Green Bay Packers
With the departure of Aaron Rodgers two seasons ago, Green Bay turned the reins of the team over to Jordan Love, and did everything they could to build a strong offense around him.
In some ways, after a great 2023 season that showed a lot of promise, Love did take a small step back, throwing for 770 fewer yards last year (in large part due to missing time early in the season from a leg injury) with a 63% pass completion rate. Still, he led the team to its second straight playoff appearance as they improved from 9-8 in 2023 to 11-6.
How many games will the Packers win against the rest of the division?
This was the difference in Green Bay competing for the division title vs ending up with the 7th seed. The Packers went 10-1 against the entire rest of their schedule, with their sole loss coming against the Eagles in Week 1 in a Brazil game that featured a truly horrific playing field.
For all of their success in non-division play, though, they only won a single division game - and it took a blocked field goal to beat the Bears for that lone win. Even a 3-3 record against the NFC North would have put them at 13-4, and depending on how they got their wins, they could have put some tiebreakers in their hip pocket.
The Packers hadn't done that badly in division games since 2018 when they went 1-4-1 against their rivals, en route to a 6-9-1 finish. For HC Matt LeFleur, he's had the entire offseason to dwell on this - expect Green Bay to do their best to turn Lambeau Field back into being one of the toughest venues to play in again.
Does the Packers' defense continue to improve?
With Jeff Hafley taking over the helm at DC last year, the Packers gave up the 6th-fewest points in the league. Up front, they expect to return a starting front four of DEs Lukas Van Ness and Rashan Gary, and DTs Kenny Clark and Devonte Wyatt, with a combined 20 seasons in the NFL, all with Green Bay.
That kind of cohesion is exceedingly rare, and they took a step up as a collective unit. Overall, the team combined for 45 sacks on the year, good enough for eighth.
Also shining last year were safety Xavier McKinney, a free agent pickup last year from the Giants, and LB Edgerrin Cooper, in his second season. The real question mark for the team is the cornerback room, with Keisean Nixon, Carrington Valentine, and NB Nate Hobbs all set to take on starting roles.
With Jaire Alexander departing the team after a frustrating season that included a knee injury that required surgery, that leaves room for the trio to show what they are capable of.