The Packers are 2-2. The Bears are 4-2. The Lions are 3-2. The Vikings, despite being 1-3, have Adrian Peterson and now Josh Freeman.
So who’s the favorite to win the division?
“I would have to say us,” receiver Jordy Nelson recently told Eric Kuselias of NBCSN’s Pro Football Talk. “I know we are behind [the Bears] but we’ve won the division the past few years, and I think we’ve done a great job of winning our division games, which is huge when it comes to winning your division. If you can win your division games it counts somewhat more than a game, but right now I think we are obviously where we are and not where we wanted to be but I think we are fine where we are at, and look forward to the next two games and hopefully making a run here.”
The Packers currently are 1-0 in the division, after last week’s home win over the Lions. Five division games remain, including a Sunday night encounter with the Vikings, a Monday night game against the Bears, a Thanksgiving clash with the Lions, and a Week 17 showdown in Chicago.
Whether the Packers are the favorites or not, they’ll have plenty of opportunities to show that they can still win the division -- even if they ultimately lose again in the divisional round of the playoffs.
That’s really the bigger issue. With the Saints and Seahawks poised to run away with the top two seeds in the conference, whoever emerges from the NFC North scrum will have to go to New Orleans or Seattle after the wild-card round.
And whether it’s the Packers or anyone else, they won’t be the favorites to win that game.