Final NFC North standings following 2020 regular season

After thrilling wins and painful losses, the 2020 NFL regular season has come to a close, which means the NFC North standings are now final as we head into the postseason for some teams and the offseason for others.

The Green Bay Packers and Chicago Bears are preparing for playoff football beginning this weekend, while the Minnesota Vikings and Detroit Lions have a jump start on their offseason plans.

For the final time, here is how the NFC North looks at the conclusion of the 2020 regular season.

Green Bay Packers (13-3)

AP Photo/Charles Rex Arbogast

At the very beginning of the season, the Green Bay Packers sent a message to the league, showing they were a force to be reckoned with when they put up consecutive games with 40+ points. That message resonated all year long as they compiled a 13-3 record for the second consecutive year and a first-round bye, culminating in their 35-16 win against the Chicago Bears in week 17. The Packers began the season with a four game winning streak, but ran into a bit of trouble in the middle of their schedule when they dropped three games in just six weeks. They quickly righted the ship, however, and won their final six matchups to clinch the top seed in the NFC, primarily due to quarterback Aaron Rodgers. Putting up MVP-caliber numbers, Rodgers torched defenses all year long, throwing 48 touchdowns and just five interceptions. 17 of those touchdowns went to his favorite target, wide receiver Davante Adams, who had 18 on the season. With Rodgers and Adams leading the way, the Packers coasted to another division title and will wait to play in the divisional round of the NFL playoffs.

Chicago Bears (8-8)

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Like Green Bay, the Chicago Bears also finished with their exact same record from a year ago, compiling a record of 8-8. But unlike last season, the Bears were able to sneak into the playoffs with that record, thanks to the NFL adding a seventh seed to each conference postseason. It wasn't an easy road to get there, however. After a surprising 5-1 start to the season that saw two improbable comebacks, the Bears crashed back to earth and then some, losing six games in a row that fueled speculation that sweeping changes across the organization. Those changes already seemed to be happening during the season. Starting quarterback Mitchell Trubisky was benched in favor of Nick Foles and head coach Matt Nagy waved the white flag by passing play calling duties to offensive coordinator Bill Lazor. But after crashing and burning, the Bears poured water on their losing streak and picked themselves up to salvage the season. They won their next three games in a row thanks to a rejuvinated offense, led once again by Trubisky and headed into their week 17 matchup with the Green Bay Packers with a playoff spot within reach. Though they lost 35-16, the Bears were still able to punch their ticket to the postseason, thanks to the Los Angeles Rams defeating the Arizona Cardinals. Winning the seventh seed, they'll travel to Louisiana to take on the two seeded New Orleans Saints for the second time this year. The Bears will look to exact revenge for the 26-23 overtime loss earlier in the season and keep their slim Super Bowl hopes alive.

Minnesota Vikings (7-9)

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A season with high aspirations quickly soured for the Minnesota Vikings and left them trying to maintain a .500 record after reaching divisional round of the postseason in 2019. Minnesota got out to a 1-5 start heading into their bye week, suddenly realizing the season had slipped away. They traded away one of their prized offseason acquisitions in outside linebacker Yannick Ngakoue and appeared to embrace the inevitable fact they would not contend in 2020. But then they found their groove. Running back Dalvin Cook began running over defenses, quarterback Kirk Cousins settled down after his brutal start, and rookie wide receiver Justin Jefferson emerged as an impact player, breaking rookie receiving records. All of a sudden, the Vikings found themselves back to a .500 record at 6-6 with the playoffs now in sight. Unfortunately, they fell back to earth by losing their next three and were ultimately eliminated on Christmas by the New Orleans Saints. They did finish their season on a high note with a dramatic win over the Detroit Lions, 37-35. But they finished in third place in the division for the first time since 2016.

Detroit Lions (5-11)

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For the third straight season, the Detroit Lions had high hopes with head coach Matt Patricia at the helm and for the third straight season, those hopes ended with a last-place finish in the NFC North division. The Lions got off to a rocky start, blowing leads in each of their first two games to start 0-2. Winning three of their next four, including a miraculous comeback against the Atlanta Falcons, however, brought them back to .500 and renewed hopes of a successful season. Those hopes quickly faded, though, as the Lions would win just two of their final 10 games, resulting in the firing of Patricia in the middle of the season. Interim head coach Darrell Bevell did his best to rally the team, but a banged-up Lions squad could only do so much. They finished the year at 5-11, capping a dismal year off by losing to the Vikings 37-35 and begin an offseason filled with question marks surrounding their head coaching search, quarterback Matthew Stafford, key free agents, and more.

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