With Vikings’ Playoff Loss, NFC North Once Again Isn’t Super

For the 12th consecutive year, the Green Bay Packers and their NFC North peers fell short of the Super Bowl.

Author:
Bill Huber
Publish date:
Jan 16, 2023 2:34 PM EST

In this story:

GREEN BAY, Wis. – Aaron Rodgers and the Green Bay Packers have failed to make big-game magic, including back-to-back losses in the NFC Championship Game in 2019 and 2020 and three consecutive season-ending losses at Lambeau Field.

Kirk Cousins was supposed to be the missing piece after Case Keenum led the Minnesota Vikings to the NFC Championship Game in 2017.

The Detroit Lions made Matthew Stafford the highest-paid player in NFL history in 2017.

The Chicago Bears, well, they drafted Mitchell Trubisky rather than Patrick Mahomes with the second overall pick in 2017.

With the Vikings upset at home by the New York Giants in the NFC wild-card playoffs on Sunday, the NFC North will go a 12th consecutive year without a participant in the Super Bowl. No division team has reached the Super Bowl since the Packers grabbed the Lombardi Trophy in 2010.

That’s the second-longest divisional drought. The AFC South hasn’t had a Super Bowl representative since the Indianapolis Colts lost to the New Orleans Saints in 2009, and it hasn’t had a Super Bowl winner since the Colts beat the Bears for the championship in 2006.

The Jacksonville Jaguars are the AFC South representative in the playoffs. After rallying past the Los Angeles Chargers on Saturday, they are +3000 to win the Super Bowl at FanDuel Sportsbook and +1300 to get to the Super Bowl.

The Vikings ran away with the NFC North title this season with a 13-4 record but were considered paper tigers with 16-point wins over Green Bay in Week 1 and Chicago in Week 18 sandwiching a record 11 one-score victories.

That paper tiger met a paper shredder on Sunday. Cousins had a big day but the Vikings’ horrendous defense was horrendous once again. Giants quarterback Daniel Jones threw for 301 yards and rushed for 78. The receiver duo of Isaiah Hodgins and Darius Slayton – not exactly the in-the-prime equals of Jordy Nelson and Davante Adams – combined for 12 receptions for 193 yards.

Former Packers star Za’Darius Smith, who the Vikings signed in the offseason, had three tackles, one pressure and one offside penalty in 52 mostly invisible snaps.

“This is probably the toughest loss I've had in my career,” Cousins said. “It hurts.”

Moving forward, the Bears have the No. 1 overall selection in the 2023 NFL Draft and a league-high $82.5 million of cap space, based on OverTheCap.com’s projections. The Lions have two first-round picks, No. 6 overall for trading Stafford to the Rams and their own pick at No. 18, and $3.7 million of cap space.

The Packers are about $20.2 million over the cap and the Vikings are even worse at $26.4 million over.

Minnesota’s predicament, and the unlikely prospects of the group coming back intact, struck Cousins after the game.

“It's tough to know that there's no guarantee that they're back with how great of players they are and what they've done, what I've been able to watch them do,” he said. “It’s difficult to know the possibility is there that you don't get to play with them moving forward.”