What the NFC North’s shocking wild card meltdown means for the Chicago Bears
Exactly zero Chicago Bears fans have any interest in revisiting the NFC North’s final 2024 standings. But for the sake of this exercise, it must be done, so hold your nose:
- Detroit Lions: 15-2 (.882)
- Minnesota Vikings: 14-3 (.824)
- Green Bay Packers: 11-6 (.647)
- Chicago Bears: 5-12 (.294)
Gross. But the North’s 2025 postseason standings will make Bears Nation feel a tad better:
- Detroit Lions: 0-0 (.000)
- Chicago Bears: 0-0 (.000)
- Minnesota Vikings: 0-1 (.000)
- Green Bay Packers: 0-1 (.000)
For the first time in forever, Chicago has better divisional positioning than both Minnesota and Green Bay. Whoda thunk it?
Coming into Wild Card Weekend with a combined regular season record of 25-9, the Vikings and/or the Packers were expected to put together lengthy postseason runs, potentially culminating in what would’ve been an epic NFC Championship Game in Detroit.
But much to the chagrin of nobody in the entire state of Illinois, Philadelphia sent the entire Green Bay roster to Cancun with a 22-10 win that was way more dominant than the score would indicate, while the Rams exposed the Vikings last night to the tune of 27-9.
Chicago sports nerds—and, quite likely, the Bears themselves—are thrilled with these results, because…
- A) Schadenfreude.
- B) The losses auger well for the ’25 Bears.
What’s Love Got to Do With It?
On January 5, 2025, the Bears did something they haven’t done since sometime around the Paleolithic era: Beat the Packers at Lambeau Field, a tasty victory that made us (sort of) forget 2024’s ten-game losing streak.
Sure, Pack signal caller Jordan Love was hampered by an elbow injury, and sure, Green Bay rested a goodly number of its starters, but Chicago limped out of the 2024 season confident Love et al can be vanquished.
Taking these factors into account, the Bears head into the summer knowing…
- A) The Packers are beatable.
- B) Jordan Love might not be as good as advertised.
In his second career playoff start, Love did some serious bed-pooping, getting picked three times and finishing the game with a dreadful passer rating of 41.5. The whole mess cheesed off national pundits and Packers fans alike:
All that said, Love has been awfully good against the Bears:
• Total Games Played: 4
• Record Against Bears: 3-1
• Passing Yards: 891
• Touchdowns: 6
• Interceptions: 1
• Passer Rating: 121.0
But Philly, bless their green hearts, gave Chicago—and, for that matter, the rest of the league—a blueprint for how to keep Love under wraps. If the Bears can shore up their defense next season—and if they can land themselves a clever defensive coordinator—maybe they can duplicate their 2024 .500 record against Green Bay in 2025.
Forget a Pack sweep. That won’t happen. Ever.
Minny Me
On November 24, 2024, the Bears suffered a 30-27 overtime loss to the Vikings, a loss that was arguably a direct result of a classic Matt Eberflus end-of-game brain fart.
A nightmare, for sure, but there were some bright spots.
In their finest moment of 2024, for instance, the Bears’ defensive backfield harassed wide receiver Justin Jefferson into his worst game of the season, holding the All-Pro to 27 yards on a pair of receptions. So we have tangible proof that Chicago boasts the skill-set to contain the man who calls himself Jets.
And the Rams’ dominating win on Monday gives us tangible proof that Minnesota’s entire offense can be contained. If L.A. figured out how to sack Sam Darnold nine times, you’d think/hope the Bears could watch the game film and concoct a scheme that’ll allow them to dump Darnold on at least four occasions. (Or maybe, depending on Darnold’s contract situation, they’ll be dumping Vikes' starter-in-waiting, J.J. McCarthy.)
We don’t yet know how the Detroit Lions will fare this postseason—that’ll be sussed out on Saturday, when they host Jayden Daniels and the Washington Commanders—but regardless of the Lions’ playoff performance, the Bears can look at the NFC North portion of their 2025 schedule without committing Seppuku.