Pride of Detroit
The Chicago Bears have bowed out from the NFL playoffs, thus marking the end of the 2025 NFC North. Along with the Detroit Lions, the Green Bay Packers, and the Minnesota Vikings, the division fell short of the Super Bowl. The division has not sent a team to the big game since Super Bowl XLV all the way back in 2011, a streak only beaten by the paltry AFC South.
With the 2025 season in the books for the four foes, they each enter the offseason with aspirations of success in 2026—some teams want to reclaim it, while other want to maintain it. Only one team can claim the NFC North crown, but which one is best situated to win it?
Today’s Question of the Day is:
My answer: The Detroit Lions. Trying to look at this question with an unbiased lens is difficult, but I will try my best. Let’s try to break it down into digestible categories.
This could easily be the deciding factor for how the NFC North shakes out, and this is arguably Detroit’s greatest strength entering 2026. As the fourth-place team, the Lions are fortunate to avoid a gauntlet of top-tier NFC teams. The entire NFC North will share their AFC East and NFC South opponents, but as the last-place team in the division, the Lions will subsequently play three last-place teams: the Arizona Cardinals (3-14), the New York Giants (4-13), and the Tennessee Titans (3-14).
Inversely, the Bears, as division winners, have to face the Seattle Seahawks (14-3), the Philadelphia Eagles (11-6), and the Jacksonville Jaguars (13-4). The Packers have to face the Los Angeles Rams (12-5), the Dallas Cowboys (7-9-1), and the Houston Texans (12-5). Even the NFC North’s third-place team, the Vikings, face a tough task of the San Francisco 49ers (12-5), the Washington Commanders (5-12), and the Indianapolis Colts (8-9). In what could be a tight race for the NFC North, the Lions have the easiest slate on paper.
Schedules do not win games, teams do. Of the four NFC North teams, I think the Lions are set up best. They have no shortage of weapons on offense with a capable quarterback at the helm. The elephant in the room in the offensive line, but I do believe it is an easier fix than 2025 would have you believe—another year of experience for Tate Ratledge, Christian Mahogany, and even Miles Frazier could be crucial for a rebound up front. For all of the defense’s faults, they were still an above-average unit across the entire season despite multiple injuries in the secondary. If the Lions return their current core, the only glaring weakness I see is at defensive end across from Aidan Hutchinson.
The Bears boasted an exciting offense in 2025, but their defense let them down. I do not see them as a quick signee or draft pick away from having an elite defense. Additionally,...
