NFC North Power Rankings Week 1: Bears look to make a statement

The first week of the 2024 NFL regular season is here and the Chicago Bears open their season with a game against the Tennessee Titans at Soldier Field next Sunday.

Before then, the lid lifter on the season is the game between the Kanas City Chiefs and Baltimore Ravens on Thursday night. For the NFC North. things get started on Friday night when the Green Bay Packers and Philadelphia Eagles play in Brazil.

The best competition in the NFC this season may just be in the NFC North. The team that the Packers are playing on Friday, the Eagles, used to be the standard in the NFC but last season seemed to prove a changing of the guard. There is no question that the San Francisco 49ers remain at the top of the conference, but a case can be made that outside of the 49ers, one of the NFC North teams could represent the conference in the Super Bowl.

That is where we kick off our Week 1 NFC North Power Rankings.

NFC North Power Rankings Week 1

1. Detroit Lions

The Lions were a second-half away from reaching the Super Bowl last season, and of all the teams in the NFC North, they enter 2024 with the strongest chance of reaching it.

The Lions open the season with a game against the Los Angeles Rams on Sunday Night Football. It will be a rematch of the playoff game between the two teams last season.

The old adage that NFC North fans have of "the Lions going to the Lions" no longer holds true. The Lions now set the standard for the NFC North, and their ascension two seasons ago should be the blueprint for the Bears this season.