The NFC North has always been defined by grit, tradition and bitter rivalries, and 2025 is as much of a bloodbath as ever.
With Chicago banking its future on Caleb Williams and a fresh coaching staff, Detroit fighting to prove last year’s dominance wasn’t a fluke, Green Bay blending youth with urgency in a win-now push and Minnesota navigating the growing pains of a rookie quarterback after a surprising run, the division is far from chalk.
Four franchises — each with something to prove — collide in a division where the margin between glory and disappointment has rarely been thinner, and every Sunday feels pivotal to the standings.
The Chicago Bears
The Bears sit in first place at 8-3 — I do not care.
Chicago has two convincing victories, 31-16 over the Dallas Cowboys and 26-14 over the New Orleans Saints. Beyond that, they have had a knack for squeaking out tight wins against poor opponents.
Don’t get me wrong, the ability to win close games is maybe the single most important characteristic a football team can have. That said, these wins have come against the Raiders, Commanders, Giants, Bengals without Joe Burrow, Vikings in their worst offensive showing of the season and the Steelers without Aaron Rodgers — by a combined 16 points.
The Bears have a point differential of -3, despite their impressive record. I expect the Bears’ excitement will soon come to an end.
Next week they square off with the Eagles in Philadelphia, where one of the NFL’s best defenses will be waiting to impose its will. They will then face the Green Bay Packers twice in 14 days. Historically, the Packers “own” the Bears, as Aaron Rodgers would say.
Sandwiched between the two matchups with the Packers is the Bears’ only remaining game against a team that doesn’t have at least seven wins. They’ll face the Cleveland Browns, whose dominant defense boasts maybe the best defensive player I’ve ever seen in Myles Garrett. The Browns’ offense may not put up much of a fight, though.
In Week 17, the Bears will head to San Francisco for a primetime matchup with the 49ers. Despite injuries, the 49ers have looked formidable, making them better than every team the Bears have beaten thus far.
Chicago will welcome the Detroit Lions to Soldier Field for their only remaining divisional game and their final game of the season. In their first matchup, the Lions decimated the Bears 52-21.
The Bears, under first-year head coach Ben Johnson, ought to be proud of their eight wins through 11 games — but don’t expect that number to grow beyond nine through all 17.
The Green Bay Packers
The Packers sit in second place at 7-3-1.
Through two weeks, the Packers looked like the best team in the NFL after dominant wins over the Lions and Commanders. Since then, things have been a little more shaky.
The highs have included two-score wins over the Bengals and Steelers. The lows are characterized by losses to the Browns and Panthers on last-second field goals. Somewhere between fall too-close-for-comfort wins over the Cardinals and Giants, a tie with the Cowboys and a respectable loss to the Eagles.
Most recently, they beat the Vikings 23-9 in a game where Green Bay gained just 288 yards but held the Vikings to only 145. The win put them at 2-0 in the division.
Looking ahead, Green Bay will head to Detroit to battle the Lions on Thanksgiving. They’ll face the Bears twice on Dec. 7 and 20 while playing the Broncos in Denver in between. A hungry Ravens team will come to Green Bay in Week 17, and the Packers will end the regular season in Minnesota against the Vikings.
In the end, their ceiling is entirely defined by the play of Jordan Love. Inconsistent as it may be, when he plays his best they might be the best team in the NFL. When he looks disoriented, they’ve proven they can lose to any team in the league.
Assuming Love winds up somewhere close to average, they should take care of business against the Bears and Vikings. The high-powered matchups with the Lions, Broncos and Ravens will be the Packers’ chance to prove they’re legit.
I expect them to go 1-2 in those games and finish the season 11-5-1, good for a top-two division finish and a playoff berth.
The Detroit Lions
The winner of the NFC North each of the last two seasons, the Lions have had a much tougher road in 2025. They now sit in third place at 7-4.
The excitement of statement wins against the Ravens and Buccaneers has been mitigated by losses in their other heavyweight matchups, against the Packers, Chiefs and Eagles.
The Lions hang their hat on handling their business against inferior opponents. They’ve beaten the Bears, Browns, Bengals, Commanders and Giants by a combined 97 points.
Their one blemish in this regard was a three-point loss to the Vikings in Week 9. The Lions struggled offensively — to the point of changing play callers the next day — while Minnesota played its best offensive game of the season.
In Week 12, Detroit gutted out a 34-27 overtime win over an inspired New York Giants team, led by Jameis Winston, who might have played the game of his life.
The Lions’ Thanksgiving matchup with the Packers will set the tone for the rest of the season. Detroit should be hungry for revenge after its Week 1 dud in Green Bay. A win would establish significant momentum toward a third consecutive divisional title, but a loss could signify the fizzling out of a once-promising season.
A week later, the Lions will welcome the Dallas Cowboys to Ford Field for Thursday Night Football, hoping to punish their unofficial rivals. Jared Goff will then return to Los Angeles for a proper test against the Rams, who might be the best team in football.
The Steelers, Vikings and Bears will round out the final three weeks of Detroit’s regular season, giving Detroit a buffet of formidable yet beatable opponents.
If the Lions are to do anything meaningful this season, they’ll simply have to be better than they have been as of late. They’ve produced top-tier offense and top-tier defense, but Detroit has to figure out how to do both in the same game.
If the Lions click those puzzle pieces together, they shouldn’t lose more than one or two games the rest of the regular season, placing them beside the Packers near the top of the division.
The Minnesota Vikings
The only team in the division that hasn’t spent time in first place, the 4-7 Vikings have had the least to write home about.
After finishing 14-3 a season ago, the 2025 season has been less about winning games and more about ushering in the JJ McCarthy era.
McCarthy has looked like the truth at times, especially against the Lions and in the fourth quarter of the Vikings’ Week 1 comeback against the Bears. At other times — the other seven quarters he’s played against the Bears and against the Falcons, Ravens and Packers — he’s looked like a fish out of water.
Despite McCarthy’s inconsistencies, Brian Flores coaches a defensive unit that can fluster any quarterback and give Minnesota a fighting chance in every game.
The 23-9 loss to the Packers in Week 12 was indicative of the Vikings’ floor with McCarthy at the helm.
Next week, they’ll have their work cut out for them against the red-hot Seahawks and quarterback Sam Darnold, who led the Vikings to their 14 wins in 2024 — and who they probably wish they never let leave Minnesota.
After that, the Vikings will take a less-than-intimidating tour through the NFC East, with winnable games against the Commanders, Cowboys and Giants, before closing the season with tough divisional games against the revenge-hungry Lions and the streaking Packers.
While 2025 may not be the year of the Viking, Minnesota should take solace in knowing it’s the NFL’s best last-place team.
The NFC North in 2025 is a gauntlet where no win comes easy and no lead feels safe — whether it’s Chicago’s fragile record, Green Bay’s reliance on Jordan Love, Detroit’s search for balance or Minnesota’s rookie growing pains, every team has both promise and peril. One thing is certain: the NFC North will be incredibly entertaining for years to come.