The NFC North is suddenly the NFL’s most fascinating division

The NFC North is pretty jank now, right? Are there any other players who could get hurt and completely change perceptions of a division like Aaron Rodgers? Tom Brady and the AFC East ... that’s probably it?

I have no idea who’s going to win this dumb division. It would have been easy to stamp PACKERS across the standings like we’ve done five of the last six years, all while acknowledging that the Vikings and the Lions have some good things going for them. Now the Packers may be down one Greatest Player Of A Generation, and we have to seriously consider the Vikings and Lions as playoff contenders ... and god, maybe even the Bears.

This isn’t meant to be insulting. Every team in the NFC North has flashed great things at times, and I’m happy to see the Bears possibly coming back from the dead. But all of these teams are broken in at least one way, too, and it’s hard not to marvel that one of them will be taking the division crown.

The battle for the NFC North is shaping up to be weird and fascinating and worthwhile in a way that it hasn’t felt in years.

On the surface, things look bad. The Packers went 2-4-1 when Rodgers broke his other collarbone four years ago. He was able to return to action that year, but the fact that this injury is on his throwing shoulder makes a speedy recovery less likely.

Saying the Packers are doomed based on one bad Rodgers-less stretch is a facile argument, however. After all, they had a 1-5 stretch last season when Rodgers was perfectly fine.

The Packers have talent. It’s dinged-up talent, with several members of the offensive line and defensive back seven missing time, but talent nonetheless. Jordy Nelson, Davante Adams, and Ty Montgomery lead a quarterback-friendly set of skill players. On defense, they have players at every level — Mike Daniels, Clay Matthews, Ha Ha Clinton-Dix — who would likely start for anyone in the league.

Give me your arguments against the coaching staff and, well, sometimes Mike McCarthy makes it awfully hard to stump for him. But if we’re comparing 1:1 talent, the Packers are still as good as any of their rivals.

This may be the biggest indicator of the State of Things: A team starting a third-string quarterback and missing its top running back and wide receiver seems well-positioned for the playoffs.

A good defense helps. The Vikings have been excellent against the run and as a pass-rushing unit all season against strong offenses like the Saints, Steelers, Buccaneers, and (albeit Rodgers-less) Packers. More than that, though, the Vikings have been resilient. No Dalvin Cook? Jerick McKinnon was explosive against the Packers. No Stefon Diggs? Laquon Treadwell seems to be finding his stride, finally.

Mike Zimmer has turned the Vikings into a tough out and is the only other coach in the division with an NFC North title. So sure, let’s make Minnesota the presumptive favorite. Maybe a Case Keenum-led offense is fine? Third team’s a charm.

They’re the inverse of the Packers and the Vikings, in that they can only feel comfortable about one position on the field, but it’s the most important one. Matthew Stafford is the best passer in the division right now. And why yes, he did have five turnovers against the Saints last weekend. He has also proven he’s capable of winning games by his lonesome, unlike Keenum, Hundley, and Mitchell Trubisky.

The rest of the Lions’ roster is underwhelming. The offensive line is hurt, the running game is sparkless, and the passing game is now missing Golden Tate for several weeks. The defense seems to be red-lining its potential — a credit to defensive coordinator Teryl Austin — but that success may not be sustainable. The Lions gave up 379 yards of offense to the Saints after giving up an average of 330 over five contests.

But boy can Stafford huck a football, and he’s really good in the clutch, as everyone will tell you. The Lions are the only team that’s still undefeated in the division — at 1-0 with a win over the Vikings — and they were a Week 17 win over the Packers away from winning the division last year.

So what the hell, this janky team can win the division, too.

This terrible team is only one game back of the Lions and two games back of the Packers and Vikings.

This terrible team is also getting better. Trubisky is finally starting and — not playing well per say but not disastrously bad, either. Tarik Cohen is precisely one densely packed bushel of fun. And who the hell knows. Aaron Rodgers is out, and in this sick, twisted sport that should make three squirrelly teams feel much better about themselves.

Sports are more fun when things don’t go to plan. At this rate, the winner of the NFC North will be driving across the finish line in flames, and celebrating on top of the wreckage of a husk of a hull. If we don’t get to see Rodgers play again this season, then at least there’s this.