2024 NFC NORTH PREVIEW

This 2024 NFC North Preview is presented by Playbook Sports.

The season win totals and odds to make the playoffs are from the opening lines at BET MGM.

These write-ups were extracted from the 2024 PLAYBOOK Football Preview Guide magazine, on sale now at Barnes & Noble and Book-A-Million bookstores across the country, along with the Gambler’s Book Store in Las Vegas.  You can also a copy directly from Playbook when you visit PlaybookSports.com.

CHICAGO BEARS – EBERFLUS ON THE LOOSE

Matt Eberflus and the Bears can thank their lucky stars. Tyson Bagent, Justin Fields, Nathan Peterman, Trevor Siemian, and P.J. Walker were not the answer to Chicago’s QB woes in his two-year stay in the Windy City. They all tried, and each failed. However, the bigger news is the debut of former Heisman Trophy-winning quarterback Caleb Williams, selected as the No. 1 overall pick in this year’s draft. Williams set records at USC with the most passing yards (8,170), total yards (8,673), and total touchdowns (93) over two years. It’s also important to note that the Bears went from 3-14 to 7-10 last season thanks to a strong 5-3 finish. This season brings an infusion of rookie talent, including Williams and a second first-round pick in Washington WR Rome Odunze. Coupled with acquisitions of veteran WR Keenan Allen, RB D’Andre Swift, TE Gerald Everett, and S Kevin Byard, it suddenly appears that the Bears’ hibernation may be over. The Bears find themselves favored in their season opener against Tennessee. That may be asking a lot of a QB who has never taken a snap in this league. Our ‘Stat You Will Like’ below concurs.

Season Win Total: 9.5 UNDER

Odds To Make Playoffs: YES -115 / NO -105

Stat You Will Like: NFL QBs selected No. 1 overall in the NFL draft are 3-20-1 outright in their first career start since 1983.

PLAY ON: vs. Green Bay (11/17)

DETROIT LIONS – SIP HAPPENS

You know, and so do we. The Lions will look to recover from a brutal loss in the NFC championship, where they led San Francisco 24–7 at halftime before melting down like a piece of cheap jewelry on a lava lamp and falling 34–31. But hey, they are NFC’s new “Kool-Aid” team and have yet to let it all saturate. Per PFF, offensive coordinator Ben Johnson will unexpectedly return to the Lions in 2024, boosting the league’s second-ranked OL run scheme. Johnson was one of the NFL’s most sought-after coaching candidates during the offseason by both the Seahawks and the Commanders but couldn’t settle on an agreement (read: $$$). And speaking of money, Detroit ponied up $333M in new contracts for three key offensive players, including QB Jared Goff ($212M / $170M guaranteed), OT Penei Sewel ($112M / $85M guaranteed), and WR Amon-Ra St. Brown ($120M / $77M guaranteed. With it, Goff is now the league’s second-highest-paid player to Cincinnati QB Joe Burrow in AAV (Annual Average Value), while Brown’s AAV is the highest in the league for wide receivers. And you thought the Ford family was hurting? Oh, and that Kool-Aid we spoke of earlier. We’re not drinking it. Not with the Lions just one of 12 teams playing 2+ games off a road Sunday or Monday night game:

Season Win Total: 10.5 OVER -135

Odds To Make Playoffs: YES -250 / NO +200

Stat You Will Like: Head coach Dan Campbell is 24-7-1 ATS versus .500 or greater opponents. 

PLAY ON: at San Francisco (12/30)

GREEN BAY PACKERS – HUNTED GAME

The maturity of seemingly forever-incubated QB Jordan Love paid off in spades last season in his first full year as a starting signal-caller for the Packers. As a result, Green Bay was the only team in the league to win seven games outright as an underdog last season. It’s what happens when you’re involved in no less than 13 close-call, one-score contests. Vegas picked up on it, and as a result, they don’t figure to be howling as loud or as often this season, installing them as a dog in only five advanced lined games by the Westgate SuperBook, despite the lack of a bonafide star on the Green Bay roster. Star RB Aaron Jones will be toting the ball for division rival Minnesota, and WR Christian Watson is extremely talented (28 receptions for 422 yards and five touchdowns), but the receiving corps does not strike fear into any opponent.  Bears’ S Jaquan Brisker is on record saying, “I have no respect for them. They have no stars over there.” Our best guess is they’ll be more than a five-time dog this season as they are more likely to become the hunted as opposed to being the hunter.

Season Win Total: 9.5 UNDER

Odds To Make Playoffs: YES -170 / NO +140

Stat You Will Like: The Packers are 6-1 SU and 7-0 ATS versus undefeated foes under Matt LaFleur. 

PASS

MINNESOTA VIKINGS – BRING YA ASS

The question begs: Are they, as Dave LaMont referred to in the NFL Previews, the “least improved team” in the league? One thing is certain. You don’t lose a quarterback with a 12-year career QB Rating of 98.2 and move forward. With Kirk Cousins now toiling in Atlanta, the Vikings are swallowing $28.5 million in dead cap for Cousins this year and nearly $15 million for departed Danielle Hunter. And we all know the Warren Buffet-like contract WR Justin Jefferson signed, a four-year, $140-million extension that includes $110 million guaranteed and over $88 million at signing, making him the highest-paid non-QB in NFL history. Taking a step back, it all looks disjointed when, after all the moves, they are handing the engine’s keys to either a rookie quarterback in JJ McCarthy or Sam Darnold, who is on 4th team in the last five seasons. They are also one of four teams in the league that will be playing three games in a row on the road, where over the last two seasons, nine teams have gone a combined 8-19 on their three-game trip. The Vikes were due for a regression to last season after winning 13 games in 2022 despite a negative point differential. They need to bring it this year, especially as one of only four teams in the league this season four teams that will play 5+ games with more rest than their opponent.

Season Win Total: 6.5 UNDER

Odds To Make Playoffs: YES +300 / NO -400

Stat You Will Like: Minnesota allowed the most first-quarter points in the loop in 2022 (6.1 PPG) but scored the 28th fewest fourth-quarter points (2.4 PPG) last season.

PLAY AGAINST: vs. New York Jets (10/6)

The 2024 NFC NORTH Playoff Preview is presented by Playbook Sports, where Marc Lawrence has been providing top handicapping tips and picks for nearly three decades. Get his top picks and best bets here at gamblersWORLD.