The Green Bay Packers appeared to be well on their way to a win over the Chicago Bears in Week 16 of the 2025 NFL season when they took a 10-point lead with about five minutes remaining in regulation.
Instead, the Bears came storming back thanks to an onside kick from Cairo Santos and heroics from Caleb Williams to earn a critical, 22-16 victory.
Chicago is now in firm control of the NFC North and can clinch a playoff berth if the Detroit Lions lose to the Pittsburgh Steelers on Sunday.
Even so, the divisional race is not over, and both the Packers and Lions will be hoping against hope they can make a last-ditch effort to challenge the Bears as they look to win a divisional title for the first time since Matt Nagy was the team’s head coach.
Here’s what to know about the NFC North standings after the result of the Bears vs. Packers Week 16 game.
NFC North standings
Below is a look at the pecking order in the NFC North after the Bears’ 22-16 win over the Packers:
Chicago Bears (11-4)
Green Bay Packers (9-5-1)
Detroit Lions (8-6)
Minnesota Vikings (6-8)
The Bears now hold a one-and-a-half game lead over the Packers atop the NFC North. As such, Chicago needs only to win one of its final two games to clinch the division title for the first time since 2018.
Chicago’s win over Green Bay also prevented the Packers from earning a head-to-head tiebreaker over the Bears. That likely won’t be consequential, as the Packers’ tie made it unlikely they’d finish with an identical record to the Bears, but it will give Chicago just a modicum more flexibility in the unlikely event of another tie.
Meanwhile, the Bears’ win figures to make it difficult, but not impossible, for the Lions to win the division. Detroit would need to win out and have Chicago lose out to have a chance at winning the divisional crown.
The Lions’ best chance of making the playoffs is now to catch the Packers in the NFC standings. With a win over the Pittsburgh Steelers in Week 16, Detroit can position itself to be a half-game back of Green Bay in the NFC North and wild-card standings.
That said, the Lions may have actually preferred a Bears loss. Why? Because Detroit still has a game remaining on the schedule against Chicago, which would have put the Lions in a better position to control their playoff chances. They would only have needed to be within one game of the Bears in the standings before their Week 18 matchup to have a potential win-and-in scenario.
Instead, the Lions will have less ground to make up on the Packers, but no control over Green Bay’s potential results. As such, the Lions will rely on a slip-up from the Packers or another NFC wild-card team down the stretch, while Detroit will also need to take care of business on its own end to mount an 11th-hour playoff push.
Bears remaining schedule
The Bears can clinch the NFC North with a win in one of their last two games. That won’t be an easy task, however, as Chicago is playing a couple of teams who are in the thick of the NFC playoff race to close the season.
Below is a look at the Bears’ remaining opponents:
Week 17: at San Francisco 49ers (10-4)
Week 18: vs. Detroit Lions (8-6)
Packers remaining schedule
Neither of the Packers’ two remaining opponents has a winning record entering Week 16. Below is a look at Green Bay’s schedule over the season’s final two weeks:
Week 17: vs. Baltimore Ravens (7-7)
Week 18: at Minnesota Vikings (6-8)
Lions remaining schedule
The Lions still have to play their Week 16 game against the Steelers. After that, they will hit the road for a couple of divisional contests, including what could prove to be a critical, Week 18 battle with the Bears, pending the shape of the NFC playoff picture.
Below is a look at the Lions’ remaining opponents:
Week 16: vs. Pittsburgh Steelers
Week 17: at Minnesota Vikings
Week 18: at Chicago Bears
NFC North division winner odds
The Bears’ win has established them as the clear-cut favorites to win the NFC North, according to odds from DraftKings Sportsbook. Below is a look at each team’s chances of winning the tightly packed division:
Chicago Bears (-380)
Green Bay Packers (+650)
Detroit Lions (+750)
