Thursday open thread: Where does the NFC North rank amongst other divisions?

This weekend, the NFC East will send three different teams into the conference semifinals, which is an impressive feat. While this has become more possible with the addition of a seventh playoff team, having this level of participation in the Divisional Round does not happen by accident.

Odds are, the NFC North will not be matching this mark any time soon. There is no true dominant team right now, and that leaves the division wide open. Much has been made of the Detroit Lions’s 5-1 record against North opponents, which is an impressive accomplishment, but is heavily dependent on the quality of competition. The positive is that the pathway toward a division crown may be more open than ever.

Today’s Question of the Day is:

Where does the NFC North rank amongst other divisions?

My answer: There are couple divisions that clearly rank ahead of the NFC North, including the aforementioned NFC East and the AFC North. I would also argue that the AFC East and AFC West are tougher divisions given both sent multiple teams to the postseason, something which the NFC North obviously did not do.

That leaves the AFC South, NFC South, and NFC West left as contenders. Neither South divisions had a single team hit double-digit wins, and both feature some clear rebuilders, so I feel comfortable putting them at the bottom of the list. Even with the Rams’ collapse, the NFC West is probably stronger as a whole, leaving the NFC North just sixth-best out of eight.

Your turn.