The NFC North produced three playoff teams, two teams with 14 or more wins and the conference’s No. 1 seed — creating a historic, never-before-seen regular season inside the division.
Then the playoffs began, and it all fell apart in stunning fashion.
Not a single team from the NFC North won a playoff game.
The Green Bay Packers, Minnesota Vikings and Detroit Lions were swept, and all three teams lost their opening playoff game by at least 12 points.
Incredibly, the Packers’ 12-point loss to the Philadelphia Eagles — an ugly, mistake-filled game featuring a fumble on the opening kickoff and four total turnovers — ended up being the closest defeat of the bunch.
One day after the Packers’ loss, the Minnesota Vikings fell behind 24-3 at halftime and lost 27-9 to the Los Angeles Rams, who sacked Sam Darnold nine times. After finishing 14-3 and not even winning a division title, the fifth-seeded Vikings bowed out as 18-point losers in an uncompetitive game against the Rams in Arizona.
Just like that, the 11-win Packers and 14-win Vikings were out during Wild Card Weekend.
And on Saturday night, the Lions completed the trio of disappointment in the NFC North during the divisional round.
Dan Campbell’s team had five turnovers and gave up 481 yards in a 45-31 defeat to the sixth-seeded Washington Commanders at Ford Field, providing a stunning end to a season that saw the Lions win 15 games and secure the coveted No. 1 seed in the top-heavy NFC.
Altogether, the three NFC North teams turned the ball over 11 times and didn’t force a single takeaway. They lost their playoff games by a combined 44 points. All three trailed by 10 or more points for long stretches of the fourth quarter — in fact, the Lions and Vikings were down three scores for long stretches over the final 15 minutes.
The Packers, Vikings and Lions won 40 regular season games. It meant almost nothing. The three teams went 0-3 in the postseason, and now the NFC North won’t have a team competing for the NFC title next weekend.