The NFC North title race is heating up as the weather is cooling off and fans are beginning to prepare for the NFL playoffs. Both the Green Bay Packers and Minnesota Vikings are in contention for the divisional crown ahead of NFL week 12 and will battle for the title in the closing weeks of the regular season.

As of right now, the Vikings own an 8-3 record to the Packers’ 8-2. The two teams both seem destined for the postseason as they both sit in playoff places ahead of the next round of games with Green Bay the division leaders and Minnesota occupying the last Wild Card place.

FiveThirtyEight gives the Packers a 63 percent chance of winning the division title while the Vikings get just a 37 percent. Both are odds-on favorites to make the postseason, meanwhile, with Green Bay being given a 94 percent chance and with Minnesota coming in at 91 percent.

Preston Smith Packers Redskins
Quarterback Aaron Rodgers #12 of the Green Bay Packers is sacked for a safety by defensive end Preston Smith #94 of the Washington Redskins in the first quarter during the NFC Wild Card Playoff game at FedExField on January 10, 2016 in Landover, Maryland. Patrick Smith/Getty Images

This difference stems from the fact that the Green Bay Packers have a game in hand over their rivals and have some very winnable match-ups in the coming weeks. In fact, the only two teams they will face to close the season which own winning records are the San Francisco 49ers and Vikings.

Minnesota themselves face only two more teams with winning records, the Seattle Seahawks and Packers, but are not in control of their own destiny having played one fewer game. Just what do the bookmakers say about the NFC North divisional race?

Well, the FanDuel sportsbook also gives the edge to the division-leading Packers. Green Bay has been given a -210 money line to win the division crown ahead of their week 12 clash while the Vikings, who have a bye week, have gotten a +150 money line.

The other two NFC North teams, the 4-6 Chicago Bears and 3-6-1 Detroit Lions, have almost no chance according to the same sportsbook. Both teams have been given money lines of +20,000 to win the division.

As far as making the playoffs, the Green Bay Packers again lead the NFC North with a money line of -3,000. The Minnesota Vikings come in second with a -1,600 money line and the Bears third with a +3,900. The Lions round out the NFC North with a money line of just +10,000 to make the NFL playoffs this season.

RELATED STORIES
National Football League NFL