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The NFC North was the best division in the NFL during the 2024 season. While it included the 5-12 Chicago Bears, the three other teams all made the playoffs with double-digit wins. Although none of them won a single postseason game, the Detroit Lions, Minnesota Vikings, and Green Bay Packers had regular seasons to be proud of.
Coming into 2025, however, the situation is different for everyone. The Bears may not be a great team in Year 1 under new head coach Ben Johnson, but they certainly have the makings of a team that improves its record from the year before.
As for the rest of the division, they are all candidates for regression. Even if they all make the playoffs, it may not be the way it was one year prior. Here’s why.
Detroit Lions
The Lions went 15-2 in 2024. It will be extremely hard to go through another 17-game schedule and only lose twice. No matter how dominant your roster is, that’s an incredibly difficult feat. It’s even more difficult due to the coaching staff losses that Dan Campbell is dealing with. His now-former offensive coordinator, Ben Johnson, is now the head coach of the Chicago Bears while now-former defensive coordinator, Aaron Glenn, coaches the New York Jets. How will that impact the group? Their roster is good enough to be an elite team again, but there is regression coming from their 15-2 season due to the coaching losses they have, along with how hard it is to repeat their impressive performance.
Minnesota Vikings
The Vikings, who went 14-3 in 2024, are also a regression candidate. Out of every team in the division, they are the most likely to repeat what they did a year before. They are also the most likely to have an incredible drop-off. Minnesota has one of the best rosters in the entire NFL, which supports the claim that they can be 14-3 or better again. However, everything rests on the shoulders of first-year starting quarterback J.J. McCarthy. After winning the National Championship with Michigan, the Vikings made him the 12th overall pick in the 2024 NFL draft. If he’s great, Minnesota will be great. If he’s a disaster, Minnesota will struggle to win. The chance for regression is there.
Green Bay Packers
The Packers went 11-6 in 2024, and then lost in the first round of the playoffs. If it weren’t for the tip of a finger blocking a Bears game-winning field goal, the Packers would have gone 0-6 in division play. Quarterback Jordan Love had an okay year but was not even close to looking like the $55 million quarterback they paid him to be. He has to be better if he wants to truly live up to that contract. If anything, including the play of Love continuing to flat-line, goes wrong for Green Bay in 2025, they could have a tough year. Finishing in last isn’t out of the question for them, although the Bears still have a lot more to prove, as well.
Conclusion
The Bears could be the only NFC North team to improve rather than regress, and they still might come in last. They have a lot of ground to make up with a rookie head coach, second-year quarterback, and questionable defensive line. If Ben Johnson is a success, this could be one of the best-coached divisions in the NFL. Kevin O’Connell, Matt LaFleur, and Dan Campbell are all elite in different ways, so Johnson will have to be great to keep up with them.
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