<p>The 25/26 NFL season is here. We’re past the pre-season, past the Tay Tay appearance that broke the internet on ‘New Heights’ and hopefully past most of the contract holdouts and trade demands.</p> <p>We’re looking at every team, every strength, every possible weakness and a way to make money on all 32 NFL squads. Next up is the NFC North, which could very well be the best division in football this season.</p> <p>For the latest analysis, predictions and betting tips for the NFC North, check out my 2025 NFL NFC North preview and predictions below. You can also follow me <a href="https://www.sportsbet.com.au/feed/profile/view/56/ist_ambassador_deeplink_action">on the feed</a> for plenty of other NFL tips and predictions throughout the season.</p> <p>&nbsp;</p> <h2>Chicago Bears Season Preview</h2> <p>&nbsp;</p> <p><strong>Head Coach</strong>: Ben Johnson.</p> <p><strong>Last season</strong>: 5-12.</p> <p>The Bears were trending upward at 4-2 when ’The Hail Maryland’ happened and the season quickly spiralled.</p> <p>From the 4-2 start, they dropped six straight and HC Matt Eberflus was relieved of duty. No. 1 pick Caleb Williams struggled with poor offensive line play and rookie mishaps, whilst DJ Moore was his lone reliable playmaker.</p> <p>Defensively, they spiked late in the season behind Corner Jaylon Johnson and others. Overall, the defense was lowly ranked but the improvement was there.</p> <p>In comes former Lions OC Ben Johnson, whose reputation precedes him as an offensive genius. His work with Williams will dictate how this franchise moves forward.</p> <p>The NFC North looks brutal, so there’s a chance Chicago are much improved but still have a weak record because they’ll face Green Bay, Minnesota and Detroit twice each.</p> <p><strong>Projected Record</strong>: 7-11.</p> <p><strong>Best Bet</strong>:<a href="https://www.sportsbet.com.au/betting/american-football/nfl-futures/chicago-bears-regular-season-specials-2025-26-9327460"> Caleb Williams 30+ passing TD.</a></p> <p>&nbsp;</p> <h2>Detroit Lions Season Preview</h2> <p>&nbsp;</p> <p><strong>Head Coach</strong>: Dan Campbell.</p> <p><strong>Last season</strong>: 12-5.</p> <p>The Lions held all the cards last season.</p> <p>Inspirational head coach, gurus at offensive and defensive coordinator and stars across both sides of the ball. The dream felt real in Detroit - a city tortured and longing for Super Bowl glory.</p> <p>By week 15, the Lions had THIRTEEN defensive players on injured reserve. The absence of Aidan Hutchinson was enormous. He looked like a Defensive Player of the Year candidate before breaking his leg.</p> <p>Entering this season, those players are healthy, but Johnson is gone as OC (now Bears head coach) and Glenn is out at DC (coaching New York Jets). So, on both sides of the ball we’ll be watching to see whether there’s any dip in performance.</p> <p>The division is stacked, but so, too, are the Lions. Another playoff run has to be on the cards - health permitting.</p> <p>The schedule starts out rough. At Packers to open, then another NFC North clash with Chicago and onto Baltimore for week three. There’s some respite in week four hosting Cleveland but then another tough visit to Cincinnati and then Kansas City.</p> <p>They might just need to hang tough early days.</p> <p><strong>Projected Record</strong>: 11-6.</p> <p><strong>Best Bet</strong>:<a href="https://www.sportsbet.com.au/betting/american-football/nfl-futures/detroit-lions-regular-season-specials-2025-26-9208129"> Penei Sewell NFL Protector of the Year.</a></p> <p>&nbsp;</p> <h2>Green Bay Packers Season Preview</h2> <p>&nbsp;</p> <p><strong>Head Coach</strong>: Matt LaFleur.</p> <p><strong>Last season</strong>: 11-6.</p> <p>The Packers have been largely under the radar since Aaron Rodgers left town.</p> <p>But all they’ve done in the LaFleur era is win. He’s 56-27 as head coach and has three straight 13-win seasons. He is 3-4 in the playoffs, though. And that’s where the next leap comes.</p> <p>Jordan Love has grown nicely but the time is now for him to help his head coach take this team over the top. It’s a young receiving group with plenty of talent but plenty of drops and we know the Packers almost always draft well, especially defensively.</p> <p>The week one face-off with Detroit at Lambeau is a cracker but there will be no respite with Washington arriving in town the very next week. Two home games to start is very handy but with two great teams inbound, they’ll need to go 1-1 at worst.</p> <p>Love’s left thumb issue should be no issue and when she gets frigid in Green Bay, these Packers should be a tough out.</p> <p><strong>Projected Record</strong>:10-7.</p> <p><strong>Best Bet</strong>:<a href="https://www.sportsbet.com.au/betting/american-football/nfl-futures/green-bay-packers-regular-season-specials-2025-26-9327448"> Jordan Love +25.5 passing touchdowns in regular season.</a></p> <p>&nbsp;</p> <h2>Minnesota Vikings Season Preview</h2> <p>&nbsp;</p> <p><strong>Head Coach</strong>: Kevin O’Connell.</p> <p><strong>Last season</strong>: 14-3.</p> <p>This team was amazing last season but comes into this season with a new quarterback.</p> <p>Sam Darnold led the Vikings to a 14-win season, 4-2 in the mighty NFC North and a 6-2 road record. He did everything anyone could’ve possibly imagined before a playoff struggle.</p> <p>The team did not want to bring him back on the money he sought AND they’d drafted JJ McCarthy the year previous to potentially be the starter anyway. McCarthy is healthy and he’s the man under O’Connell - who clearly is an outstanding offensive head coach.</p> <p>Justin Jefferson and Jordan Addison (suspended to begin the season) are among the better receiving duos in the league and Aaron Jones is a crafty veteran at RB.</p> <p>The defence is fierce and well-coached by Brian Flores. They led the NFL in forced turnovers and conceded just 17.4 points per game.</p> <p>Darnold was phenomenal last season, hence the 14-3 record. McCarthy might bring some regression to the overall record, but the hope is he will be a long-term prospect for O’Connell and the fanbase to build around. And we know young quarterbacks on rookie contracts allow teams to bring in superstars elsewhere.</p> <p><strong>Projected Record</strong>: 11-6.</p> <p><strong>Best Bet</strong>:<a href="https://www.sportsbet.com.au/betting/american-football/nfl-futures/minnesota-vikings-regular-season-specials-2025-26-9459500"> Minnesota +8.5 wins.</a></p> <p>&nbsp;</p> <h2>NFL NFC North Winner 2025-26 Odds</h2>