NFC North Title Odds Heading into Week 4

The NFC North was expected to be a two-horse race at the outset of the season over at PointsBet Sportsbook. It continues to look that way through three weeks of play regardless of the fact that the Chicago Bears are tied with both the Green Bay Packers and Minnesota Vikings atop the division standings.

Minny already owns the tiebreaker over the Cheeseheads, while the latter also holds the upper hand versus the Bears with each squad already coming out triumphant in their first of two regular-season meetings. As feisty Dan Campbell’s troops have been to start the year, NFL bettors simply can’t buy into the team just yet until it finds a way to put its opposition away.

Let’s dig into the current futures odds to see if there’s any line value to play with heading into Week 4.

Bet NFC North Title Odds at PointsBet Sportsbook

Green Bay Packers

The Pack looks to be rightful chalk to win the division after going into Tampa Bay and taking care of business against a much lesser Bucs outfit than we’ll likely see the second half of the season. Still, they haven’t been very impressive through three weeks of play. That opening week loss to the Vikings remains an eye-opener, and it’s not like they went into Raymond James and dominated. After the offense put 14 points on the board in the first half, it mustered nothing the rest of the way ultimately putting all the pressure on the defense to lock down the dub.

The offense still looks to be a shell of its former self with Aaron Rodgers looking to get into a rhythm with his new pass catchers. It’s possible he’s now dating rookie Romeo Doubs, but even the former Nevada star isn’t going to do much in the way of making the fan base forget about the connection No. 12 used to have with Davante Adams. It was a start nonetheless.

With Dalvin Cook already suffering what’s destined to be another nagging season-long injury and the Vikings needing to fight tooth and nail to defeat the Lions at home last week, I wouldn’t argue with anyone of the belief Green Bay takes home the NFC North title for the fourth consecutive season. As stated back in Week 2, you’ll likely be able to arbitrage the Pack with the Vikings all season long and guarantee yourself a profit.

Minnesota Vikings

Since dominating Green Bay at home the opening week of the season, the Vikings have done little to impress. They got destroyed by Philadelphia on the road in front of a nationally televised audience and then struggled mightily cover let alone win against Detroit back at home last week. The offense has failed to live up to preseason expectations with it ranked either in the middle of the pack or below league average in the most pertinent of stat categories.

Bothersome has been the inability of Justin Jefferson to go off for his prop and fantasy supporters. Since going HAM week 1 against the Packers, the Vikings WR1 has amassed a grand total of 62 receiving yards and reeled in only half of his 18 targets the last two weeks. The kid was talking like he was the second coming of Jerry Rice in the offseason. It’s high time he started to walk the walk – Talk is cheap!

While the defense has done a decent job forcing turnovers (4), it’s had major issues defending the pass (No. 29) and allowed nearly 140 rushing yards per game (No. 24). On top of that, it’s produced league-average pressure in accruing only seven sacks. So be it if the team plans on partaking in shootouts week in and week out. The defense is going to need to step up at some point and stop somebody.

These next three weeks leading up to the bye will be crucial if Minnesota is to take the North for the first time since 2017. It’s possible the rate of return is fatter following Week 7, so I’m going to hold and take a wait-and-see approach with SKOL for right now.

Detroit Lions

Once D’Andre Swift figures out how to avoid the injury bug, the Lions are going to be a team to deal with. Until then, futures bettors are likely better off betting this team on a weekly basis. Like last week when the Lions gave their all in the Twin Cities, but we’re still forced to go home with a hard-fought loss to their credit. The defeat dropped them to 1-2 SU, but a moneymaking 3-0 ATS. Like last season, this team looks to be nothing more than a covering machine.

It still hasn’t been able to figure out how to come up with crucial stops to close out a game. As great the offense has been, the defense is still a problem. Aidan Hutchinson, Malcolm Rodriguez, and Jeff Okudah have been rock-solid additions, but more is needed for Campbell’s troops to become a force within the NFC North.

Chicago Bears +1000 +3000 +1600

Upper management sure knows how to pick ‘em, don’t they?! Seriously, why can’t the front office find a head coach that doesn’t piss the fan base off? It’s almost like Lovie Smith morphed into Matt Nagy who morphed into Matt Eberflus with each stubbornly relying upon a running game and defense to win games. While that “MO” worked in the early 2000s, it simply doesn’t stand a chance in this day and age of the NFL.

Justin Fields has thrown a total of 45 passes and completed just over half of them for 297 yards and a 2:4 TD/INT ratio. Stretch that out over a full season, and he’s forecasted to throw for a tick under 1,800 yards and a 12:24 TD/INT ratio. Are those outputs likely to lead a team to a division title? That was a rhetorical question, but the answer is still no!