{"id":236624,"date":"2025-06-13T15:33:31","date_gmt":"2025-06-13T19:33:31","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/lastwordonsports.com\/nfl\/?p=236624"},"modified":"2025-06-13T15:33:31","modified_gmt":"2025-06-13T19:33:31","slug":"power-shift-bears-nfc-north","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/lastwordonsports.com\/nfl\/2025\/06\/13\/power-shift-bears-nfc-north\/","title":{"rendered":"A Power Shift Is Brewing for the Bears in the NFC North"},"content":{"rendered":"

All offseason long, the spotlight has rightfully been on the Chicago Bears<\/a> and the significant upgrades they’ve made. From bringing in offensive mastermind Ben Johnson as head coach to reinforcing the offensive line,<\/a> the Bears are gearing up for a season filled with optimism and heightened expectations. However, what hasn’t been discussed nearly enough is the turmoil and uncertainty unfolding across the rest of the NFC North, and that should give Bears fans even more reason to be excited about the 2025 season.<\/p>\n

A Power Shift Is Brewing for the Bears in the NFC North<\/h2>\n

Quarterback Uncertainty Looms Large in Minnesota<\/h3>\n
\"JJ
Jun 10, 2025; Minneapolis, MN, USA; Minnesota Vikings quarterback J.J. McCarthy (9) practices during minicamp at the Minnesota Vikings Training Facility. Mandatory Credit: Matt Krohn-Imagn Images<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

The Minnesota Vikings<\/a> made a bold decision this offseason by letting Sam Darnold<\/a> walk in favor of JJ McCarthy.<\/a> Reports coming out of OTAs and minicamp have painted a mixed picture of McCarthy’s early development,<\/a> and his NFL debut, a primetime road game at Soldier Field, could be a baptism by fire.<\/p>\n

“I think (J.J.) is right where he needs to be right now,” Vikings offensive coordinator Wes Phillips mentioned.<\/a> “Every rep is a learning rep.”<\/p>\n

While McCarthy may very well develop into a quality NFL starter, there’s no denying the challenges he’ll face in his first year at the helm. His progression will be something to watch closely, especially for a hungry Bears squad hoping to capitalize on his inexperience.<\/p>\n

Green Bay’s Secondary Raises Red Flags<\/h3>\n

This should be music to the ears of Bears fans: the Green Bay Packers<\/a> are facing major questions in their secondary. After parting ways with All-Pro cornerback Jaire Alexander,<\/a> Green Bay’s cornerback depth has thinned out to the point where wide receiver Bo Melton has been taking reps<\/a> on defense.<\/p>\n

Currently, the Packers are projected to start Nate Hobbs,<\/a> Keisean Nixon,<\/a> and Carrington Valentine<\/a> at cornerback. They may still look to the open market for reinforcements, but as things stand, Chicago’s elite receiving corps, headlined by D.J. Moore,<\/a> Rome Odunze,<\/a> and Luther Burden III,<\/a> will pose serious matchup problems for this depleted unit.<\/p>\n

Detroit Takes a Major Hit on Offense<\/h3>\n

The losses keep adding up for the Detroit Lions<\/a> this offseason. After losing both coordinators and some key players, the Lions will be without longtime starting Pro Bowl center Frank Ragnow<\/a> with the announcement that he’s retiring after just seven seasons<\/a> in the NFL.<\/p>\n

Ragnow, 29, was one of the premier centers in the NFL and was a focal point that made the Lions’ offense so prolific over the past few seasons. Now, the Lions will have to come up with a plan on offense after losing him, Kevin Zeitler,<\/a> and play caller Ben Johnson.<\/p>\n

Last Word on the Potential Power Shift in the NFC North<\/h3>\n

It’s not to say the Bears had some losses as well, but none were to the level that their NFC North rivals had this offseason. A lot of people will continue to doubt the Bears, but things are shaping up for a great season in Chicago. If the Bears can capitalize on these vulnerabilities within the division, they could become the ‘Kings of the North’ next season.<\/p>\n

Main Image: Kamil Krzaczynski – Imagn Images<\/em><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

All the talk has been on the Bears reinforcements, but there hasn’t been enough talk about what’s going on elsewhere in the NFC North.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":4976,"featured_media":236697,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_lmt_disableupdate":"no","_lmt_disable":"","sfio_featured_image":false,"sfio_embed_code":"","_ef_editorial_meta_date_first-draft-date":"","_ef_editorial_meta_paragraph_assignment":"","_ef_editorial_meta_checkbox_needs-photo":"","_ef_editorial_meta_number_word-count":"","footnotes":""},"categories":[23,36],"tags":[7403,7467,3899,7460,3712,32491,7753,41],"class_list":["post-236624","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-bears","category-nfl-news","tag-chicago-bears-news","tag-detroit-lions-news","tag-frank-ragnow","tag-green-bay-packers-news","tag-jaire-alexander","tag-jj-mccarthy","tag-minnesota-vikings-news","tag-nfc-north"],"modified_by":"Isaac Zuniga","_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/lastwordonsports.com\/nfl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/236624","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/lastwordonsports.com\/nfl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/lastwordonsports.com\/nfl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/lastwordonsports.com\/nfl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/4976"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/lastwordonsports.com\/nfl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=236624"}],"version-history":[{"count":30,"href":"https:\/\/lastwordonsports.com\/nfl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/236624\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":236706,"href":"https:\/\/lastwordonsports.com\/nfl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/236624\/revisions\/236706"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/lastwordonsports.com\/nfl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/236697"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/lastwordonsports.com\/nfl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=236624"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/lastwordonsports.com\/nfl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=236624"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/lastwordonsports.com\/nfl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=236624"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}