After going 1-5 against NFC North foes last season, the Green Bay Packers are going to have to be better in order to compete in their rugged division.
GREEN BAY, Wis. – The Green Bay Packers reached the playoffs for a second consecutive season with quarterback Jordan Love, but it won’t be easy to do it again in 2025.
FanDuel Sportsbook has win totals for every team. The Packers’ over/under is 9.5 wins. The power of the NFC North, however, presents what could be a daunting challenge. The Lions’ over/under is 10.5 wins and the Viking and Bears have matching 8.5 totals.
The win totals are the same at BetMGM and DraftKings, with all four teams projected to at least go .500.
“I think every year is a little bit different,” Packers coach Matt LaFleur said at the NFL owners meetings. “When you look at it the last two years in the playoffs, we’ve lost to a Super Bowl champion (and) we lost to a team that went to the Super Bowl. I do think it would be nice to get back to taking control of the division to get a home playoff game. It’s definitely easier to win at home than it is on the road.”
Detroit is the two-time defending NFC North champion. Having survived a gauntlet of injuries to reach the postseason last year, there’s little reason to believe the Lions won’t make it a three-peat after finishing 15-2 and the No. 1 seed last year.
The Vikings had a chance to win the NFC North in Week 18 last season but lost to Detroit and settled for a second-place finish and 14-3 record. Minnesota is rolling the dice at quarterback with J.J. McCarthy, last year’s first-round pick who missed his rookie season with a knee injury. The Vikings are loaded just about everywhere else, though, including the return of Aaron Jones. If McCarthy is as good as the Vikings believe – or he simply doesn’t get in the way – the Vikings could contend.
The Bears finished in last place last season but almost swept the Packers last season. With Caleb Williams entering Year 2 at quarterback and playing alongside new coach Ben Johnson and behind an offensive line that’s been stocked with proven veterans, the Bears could take a huge step forward from last year’s 5-12 finish.
“I think he’s got a good eye for what he’s looking for and guys that he thinks can play a certain role for us,” Lions coach Dan Campbell said of Johnson, his former offensive coordinator, at the Scouting Combine.
“I think he and I saw things very much alike, so that helps. He certainly didn’t lack input on players that he liked or what he saw or what he thought they could do. He was just like anybody else on our staff. And if they’ve got a vision for a guy and they believe in it, then speak up. And he was one of those guys that did it.”
How good was the NFC North last season? Not only did three teams reach the playoffs, but the Lions were plus-33 in touchdowns, the Packers were plus-13, the Vikings were plus-10 and the Bears were only minus-1. That’s a total of plus-55. The AFC West’s plus-14 was a distant second.
The Packers went 1-5 against NFC North foes. At the end of the season, they lost at Minnesota in Week 17 and at home against Chicago before the playoff loss at the Eagles, where it dished out a series of self-inflicted wounds.
“In those key moments, you got to maximize them, man,” LaFleur said. “You can go back to whether it was two years ago in San Francisco or last year in Philly, and there’s a handful of plays, they go different, you might have a different outcome.
“As poorly as I thought we played and how bad we were at taking care of the football in the Philly game, when you look at it, it was 16-10 in the fourth quarter and we couldn’t get a stop. In those big-time moments, you got to come out and make the plays that are there to be made.”