points in all three games combined. They’re going to be fighting for first place in the NFC North between the Chicago Bears, Detroit Lions and Minnesota Vikings. None of these teams flash out as Super Bowl contenders.
The Bears have elected to start Andy Dalton over their prized new possession in Justin Fields while the Lions added Jared Goff to a team with literally no weapons now that Kenny Golladay is gone. Meanwhile, the Vikings have a solid offense and could be potentially better on defense. But do we really think that the Vikings defense can get stops against some of the top quarterbacks and offenses in the league? I don’t. The Packers are in the driver’s seat when it comes to the NFC North.
Aaron Rodgers made some demands to come back for another season. While he forced fans to panic, in his mind he knew the entire time he was coming back. All eyes are on Rodgers and the Packers. Did we forget that the Packers went 13-3 last season behind Rodgers who helped the offense score 31.8 points per game to lead the league? Did we forget that the Packers tallied 6.3 yards per play last season, finishing in second in the entire NFL in that category? While it seems like the Packers lost a lot of players on offense because of Rodgers debating on whether to come back, they actually haven’t lost any talent on the offensive side of the ball.
The team has a strength of schedule that ranks 17th per Sharp Football and should easily find a way to win the division. Green Bay’s defense wasn’t perfect last season but they only allowed 23.1 points per game and that was fine considering the Packers scored the league’s most points per game. They also allowed just 5.5 yards per play from their opponents which wasn’t so bad either. I’m not confident in the Packers when it’s playoff time. Something always happens whether it’s a missed opportunity, poor coaching or whatever the case might be.
The Packers have the team to win the Super Bowl this season and shouldn’t be overlooked, but I’m not going to bet that. Instead, I’ll bet the Packers to win their division at -150 via BetOnline (visit our BetOnline Review). The Lions and Bears aren’t major threats to start the season and the Vikings defense had their woes last year despite their offense breaking out. If the Bears decide to start Justin Fields at quarterback, they’ll have a shot at winning more games but it’ll be too late to catch the Packers, who again, won 13 games last year. They should repeat a record similar to last year. There’s no reason why they can’t unless Rodgers gets injured.
So we’ll knock on wood there and take the Packers to win the NFC North at -150 odds.