ESPN's Rich Eisen named the Detroit Lions as his projected NFC North winner on a recent airing of "The Rich Eisen Show," as the crew outlined how they believe the highly competitive division will play out this year.
Instead of rattling off statistics and analytics, Eisen kept the rationale for putting the Lions at the top of his NFC North projections straightforward.
"I went with the Lions at one, Eisen said. "I think Jahmyr Gibbs is gonna do what everybody expects. I think (Jared) Goff's gonna come back. I think the offense is gonna be better. And I think defensively, finally, you know, let's just have the football Gods stop kicking them in the injury nards, man."
2026 NFC North predictions!#NFL #SKOL #DaBears #OnePride #GoPackGo @michaelirvin88
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— Rich Eisen Show (@RichEisenShow) September 2, 2026
The University of Michigan graduate added that one of the biggest reasons behind Detroit's subpar 9-8 record last season was the inadequate replacement at offensive coordinator.
"I'm just saying last year their plan to replace Ben Johnson didn't work out. They needed a better plan for that," Eisen said. "Their plan was definitely not 'Let's switch coordinators midseason and have Dan Campbell.'"
As for the rest of the division, Eisen slotted the Chicago Bears second, the Minnesota Vikings third, and the Green Bay Packers to finish last at No. 4.
The Lions will look to prove Eisen right when they open their regular-season slate on Sunday, Sept. 13, at Ford Field against the New Orleans Saints. Kickoff is scheduled for 1 p.m. ET, and the game will be broadcast by Fox.
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This article originally appeared on Lions Wire: ESPN's Rich Eisen picks Detroit Lions to win NFC North title
