2019 NFL predictions: How will the NFC shake out?
- Minnesota Vikings 10-6
- Chicago Bears 10-6
- Green Bay Packers 8-8
- Detroit Lions 5-11
The Minnesota Vikings are an interesting team to predict as they have several pieces in place to make a strong run in the division. Can Kirk Cousins be more than an average starting quarterback? That will be the biggest question for the Vikings during the 2019 NFL season.
Cousins leads the best roster of his career with a stacked defense and an offense that has star players like Stefon Diggs, Adam Thielen, Kyle Rudolph and Dalvin Cook. I expect this team to be better than last year, primarily because they finally solidified the offensive line. Most notably, their selection of center Garrett Bradbury in the first round of the 2019 NFL Draft should make an immediate difference.
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The Chicago Bears had the number one defense in the NFL last season and very well can be a strong unit again. The problem is they have lost defensive coordinator Vic Fangio. New defensive coordinator Chuck Pagano is a great coach, but it is never easy to learn a completely new scheme.
The offense for the Bears is still just an average unit that will rely on the development of Mitchell Trubisky going into his third season in the NFL. The Bears have a lot of interesting offensive weapons, but Trubisky is still a major question mark and their kicking situation is still a complete unknown.
The Packers have the best quarterback in the division, but his injury concern and lack of quality talent around him makes me have them ranked in third place in the division. Aaron Rodgers could very well win a few games on his own, but I don’t see him playing a full season once again.
They lost longtime veteran edge rusher Clay Matthews in free agency, and while they did replace him with some interesting players, losing Matthews could really hurt this team. If Rodgers stays healthy, this team can win more games and even make a run in the playoffs but the protection on the offensive line has to be there to withstand a whole season for Rodgers.
The Detroit Lions have been in the bottom of the division year after year and I don’t see much changing for them this year either. Matthew Stafford has been better than an average quarterback his whole career but just hasn’t had the right coaching or talent around him.
Can he get some help in the passing game from rookie tight end T.J. Hockenson? The rookie tight end out of Iowa certainly has a ton of upside in this offense. For the Lions to succeed, the players need to buy into the system Matt Patricia is putting in place. So far, Patricia has had issues with getting players to buy-in.