Photo by Patrick McDermott/Getty Images The NFC North is off to a hot start. But how many will make the playoffs? Let’s make some predictions. The NFC North is the hottest division in football right now, and it’s not particularly close. Not only does every team have a winning record, but, miraculously, all four teams lead the NFL in point differential. No, really. It’s true. Minnesota Vikings: +63 point differential Detroit Lions: +60 Chicago Bears: +47 Green Bay Packers: +41 Buffalo Bills: +39 As our own Al Karsten points out, it goes even beyond that. The four NFC North teams also lead the NFL in takeaways per game: Not only are all four NFC North teams in the Top 4 in the NFL in point differential, they’re also Top 4 in takeaways/game:1. Green Bay - 2.82. Minnesota - 2.63. Chicago - 2.2t-4. Detroit - 2.0 https://t.co/Bvw6s5tDGl— Al Karsten (@FootballGuy_Al) October 15, 2024 It’s a crazy start to the year for the NFC North, but at some point you’d have to think the teams are going to distance themselves from each other. There has only been one divisional game played thus far, with the Vikings taking down the Packers in Lambeau in Week 4. Once those other games kick in—like Lions vs. Vikings this week—we’re going to see which teams really belong atop the standings. That said, it’s possible for all four teams to make the playoffs. Ever since the NFL expanded the Wild Card to three teams, the possibility of an entire division making the postseason exists, although it’s never happened. So today’s Question of the Day is: How many NFC North teams will make the playoffs? My answer: I’m going to stick with three, but I’m not entirely ruling out four. And it’s not so much a matter of the NFC North teams dominating, but it’s a lack of good Wild Card contenders right now. The NFC division leaders are the Commanders, Falcons, and 49ers outside of the North. That leaves the following teams as Wild Card contenders: Eagles, Cowboys, Buccaneers, Saints, Seahawks, and Cardinals. Outside of the Buccaneers—who are tied with the Falcons with the divisional lead—do you trust any of those teams to make a run to push for a playoff spot? I think it’s possible two NFC South teams make the postseason, and maybe the Seahawks pull out of this three-game skid, but I think the NFC North claims at least two Wild Card spots. If it’s not all three, who is the odd team out? The easy answer is probably the Bears. They’re 4-2 and all four of their wins came at “home” (one was in London) against teams with one win on the season: Titans (1-4), Rams (1-4), Panthers, (1-5), and Jaguars (1-5). They have an absolutely schedule to finish the season. Here are their final eight games: vs. Packers (4-2) vs. Vikings (5-0) at Lions (4-1) at 49ers (3-3) at Vikings (5-0) vs. Lions (4-1) vs. Seahawks (3-3) at Packers (4-2) Their entire divisional schedule is in the final eight games, so that is where their season will be decided. And while I suspect their young roster will only continue to perform better as the season goes on, I think we have to admit that we can’t give a true assessment of Chicago until they reach this stretch. They also have the Commanders in their next game (Week 7 is their bye), so we’ll see how they stand against another up-and-coming contender.