Entering the 2025 season, the NFC North has a chance to be the best division in football. Last season, the division sent three teams to the playoffs, and the one bad team in the division, the Chicago Bears, are expected to make significant strides with Ben Johnson taking over as head coach. That means the NFC North could have four teams with a legitimate shot at making the postseason.
That all depends on if the Bears are serious, or if this is just the latest example of Chicago winning the offseason, with no regular-season results to show for it. There’s no denying the Bears have made moves to improve, however, there was one area Chicago didn’t add much to, and it could ultimately haunt them during the season.
The Bears didn’t significantly add to their edge defender group. Considering the value of rushing the passer, and the teams Chicago play in 2025, not investing in the edge group could cost the Bears games.
Bears not adding to their edge group could keep them out of the NFC North race
To be clear, Chicago did sign defensive linemen like Grady Jarrett and Dayo Odeyingbo, but Jarrett is a defensive tackle, and Odeyingbo, who is an end, only recorded 16.5 sacks in 61 games over his four seasons with the Indianapolis Colts. It’s fair to say the Bears didn’t provide Montez Sweat with much help in getting after the passer.
Chicago already has to face Jordan Love and the Green Bay Packers, Jared Goff and the Detroit Lions, and a Minnesota Vikings team that just made Sam Darnold a Pro Bowl quarterback. Outside of the division, the Bears will play guys like Lamar Jackson, Joe Burrow, Justin Herbert, Jayden Daniels, Jalen Hurts, and their old friend Aaron Rodgers. If Chicago doesn’t have a consistent pass rush against these quarterbacks and their promising offenses, the Bears could have another down year.
While that would be terrible for Chicago fans who are hanging another offseason banner, it’d be amazing for the Packers.