2016 NFC North NFL Betting Preview: Packers Top Super Bowl Contender in Division

The NFC North has caught some flak in the past for its occasional futility, but last year, the division sent two teams to the playoffs for the seventh time in the last eight seasons, and only the AFC North can match that feat. Here's a post-draft update for the 2016 NFL season's Super Bowl 51 odds at sportsbooks monitored by Odds Shark for the NFC North teams.

Green Bay Packers: 10-1 (+1000)

Green Bay made the playoffs for the seventh season in a row last year despite an injury-depleted receiving corps that pushed the favored Arizona Cardinals to overtime in a divisional-round defeat. The Packers also managed to go 9-7 against the spread last year in the regular season despite playing as one of the betting public's favorite teams on which to wager.

If Green Bay can stay healthy and get a bounce-back effort from a leaner Eddie Lacy, then it could win it all.

Minnesota Vikings: 20-1 (+2000)

The Vikings beat the Packers at Lambeau Field on the final weekend of last season to win the NFC North. They then lost a heartbreaker to the Seattle Seahawks in the Wild Card Round. Minnesota also proved to be one of the best bets in the league last year, going 13-3 ATS in the regular season. But can the Vikings take the next step and contend for a conference title?

Adrian Peterson is now 31 years old, well past prime for an NFL running back, and the passing game can't get the ball down the field. In the up-and-down world that is the NFL, the Vikings might be candidates to regress.

Chicago Bears: 50-1 (+5000)

After going 6-10 in their first season under new head coach John Fox last year, the Bears have now missed the playoffs five seasons in a row. But of Chicago's 10 losses, seven came by one score or less, five by four points or less, and two in overtime. Fox has already taken two different teams to the Super Bowl (the Denver Broncos in 2013 and Carolina Panthers in 2003), and the Bears are a better team now than when he took over.

Detroit Lions: 66-1 (+6600)

The Lions started 1-7 last year and then won six of their last eight games to finish 7-9. And if not for getting robbed by Green Bay, they would have finished at the .500 mark. Now, though, Detroit goes forward without its most reliable offensive weapon, wide receiver Calvin Johnson, who opted for retirement during the offseason. Detroit is the only NFC team to have never played in a Super Bowl, and that probably won't change this year.