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NFL Essay

Decent Essays

In the last five years, either an NFC West (Seattle twice; San Francisco) or NFC South (Carolina Panthers; Atlanta Falcons) team has represented the conference in the Super Bowl. However, as divisional powers shift, we could see a shakeup in the NFC during the upcoming season. With the NFL Draft completed and training camps beginning, let’s look at the NFC teams that could represent their divisions in the 2017-18 playoffs.

NFC North

Chicago Bears

In a year when the duo of Gar Forman and John Paxson seemed determined to earn the distinction of ‘worst front office in Chicago’, Bears general manager Ryan Pace said, “Hold my beer.”

Pace’s decision to unnecessarily trade up in the 2017 Draft to take Mitchell Trubisky second-overall …show more content…

Fortunately, Mike McCarthy has a guy named Aaron Rodgers, who is a pretty decent quarterback and will undoubtedly carry Green Bay again in 2017. Without Rodgers, the Packers would be mediocre (at best), but with No. 12 behind center, they could be NFC North champions for the sixth time in the past seven seasons by the time next season is over.

Minnesota Vikings

Just when it looked like Minnesota might snag the NFC North torch from their rivals due east, Vikings quarterback Teddy Bridgewater suffered a dislocated left knee and torn ACL during a 2016 preseason practice, forcing him to miss the entire 2016-17 season. After a surprising 5-0 start behind a solid defense and a seemingly rejuvenated Sam Bradford last season, the Vikings limped down the stretch, finished 8-8 and missed the playoffs. Mike Zimmer and his staff now have the difficult task of juggling both Bradford and Bridgewater, hoping to solidify a starter in the post-Adrian Peterson era.

Division winner prediction: Green Bay Packers

NFC East

Dallas Cowboys

Last year, the Dallas Cowboys took the NFL by storm behind rookie sensations Ezekiel Elliott and Dak Prescott, finishing the regular season with an impressive 13-3 mark and easily winning the generally competitive NFC East. Heading into the 2017-18 season, some may expect the Cowboys to regress a bit, and for good reason.

After an impressive 2016-17 defensive season in which Dallas gave up the fifth-fewest points per

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