2023 NFC North Odds & Betting Favorites
In this post, we take a look at the 2023 NFC North odds and betting favorites as one team has emerged as the clear frontrunner.
2023 NFC North Odds
| 2023 NFC North Betting Odds | ||
| Team | Odds | Chance |
| Detroit Lions | -490 | 83.1% |
| Green Bay Packers | +850 | 10.5% |
| Minnesota Vikings | +950 | 9.5% |
| Chicago Bears | +8000 | 1.2% |
NFC North Favorites
Detroit Lions
The Detroit Lions are the NFC North favorites at odds of -490 after week 5 of the NFL season. The Lions are 5-1 in their opening five games and look poised to secure their first-ever NFC North title.
The last division title for Detroit came back in 1993. Back then the division was called the NFC Central before divisional realignment in the NFL.
The Lions were an off-season darling for many NFL bettors and analysts after a strong second half of the 2022 season. Last season, Detroit bounced back from a 1-6 start to win 8 of their last 10 games. Although they ultimately fell just short of a playoff berth at 9-8, the potential of this team was there for everyone to see.
The Lions have not disappointed this season with the continued development of young stars like former second-overall pick DE Aidan Hutchinson and WR Amon-Ra St. Brown. It also helps that QB Jared Goff is playing the best football of his career. That’s thanks in large part to offensive coordinator Ben Johnson who is being hailed as one of the bright young offensive minds in the game.
The current betting odds of -490 on the Lions to win the NFC North imply that they have an 80% chance of winning the division. Those are short odds but does that mean that there’s no value in them? I wouldn’t say so. I think that -490 odds on the Lions winning this division is a great value bet.
This is one of the weaker divisions in football. The Bears are a mess as usual, the Vikings looking like they are in a transition stage while the second-placed Packers are the youngest team in the NFL with a first-year starter at quarterback.
Even better news for Lions bettors is that they have one of the best backup QBs in the league. So even if Jared Goff were to be sidelined for a while you would still feel confident that this team could continue winning games with Teddy Bridgewater at quarterback.
Prediction: NFC North Champions
Green Bay Packers
The second favorites to win this year’s NFC North title are the Green Bay Packers at odds of +850. Green Bay holds a record of 2-3 after their first five games this season.
I’m just going to come straight out and say that I don’t think the Packers have a chance of winning this division. Green Bay are the youngest team in the league with an average age of just 25. Teams that are that young don’t have success in the NFL.
This is a team in transition after the departure of Hall of Fame-bound QB Aaron Rodgers and an exodus of other veteran players to boot.
New starting quarterback Jordan Love has shown flashes of promise early this season. However, the reality is that there are going to be some growing pains in Green Bay as Love tries to build chemistry with a receiving group made up of rookies and second-year players.
On the bright side, I do think this team is only going to get better as the season progresses and as their young guys develop. With that said, they are at least another season away from challenging for a division title. Proof of the Packers being a season away is their loss to the Raiders on Monday Night Football in week 5. That loss came after a mini-bye where they had a week and a half of preparation after playing on Thursday the week before.
The Raiders are a bad team, one of the worst in the NFL from what we’ve seen so far. If Green Bay can’t take care of business against them with that much preparation time then they have little hope of beating out Detroit for the NFC North title.
Prediction: 3rd Place In The NFC North
Minnesota Vikings
Next up in the betting to win the NFC North is the Minnesota Vikings who come in at odds of +950. Minnesota are 2-4 after their first six games this season.
The Vikings are the defending NFC North champions after a 13-4 regular season record in 2022. That record looks impressive on the surface but the reality is that it doesn’t tell the whole story about that Vikings team. Minnesota played in 11 one-score games last season and won all 11 of those one-score games. That had never been done before.
In other words, the Vikings rode their luck hard last season which made them prime regression candidates to come back to the pack this year. And come back to the pack they have with a 2-4 start to the season.
In fact, the Vikings’ only wins so far this season have been against the Carolina Panthers, who happen to be the favorites to finish the season with the worst record, another contender to finish the season with the league’s worst record. Minnesota is also 0-3 at home and just lost Justin Jefferson for at least four weeks as he was put on injured reserve due to a hamstring injury.
I could go on about the Vikings’ flaws. The point is that they are in trouble this season. The loss of Justin Jefferson for at least four weeks felt like the final nail in the coffin of any NFC North hopes.
If it weren’t for Jefferson’s injury I would have been bullish on the Vikings. While this team was due for regression, they aren’t as bad as what their current record indicates.
I expect Minnesota to finish second in this division and if you want to bet on a team other than the Lions then the Vikings would be my recommendation.
Prediction: 2nd Place Finish In The NFC North
Chicago Bears
Last, and least, we have the Chicago Bears who are +8000 to win the NFC North in 2023. The Bears have a 1-5 record after the first six weeks of the 2023 NFL season.
To be brutally honest, no franchise in the league is more dysfunctional than the Bears right now. It’s a mess in Chicago. Terrible performances on the field and scandals off of it.
Their Defensive Coordinator resigned because his home was raided by the FBI. That doesn’t happen with functional teams. There was also the small matter of Chase Claypool acting like he wanted to have no association with the team (and he sure played like it too). To be fair, Claypool’s behavior was just as much of an indictment on his attitude and work ethic as it was on the Bears.
The Bears started the season 0-4 with the lowlight coming against the Broncos when they surrendered a 21-point lead before going on to lose in OT. Further misery for the franchise and its fans.
Week 5 did bring good news for Chicago however. They put in their best performance to date to beat the Commanders 40-20. More importantly, QB Justin Fields had the best game of his career with 339 total yards and 4 passing TDs.
In all likelihood, that performance against the Commanders for both Fields and the Bears will turn out to be more of an anomaly than anything else. I have my reservations about everything suddenly magically falling into place for this team given their obvious deficiencies on both sides of the ball.
Prediction: 4th Place Finish In The NFC North
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