The Bears remain the narrow leader to make the playoffs out of the NFC North based on the latest odds released from BetOnline.AG. The team has a 55.1 percent chance of reaching the postseason under head coach Matt Nagy for the second consecutive year, which is tied for the eighth-best odds among the 32 NFL franchises.
The Packers come in just behind the Bears with a 53.1 percent chance of reaching the playoffs, while the Vikings aren’t far off at 41.3 percent. The Lions lag behind in fourth among the division rivals with an 18.9 percent chance.
It’s been an active offseason already for Green Bay, which hired a new head coach in Matt LaFleur and aggressively remodeled its defense. After adding Preston Smith, Za’Darius Smith and Adrian Amos in free agency, the Packers drafted Rashan Gary and Darnell Savage Jr. with first-round picks last week.
The Bears added some talent this offseason, too, including Ha Ha Clinton-Dix, Buster Skrine, Mike Davis and third-round pick David Montgomery, but they haven’t been able to be as active as their rivals up north.
The defending Super Bowl champion Patriots have the highest chance of reaching the postseason at 84.2 percent. The Chiefs (79.5 percent) and Chargers (66.4 percent) also have strong chances of returning to the playoffs. For the NFC, the top teams are the Saints and Rams with the same odds at 71.8 percent.
The Bears haven’t made the playoffs in back-to-back seasons since 2005-06 under Lovie Smith. They won the division last season under Nagy with a 12-4 record, but lost to the Eagles in the Wild Card Round of the playoffs. They’re returning much of last year’s core, although the loss of defensive coordinator Vic Fangio stands to make an impact.
