What Will It Take For the Packers To Win the NFC North?

With a 4-2 record, the Green Bay Packers are off to their best start since 2021.

Their two losses were by a total of seven points. Including two victories under backup quarterback Malik Willis, the Packers have shown an ability to win in multiple ways and can compete with anyone in the NFC.

What if I told you that, despite all that, Green Bay is in fourth place in the NFC North?

The Packers might be off to a fantastic start, but every other team in their division is, too. Every team in the division has a winning record through six weeks — a first since the divisions realigned in 2002. The Minnesota Vikings are undefeated, the Detroit Lions are 4-1, and even the long-suffering Chicago Bears are 4-2. Green Bay is in last place, thanks to a divisional loss against Minnesota.

Of course, there has only been one divisional game for the NFC North thus far, Week 4's matchup between the Vikings and Packers. Once these powerhouse teams start fighting one another, someone will start running away with the division. But other than winning their divisional matchups, what does Green Bay need to do to win the league's most competitive division?

It's amazing how strongly each NFC North team is performing and that there have been so few divisional games at this point in the season.

In terms of point differential, the entire division leads the league, with the Vikings at +63, the Bears at +47, the Lions at +43, and the Packers at +41. No other team in the NFC is above +37, and no AFC team is above +40.

NFC North defenses have been phantom thieves in terms of takeaways. The Packers lead the league with 17 takeaways, followed by the Bears and Vikings with 13 each.

The North also looks fierce in DVOA. The Vikings are first league-wide, the Lions are second, the Packers are third, and the Bears are 17th.

No matter how you slice it, every team is doing well, just in different ways.

We'll start seeing more division tilts soon, with the Lions and Vikings battling in Week 7. The Packers will face Detroit in early November. The Bears won't have a divisional game until they take on Green Bay on November 17. However, the back half of their schedule is constant rivalry games.

By the end of November, we'll better understand how these teams hold up against one another. Until then, what will it take for Green Bay to get out of the division's basement?

The keys to staying afloat are beating common opponents, correcting self-inflicted errors, and actually making field goals.

In addition to fighting each other, the NFC North faces the full force of the AFC South and the NFC West this season. Those common-opponent games are crucial tiebreakers, so the Packers must continue racking up those wins.

Thankfully, they're off to a good start there. Willis' two wins were over AFC South teams, the Tennessee Titans and Indianapolis Colts, while Jordan Love's victories were over the NFC West's Los Angeles Rams and Arizona Cardinals.

Chicago's two losses were to the Colts and Houston Texans, giving the Packers an edge. If Green Bay can fend off the Texans this week, they'll be in great shape over the AFC South.

Green Bay dominated the Cardinals in Week 6, showcasing their most complete game yet. They'll need to continue that upward trajectory and clean up their mistakes to win the division.

The Packers are still committing too many penalties for comfort, even though they cut down on them in Week 6. With 45 penalties for 338 yards, Green Bay remains one of the league's most penalized teams. And while the refs have been trigger-happy this season, many of these are still the result of a lack of discipline. There have been too many mistakes, especially along the offensive line (12 false starts alone). Fortunately, this is a fixable problem, but the Packers must resolve it before it costs them too many games.

Thankfully, the defense has been trending positively. Hafley's scheme has been remarkably efficient in the second half, a nice change from the past few years. While you'd like to see more from the corners and pass rush, they were much better in Week 6. Hafley is better utilizing rookies Javon Bullard, Evan Williams, and Edgerrin Cooper and seems to be finding his ideal personnel setup. But the pass rush needs to finish more, and opponents have picked on the linebackers.

The Packers need more from their kicker. Brayden Narveson continues to miss kicks almost weekly, and they replaced him with Brandon McManus on Tuesday. His two missed field goals against Minnesota (a game they lost by two points) are one reason the Packers are in fourth place instead of first. Green Bay can't afford to keep leaving points off the board in such a competitive division.

Matt LaFleur isn't ready to make a change yet, but he seemed much less gung-ho about not making a change than in previous weeks. That one position alone could make a world of difference in the final standings this season.

The division could see many changes over the next few weeks. Can Detroit weather the loss of their best player, Aidan Hutchinson? Can the Vikings stay on top, or will they turn back into a pumpkin in the spirit of Halloween? Is it worth noting that Chicago's victories have been against very bad teams?

For Green Bay's part, they need to focus on what they can control: beating common opponents, cleaning up things on both sides of the ball, and hoping McManus can convert the kicks Narveson couldn't. Do all that, and let the pieces fall how they will.