Bears should have their NFC North title tested, with Lions, Packers, Vikings all poised for rebounds

The Chicago Bears were one of the best stories in the NFL last season under new coach Ben Johnson, with the development of quarterback Caleb Williams, an impeccable turnover margin, and the team's steely late-game resolve serving as driving forces behind their first division title in seven years.

Consider, though, just how close the Bears came to missing the playoffs again.

Their NFL-record seven wins after trailing in the last two minutes of regulation included a stunner over the Minnesota Vikings, whose go-ahead touchdown with 50 seconds left was washed out by a kickoff coverage gaffe that led to a 56-yard return and game-winning field goal by the Bears as time expired.

Had they all stayed in their assigned lanes on that play, the Vikings probably would have been able to keep the Bears from scoring and thus win the division by tiebreaker at 10-7 despite a season-long slump by their offense and a rocky debut for quarterback J.J. McCarthy.

That's how fine the line can be between success and failure in this league, a thin margin for error that's sure to test the Bears this year in their quest to repeat as NFC North champions in this remarkably competitive era for the division.

Their schedule includes Super Bowl winner Seattle and runner-up New England, plus 2024 season champion Philadelphia. They've already lost an important player to a long-term injury, with newcomer safety Coby Bryant out until at least December if not the rest of the season. Their competitors, from the Detroit Lions to the Green Bay Packers to the Vikings, are all poised for rebounds, and all four teams finished with winning records.

From Johnson on down, though, these Bears carry themselves with a confidence that won't be swayed by conventional NFL wisdom about the challenge of bettering breakthrough seasons or tempted to think they've arrived after winning one playoff game.

“It’s a completely different group, and we’re going back to work,” Johnson said last week. "We’re forging our new path. It’s a new chapter of Bears football right now.”

Johnson got the job with Chicago because of his prowess as Detroit's offensive coordinator, and the brash 40-year-old did not disappoint in his debut as the Bears leaped from last in the league in total yards in 2024 to sixth in 2025.

Johnson said in a recent interview with The Athletic his goal is for the Bears to break the NFL's all-time scoring record. After posting the most passing yards in franchise history in 2025, Williams has plenty of momentum as his grasp of Johnson's offense and playing in the pros continues to grow. He has young wide receivers Rome Odunze and Luther Burden and tight ends Colston Loveland and Cole Kmet to mature along with him.

Green Bay has largely owned the NFC North since its current iteration was formed in 2002, but guess which team has now gone the longest since its most recent division title? Yes, the Packers have grabbed the NFC's last wild-card spot in each of the past three seasons, but their most recent NFC North crown came in 2021. There's plenty of pressure on coach Matt LaFleur entering his eighth year with a 3-6 record in the playoffs, but quarterback Jordan Love is a good place to start with the goal to become a true Super Bowl contender again. The healthy return of Micah Parsons would go a long way toward that, too, with the three-time All-Pro edge rusher expected back at midseason.

There's heat on Vikings coach Kevin O'Connell to win, too, entering his fifth year without a playoff-game win. The roadmap to returning to the postseason goes through an effective debut for Kyler Murray, who will be the fourth different starting quarterback in four years to open the season for Minnesota following McCarthy, Sam Darnold and Kirk Cousins. O'Connell's work in 2024 toward revitalizing Darnold's career suggests immense potential for Murray to succeed, with wide receiver Justin Jefferson leading the list of capable skill-position support.

The trio of quarterback Jared Goff, running back Jahmyr Gibbs and wide receiver Amon-Ra St. Brown is tough to top in the NFL for overall talent, giving the Lions a sturdy base for their desired bounce-back from a 9-8 finish. Jameson Williams, Sam LaPorta and Isaac TeSlaa give Goff even more capable playmakers. Penei Sewell remains one of the game's best offensive tackles, too. The Lions also get a boost from a schedule that has them playing four of the five worst teams in the league from last season.

Lions, Vikings, Packers, Bears

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Chicago Bears quarterback Caleb Williams (18) arrives for a joint NFL football practice with the Cincinnati Bengals, Thursday, Aug. 20, 2026, in Cincinnati. (AP Photo/Carolyn Kaster)

Chicago Bears head coach Ben Johnson looks at the scoreboard during the second half of a preseason NFL football game against the Cincinnati Bengals on Saturday, Aug. 22, 2026, in Cincinnati. (AP Photo/Joshua A. Bickel)

A 17-year-old North Carolina girl who recorded a livestream of a shooting that killed three people at a San Diego mosque and then disseminated the attackers’ white-supremacist writings has been charged with murder by aiding and abetting, a district attorney said Monday.

