The NFC North sent three teams to the playoffs and cemented itself as one of the toughest divisions in football last year. Chicago may not have been one of those three teams, but they made some great changes on paper to put themselves in the mix to win the division in 2025. Let’s take a look at how things may go down in 2025.
How Will the NFC North Shake Out in 2025?
Not only did three teams from this division make the playoffs, but all three of them won 11 or more games in 2024. The Bears will need to double their win total from last season to have a chance at making the playoffs, let alone winning the division.
1. Detroit Lions 12-5
The Lions are returning a majority of their roster after making an appearance in the Divisional Round. Unfortunately for them, their major losses are exactly that. Major.
It’s one thing to lose a coordinator to a vacated head coaching position. Still, the Lions lost both their offensive and defensive coordinators after their season ended. Ben Johnson took the head coaching job in Chicago, and Aaron Glenn took the head coaching job for the Jets.
Johnson produced some top-tier offenses while in Detroit, and Glenn seemed to turn a group of nearly all second-stringers on defense into a solid unit for the second half of the 2024 season. The Lions were missing so many starters on defense when the playoffs rolled around that it wasn’t a matter of if, but when it would catch up to them.
The bigger bombshell of their offseason was that their Pro Bowl center, Frank Ragnow, retired earlier in June. This loss isn’t something that can be easily replaced like an offensive coordinator. A player like Ragnow doesn’t come around often, and the Lions likely didn’t have a contingency plan for his departure.
Despite those big changes, the Lions still have a very talented roster that can continue stacking wins even in a good division like the NFC North. They may not reach their incredible 15-win season from a year ago, but double digits is most likely their floor.
2. Green Bay Packers 10-7
The Packers had a wild 2024 season, which included some surprise Malik Willis appearances when Jordan Love went down with injuries at some points throughout the year.
They also didn’t lose much depth in the offseason other than their star cornerback Jaire Alexander. The writing was on the wall with that move, as the Packers were shopping Alexander nearly all offseason.
Green Bay added a few solid pieces in Nate Hobbs, Aaron Banks, and Matthew Golden in free agency and the draft. Their selection of Golden in the first round was the first time Green Bay took a wide receiver in round one in the draft since 2002.
Love will have plenty of talent around him to work with and a fantastic coach in Matt LaFleur, so this year may look similar to last when it’s all said and done.
3. Chicago Bears 9-8
Chicago made quite a few notable moves in the 2025 offseason to address their shortcomings from last season. Their offensive line gave up the most sacks in the league, and rookie quarterback Caleb Williams was sacked the fourth most times in a single season in NFL history, as he was brought down 68 times.
The Bears addressed this by overhauling their entire interior offensive line by adding Joe Thuney, Jonah Jackson, and Drew Dalman through trades and free agency. Williams will benefit greatly from these upgrades.
They also had to fire their head coach partway through the season. Matt Eberflus wasn’t doing them any favors as his conservative play-calling and coaching style didn’t produce many positive results.
Chicago fixed this issue by adding the biggest head coaching candidate of the 2025 cycle in Ben Johnson. Taking him away from Detroit is a bonus as well.
The Bears can do some serious damage in 2025, but that will all hinge on the ability of Williams to improve his play from last year. If he can do that, the Bears may make the playoffs or even have a shot at the division title.
4. Minnesota Vikings 8-9
The Vikings are the biggest question mark in this division coming into the 2025 season. Mostly because of their first-year starter J.J. McCarthy. McCarthy missed all of his rookie season due to injury, which gave Sam Darnold the green light for the whole year.
Darnold was a big surprise from last season as he seemingly revived his career with a fantastic year in Minnesota. He and head coach Kevin O’Connell were a great duo and allowed Darnold to play to his strengths for the majority of the year.
Justin Jefferson, Jordan Addison, T.J. Hockenson, and Aaron Jones were all key contributors surrounding Darnold and will hopefully provide similar relief to McCarthy as he becomes acclimated to the NFL.
The Vikings made some splashes on the defensive side of the ball in the offseason as well. They added to their interior defensive line with Jonathan Allen and Javon Hargrave on relatively cheap deals.
Once again, their X-factor will be the talent and development of their quarterback. If McCarthy picks things up quickly, the ceiling of this team is much higher. However, due to that uncertainty, they’ll be projected to finish near the bottom of the division.
It’s going to get crazy in the NFC North next season.
Main Image: Junfu Han – Imagn Images
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