NFC North posts best start in Super Bowl era after Week 9 sweep

The NFC North entered the final game of Week 9 with the best collective record of any division in the Super Bowl era. The division stands at 25-8 after three victories on Sunday. The Minnesota Vikings play the Buffalo Bills on Monday Night Football. A Vikings win would extend the division to 26-8. A loss would leave the division at 25-9. Either result keeps the North ahead of every other division in the league through nine weeks.

The Lions defeated the Miami Dolphins 19-9 in a game played in South Florida. The crowd in Miami supported the Detroit team heavily. The Green Bay Packers defeated the New England Patriots 45-27 in Foxborough. The Packers dominated the offensive line and controlled the clock. The Chicago Bears beat the Tampa Bay Buccaneers 27-24 in a night game. The Bears committed five turnovers but managed to get into field goal range for the winning kick.

The division has played eight games against other teams in the NFC North. They have lost five of those intra-division contests. Against teams outside the division, the four clubs have gone 18-3. That out-of-division winning percentage stands at .857. The next best mark in NFL history through nine weeks is .850, set by the AFC West in 1984. The Vikings could lower the current record to .800 if they lose to the Bills. That would still rank second all time.

The 2022 NFC East provides the closest modern comparison. That division went 24-9 through nine weeks, a .727 winning percentage. The 2026 NFC North has already surpassed that total. The current division scores nearly 28 points per game against non-rival teams. They allow just over 21 points per game in those matchups. The margin of victory averages more than six points per contest against outside opponents.

Historical data suggests that dominant divisions often struggle in the postseason. The 1984 AFC West sent three teams to the playoffs. Only one playoff game was won by a team from that division. The Denver Broncos lost to the Pittsburgh Steelers in the divisional round. The 2020 AFC North sent three teams to the postseason, but none advanced past the second round. The 2007 AFC South produced three playoff teams, yet all three were eliminated before the conference championship.

The 2024 NFC North offers the most recent precedent for the current group. That division finished with three playoff teams, including the Detroit Lions and Minnesota Vikings. The Lions lost to the Washington Commanders in the wild-card round. The Vikings fell to the Los Angeles Chargers in the divisional round. The Green Bay Packers lost to the Philadelphia Eagles in the wild-card round. The three teams combined for a 50-point margin of defeat in their first-round and second-round losses.

The 2008 NFC East and 2016 AFC West also failed to produce a champion despite strong early records. The 2019 NFC West sent two teams to the playoffs, but neither won the Super Bowl. The San Francisco 49ers reached the championship game but lost to the Kansas City Chiefs. No division in the modern era that started with a winning percentage above .750 through nine weeks has yet to produce a league title winner. The NFC North has one game left in Week 9 to set the final tone for its first-half resume.