Forsyth County District Attorney Jim O’Neill said at a news conference in Winston-Salem that the girl, identified in court records as Sarah L. Santiago, was arrested last week. A grand jury indicted her on three counts of murder and one count of conspiracy Monday.

“At this time I can confirm that my client is innocent of all these charges,” Santiago’s attorney, Alan Doorasamy Sr., wrote in an email to The Associated Press. He said he had not received evidence from law enforcement and did not elaborate on any connection between Santiago and the attackers.

Under North Carolina law, the aiding-and-abetting charges carry the same penalties as if the girl had committed the attack herself, O'Neill said. She is charged as an adult and was being held without bond.

According to the indictment, Santiago agreed prior to the attack that she would record the livestream as the gunmen filmed it, distribute the recording, and release a document written by the attackers. She carried out those tasks, it said. She's also accused of purchasing a patch bearing a white-supremacist symbol and sending it to one of the gunmen to wear during the attack.

In all, three people watched the initial livestream, O'Neill said. It was not immediately clear if investigators had identified the others, and the indictment did not specify on which platforms the livestream was recorded or shared.

“The individual here, locally, was the person who was recording the livestream," O'Neill said. “She disseminated that information and she published their manifesto.”

Cain Clark, 17, and Caleb Vazquez, 18, stormed the Islamic Center on May 18 before being driven back outside by a security guard who exchanged gunfire with them as he initiated a lockdown, helping to protect 140 children who were just steps away.

The pair killed the guard, Amin Abdullah, and two other men before taking their own lives in a vehicle nearby. They left behind rambling writings full of vitriol against a wide range of people, and cited the shooter who killed 51 people at two mosques in Christchurch, New Zealand, in 2019, as one of the models for their violence.

Clark and Vazquez also planned subsequent attacks on two other targets: a Jewish temple and Black students at a high school, authorities said. O'Neill credited the guard and other victims at the mosque with having saved countless lives.

The attackers' writings cited a range of far-right ideological inspirations, including the notion that white people are being replaced by other populations, and detailed their motives and goals. They included hateful rhetoric toward Jewish people, Muslims and Islam, as well as the LGBTQ+ community, Black people, women, and the political left and right.

They indicated they were trying to accelerate the collapse of society. Vazquez wrote of having “some mental health issues” and being rejected by women.

In a written statement, the Vazquez family said Caleb Vazquez was on the autism spectrum and had grown to resent parts of his identity. The family said they believed that, combined with exposure to hateful rhetoric online, contributed to his radicalization.

Tazheen Nizam, executive director of the San Diego office of the Council on American-Islamic Relations, a Muslim civil rights group, said it is essential to hold everyone involved in such attacks accountable.

“We as a community need to invest in dismantling anti-Muslim hate,” Nizam said.

Santiago's arrest came just days before classes were to begin for the new school year, O'Neill said.

“The thought of her going back to school ... we didn't know what she was capable of,” he said.

This story was first published on Aug. 31, 2026. It was updated on Sep. 1, 2026, to correct the gunmen’s other targets. They also planned to attack Black students at a high school, not a predominantly Black high school, based on updated information from the San Diego Police Department.

Johnson reported from Seattle. Associated Press writers John Raby in Charleston, West Virginia; Jeffrey Collins in Columbia, South Carolina; and Julie Watson in San Diego contributed.

FILE - A note attached to flowers is placed outside of the Islamic Center of San Diego, the day after a shooting, May 19, 2026, in San Diego. (AP Photo/Jae C. Hong, File)

FILE - Candles with victim's names written on them are placed outside the Islamic Center of San Diego, in the aftermath of a shooting, on May 20, 2026, in San Diego. (AP Photo/Ty ONeil, File)

FILE - People gather as police vehicles are parked outside of the Islamic Center of San Diego, the day after a shooting, May 19, 2026, in San Diego. (AP Photo/Jae C. Hong, File)