4. NFC North – Green Bay Packers, Chicago Bears, Detroit Lions, Minnesota Vikings
Despite the weak records of the division in 2013, the NFC North teams are very exciting to watch in large part because of the incredible talent this division has on offense. The Packers have Aaron Rodgers, Eddie Lacy and Randall Cobb. The Bears have Jay Cutler, Matt Forte and a trio of very tall and physical wide receivers. The Vikings have perennial Pro Bowler Adrian Peterson. Any one of these teams can become an immediate contender if they can get a few breaks on defense.
The problem is outside of the Packers when Rodgers is healthy, all of the teams in the division have struggled against their opponents. They are very fun to watch, but not necessarily some of the great all-around teams in the league at this time.
3. NFC South – Carolina Panthers, New Orleans Saints, Atlanta Falcons, Tampa Bay Buccaneers
The NFC South has some of the best QBs in football – Cam Newton, Drew Brees, Matt Ryan – to go along with some very good defenses.
Tampa Bay is in the middle of rebuilding with new head coach Lovie Smith, but have a very good chance of improving with the return of RB Doug Martin. The Panthers are the defending #2 seed in the NFC but the offense lost a lot of key contributors from 2013 – the defense will remain the strength in this division. The Saints and Falcons both have great passers and are trying to return to the 12+ win seasons they had only a short while ago. The Falcons will have all of their key receivers back which should let their offense get back in a groove. And the Saints have Drew Brees – the only QB to pass for 5,000 yards in multiple seasons.
This division will be exciting to watch – especially when they play each other.
2. AFC West – Denver Broncos, Kansas City Chiefs, San Diego Chargers, Oakland Raiders
The first division in the NFL since the 2011 AFC North to have three teams make the playoffs. The defending AFC Champion Denver Broncos play against one of the league’s best defenses in the Chiefs and one of its top offenses in the Chargers. The Raiders, who have not had a winning season since 2002, are the odd team out that may be fodder for the other three teams in 2014.
Assuming the Broncos play anywhere near the record breaking level they played at in 2013, the Broncos should be the #1 seed again. The Chargers look even better in 2014, and the Chiefs still have a strong core of players to work with – though their schedule should be a lot harder this year.
This division should have at least two playoff teams in 2014.
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