Predictions have been all over the map when it comes to the Chicago Bears and whether or not the franchise is going to repeat as NFC North champs. A piece of this is understandable when you consider the talent in the North and the uphill battle that is being the hunted after catching much of the conference off guard with a breakout 2025 season. Still, looking at rostered talent and, most importantly, the combination of head coach and quarterback, the Bears are deserving of being division favorites.
This is an opinion that Pro Football Network doesn't hold, predicting each of the league's division winners over the last week and putting the Bears in second. According to the outlet, the Green Bay Packers win the division with a record of 12-5, while the Bears finish in second place with only 11 wins on the 2026 season.
It is a take that isn't going to age well based on the clear level of regression that Green Bay appears poised for after losing so many key offseason pieces. Add in the fact that the Chicago offense should benefit from having a second year to learn Johnson's system, and it simply isn't matching reality when considering who the biggest threats in the division appear to be.
Recent Division Predictions Ignore Clearest Threat to Bears Repeating NFC North Championship
Detroit was a thorn in Chicago's side a season ago, even in a year that the Lions missed the playoffs. Dan Campbell's unit beat the Bears in both matchups, and this included a blowout loss that was one of the few games that the Detroit offense was fully clicking since losing Johnson. With this in mind, the Bears should be favorites in the North, with the Lions as the lone threat to repeating as division champs.
The Lions are a veteran team with an established level of winning that should at least garner a level of respect from Chicago. The Bears have all the needed pieces to continue to hold onto the North, but there is no denying it is Detroit that is the threat to a repeat performance and not a Packers roster that lost far too many notable names in the 2026 offseason.
Predicting Green Bay as division champs is a take that isn't going to age well despite the obvious respect the hated rival deserves. The Packers simply don't have the needed pieces to close the gap on a talented Chicago roster that will remain consistent, continuing to maintain its grip on the division.
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