NFC North Win Total Odds, Picks: High Expectations Across Division In 2025

Newsweek’s 2025 NFL betting preview continues today with a look at the NFC North.

This division’s four teams combined for one of the best regular seasons in recent memory in 2024. Green Bay finished 11-6, which would have been good enough to win the NFC South, NFC North and AFC South.

But in the loaded NFC North, the Packers not only failed to win their division, but finished a distant third behind the 15-2 Lions and the 14-3 Vikings.

With Detroit having to replace highly regarded offensive coordinator Ben Johnson and Minnesota relying on a QB with no NFL experience in 2024 first-rounder JJ McCarthy, oddsmakers see the NFC North as wide-open in 2025.

2025 NFC North Win Total Betting Odds

With Detroit having to replace highly regarded offensive coordinator Ben Johnson and Minnesota relying on a QB with no NFL experience in 2024 first-rounder JJ McCarthy, oddsmakers see the NFC North as wide-open in 2025.

In fact, at DraftKings, betting favorite Detroit is available at +155 to win the division, while the Packers (+250), Vikings (+320) and Bears (+475) are all 5-to-1 or shorter. The AFC South and NFC West are the only divisions where all four teams are currently 6-to-1 or shorter to win their division.

Best Detroit Lions 2025 Win Total Bet

The Lions are a fascinating team to watch after losing the OC that helped them finish top-5 in scoring in 2022, 2023 and 2024.

In addition to the loss of Johnson, who took over as head coach of Caleb Williams and the Bears, Detroit also had to replace defensive coordinator Aaron Glenn, who is now head coach of the Jets.

QB Jared Goff, RB Jahmyr Gibbs and WRs Amon-Ra St. Brown and Jameson Williams are all back, but the Lions lost two starting O-linemen this offseason. Pro Bowl Center Frank Ragnow retired, and veteran Kevin Zeitler signed with the Titans in free agency.

While the losses of Johnson, Ragnow and Zeitler could slow down Detroit’s offense, the defense should be much healthier after injuries wrecked the front seven a year ago.

Aidan Hutchinson is a legit Defensive Player of the Year candidate after piling up 7.5 sacks in five games before breaking both his fibula and tibia in Week 6 last year. Detroit should also have Malcolm Rodriguez and Alim McNeill back at some point this season after both suffered torn ACLs late last year.

Though it will miss Johnson, Ragnow and Zeitler, the Lions have too much talent to suddenly fall off a cliff offensively, and I expect the defense to be good enough for this team to win at least 11 games for the third year in a row (Detroit finished 12-5 in 2023 and 15-2 last year).

Best bet: Over 10.5 Wins (+115 at FanDuel) — 1 unit

Best Green Bay Packers 2025 Win Total Bet

There’s no denying that Green Bay has the edge in this division in terms of continuity from last year. The Packers are the only team in this division that kept its head coach (Matt LaFleur), quarterback (Jordan Love) and coordinators (OC Adam Stenavich and DC Jeff Hafley).

QB Jordan Love didn’t quite have the season that was expected from him last year following a remarkable finish in 2023, but still managed to lead Green Bay to an 11-6 record.

Love missed two games with injuries a year ago, and assuming he’s healthy, he could be poised for a huge campaign in just his third full season as the starter. The Packers return star RB Josh Jacobs, a young, deep group of wide receivers and four of five starting O-linemen from 2024, with former 49ers guard Aaron Banks joining the squad in free agency after starting center Josh Myers joined the Jets.

Defensively, there’s a lot to build on following a strong first year under Hafley.

Safety Xavier McKinney was one of the best free agent signings in the league last offseason, as he finished with eight picks and earned first-team All-Pro honors. The Packers finished third in interceptions with 17, eighth in sacks with 45 and sixth in points allowed per game.

Add it all up, and Green Bay to go over 9.5 wins feels like one of the safest over/under win total bets on the board right now.

• Best bet: Over 9.5 Wins (-105 at bet365) — 1 unit
• Bonus bet: (Alt) Over 10.5 Wins (+160 at FD, bet365) — 0.5 units

Best Minnesota Vikings 2025 Win Total Bet

For the Vikings, it will all come down to how well McCarthy plays in his second year in the league, but first as the starter.

The Vikes run a QB-friendly offense under head coach Kevin O’Connell, and Justin Jefferson is a phenomenal talent at WR, so as long as McCarthy is solid, Minnesota will have a good chance to return to the playoffs.

How McCarthy fares will likely depend on the Vikes’ O-line, which struggled down the stretch last year, to put it lightly. With new faces at center (veteran former Colt Ryan Kelly), left guard (rookie first-rounder Donovan Jackson) and right guard (27-year-old Will Fries), there’s a chance Minnesota will be much-improved at arguably its biggest weakness last year.

Defensively, at the risk of oversimplifying things, I’m going to assume any D led by Brian Flores is going to create a ton of problems for opposing offenses. The Vikes gave up less than 20 points per game in 2024, and they led the league in interceptions, with 24, as 11 players all finished with at least one pick.

Given uncertainty around McCarthy and this offense, I recommend playing it safe and taking Minnesota to go over 8.5 wins, even at the costly price of -145.

Best bet: (Alt) Over 8.5 Wins (-145 at FD) — 1 unit

Best Chicago Bears 2025 Win Total Bet

Speaking of wild cards, one of the darlings of the 2024 offseason is one of the toughest teams in the league to figure out right now. Caleb Williams’ highly anticipated rookie season didn’t go according to plan, and his struggles triggered an offseason overhaul of the offense.

Johnson is expected to maximize Williams’ talent, but will that happen in their first year together? That might be the biggest question in this division. A big reason Williams struggled as a rookie was poor pass protection, which led to an absurd 68 (!) sacks of the former USC Trojans star.

Like Minnesota, Chicago brings back its tackles (Braxton Jones and Darnell Wright), but it has a new trio on the interior. This offseason, the Bears traded for guard Joe Thuney, signed free agent center Drew Dalman and also acquired guard Jonah Jackson. All three are expected to represent substantial upgrades, especially Thuney, who was first-team All-Pro in 2023 and 2024.

The defense should be solid under former Raiders and Saints head coach Dennis Allen.

This unit brings back its top players in the secondary in corner Jaylon Johnson, nickel Kyler Gordon and veteran safety Kevin Byard, and top linebackers Tremaine Edmunds and TJ Edwards also return.

The D-line should be improved, especially if nose tackle Andrew Billings can return to the level he reached before suffering a season-ending injury last November. Former Colts pass rusher Dayo Odeyingbo and Montez Sweat could form a quality 1-2 punch on the edge.

Still, against one of the toughest schedules in the league, I think the Bears will improve on last year’s 5-12 finish but fall short of nine wins, so let’s go with Under 8.5 wins for a team that hasn’t finished above .500 since 2018.

Best bet: Under 8.5 Wins (-135 at DraftKings) — 1 unit

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