2. Chicago Bears
The Bears come in at No. 2 in our power rankings. The Bears now won't have safety Coby Bryant for most, if not all of the 2026 season because of a knee injury, and he was one of their major signings this offseason. The offense was quite good, ranking 9th in points scored per game, but with the trade of DJ Moore and the shocking retirement of Drew Dalman, that unit might not improve as much as we think.
With that said, good coaching goes a long way, and it's clear that Ben Johnson does provide that. And all you might need from the defense is for the unit to rank around 16th in points allowed, which might mean that the Bears sacrifice some turnovers for a more efficient unit on a down-to-down basis, which isn't that big of a deal.
Overall, these 11 wins last year were no fluke, but when you compare roster talent and the QB advantage, I believe the Bears fall just short in our latest rankings.
1. Detroit Lions
The Lions own the best roster and QB in the division, and at some point, these defensive injuries have to improve. While I'm not a doctor, I just can't see how this unit struggles on this front for a third year in a row. Sure, it's a lot of hope, but in 2025, the Lions were 7-4 at one point an right in the mix for the division title.
And with how stable and efficient the offense has been, that unit will continue to put up a ton of points with ease. Like the Bears, all you need from the Lions defense is a unit that is simply league average. It's not hard to envision a bounce back, as the Lions are still just one year removed from winning 15 games and earning the NFC's top playoff seed.
They also won 12 games that prior year and had totaled 27 regular season wins in the 2023 and 2024 seasons. The Lions are the most battle-tested team in the division and top our rankings.
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