When the Packers were trounced by the Minnesota Vikings in Week 1 of the 2026 NFL season, the hearts of Green Bay fans sank to their stomachs. Their Midwest rivals all seemed to be trending up, with the Vikings' defense putting Green Bay in a blender while Caleb Williams emerged in Chicago and Jahmyr Gibbs carried the Lions to a Week 1 win. But in life, and in the NFC North, things can change very quickly before your eyes.
The Green Bay Packers have recovered from their ugly start, winning three straight and four of their last five to reclaim the No. 2 spot in the division. What felt like a lost cause through the first three weeks has become a dogfight for the top spot in the division, with all four teams posting winning records through six weeks.
Minnesota still stands as the No. 1 seed with a perfect 5-0 record coming out of a Week 6 bye, but there's no cakewalk ahead of them either. If Green Bay can sustain this momentum and add two star players on either side of the field in Micah Parsons and Josh Jacobs over the next few weeks, they have as strong a shot as anyone else to reclaim the top spot in the NFC North once more.
The Green Bay Packers have a pathway to the No. 1 seed in the NFC North if they can just weather the storm.
Nothing is guaranteed for the Packers, who need to outperform their competition and be nearly perfect in order to win the division at this rate. They remain two games behind the Vikings in the loss column while tied with Chicago. However, Green Bay holds the tie-breaking victory over the Bears as of now, although the season series will be decided when the Green and Gold return to Chicago on Christmas Day.
The Minnesota Vikings, on the other hand, have their own issues to worry about. Their offense remains unsteady and unproven, with an awkward quarterback situation and a lackluster ground game through six weeks. They also have the toughest remaining strength of schedule in the NFL on the horizon.
That schedule problem isn't isolated to the Vikings, either. Each NFC North team remains in the Top 7 for toughest remaining schedule, but thankfully for Packers fans, they rank in that seventh spot. Naturally, the positive win totals of all four teams are skewing those numbers a bit, and we know those late-season NFC North matchups will be dogfights for the impending playoff race.
Nonetheless, the Packers have presumably gotten through the worst of their season relatively unscathed. Every team tends to hit a rough patch during the grueling NFL slate, so if Green Bay can keep stringing together wins while others lose their footing, the pathway to the NFC North title will grow clearer with each passing week.
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