The Chicago Bears did all the hard work last weekend, rallying in the final minutes to beat the Green Bay Packers and move into first place.

On Saturday night, they clinched the NFC North while sitting on their couches.

The Bears watched the Packers lose to the Baltimore Ravens 41-24 on Saturday at Lambeau Field, and that was all the Bears needed. For the first time since 2018, they are NFC North champions. 

It was the Bears' sixth division crown since 2000, but only their second since 2010. The Bears finished last a year ago, and have had a sudden resurgence under first-year coach Ben Johnson.

Chicago's work is not done yet. They still have a chance to earn the No. 1 seed in the NFC — and the first-round bye that comes with it — if they can win their last two games and have current leader Seattle lose at least once.

The Bears play San Francisco on Sunday night, and then finish the season against the Detroit Lions next weekend. Then it's on to the postseason, where it's very possible that we cold see another Bears-Packers rematch.

With the Bears' title clinched, I thought it would be a good time to look back at all the NFC North champions since 2000, and what they did in the postseason. 

NFC North champions since 2002

The Packers have won 12 division titles since the four-team NF C North division was created. The, the Vikings five, the Bears five and the Lions two. Of the 23 winners, not a single one has gone on to win the Super Bowl. The only world championship won by an NFC North team was when the Packers went on to win the Super Bowl following the 2010 season, and they did that as a wild-card team.

NFC North champions are just 1-10 in the conference title game since 2000. The Bears won the NFC crown after the 2006 season. The last NFC North champion to win the Super Bowl was the 1996 Packers when it was still the NFC Central, and they were the first one since the 1985 Chicago Bears.

Here are the winners of the NFC North division since 2000, with how they fared in the postseason that year.

2002 — Green Bay Packers (12-4): Lost at home 27-7 to the Atlanta Falcons in the wild-card round. 
2003 — Green Bay Packers (10-6): Beat the Seattle Seahawks 33-27 in the wild-card round; lost to lost on the road to the Philadelphia Eagles 20-17 in the divisional round. 
2004 — Green Bay Packers (10-6): Lost at home to the Minnesota Vikings 31-17 in the wild-card round.
2005 — Chicago Bears (11-5): Lost at home 29-21 to the Carolina Panthers in the divisional round.
2006 — Chicago Bears (13-3): Beat the Seattle Seahawks at home 27-24 in the divisional round, beat the New Orleans Saints at home 39-14 to win the NFC Championship Game, lost to the Indianapolis Colts 29-17 in Super Bowl XLI in Miami Gardens, Fla. 
2007 — Green Bay Packers (13-3): Beat the Seattle Seahawks at home 42-20 in the divisional round, lost to the New York Giants at home 23-20 in overtime in the NFC title game. 
2008 — Minnesota Vikings (10-6): Lost at home 26-14 to the Philadelphia Eagles in the wild-card round. 
2009 — Minnesota Vikings (12-4): Beat the Dallas Cowboys at home 34-3 in the divisional round, lost on the road to the New Orleans Saints 31-28 in overtime in the NFL title game.
2010 — Chicago Bears (11-5): Beat the Seattle Seahawks at home 35-24 in the divisional round, lost to the Green Bay Packers at home 21-14 in the NFC Championship Game. (Note: The Packers went on to win the Super Bowl against the Pittsburgh Steelers, the first wild-card team from the NFC North to win it all.)

2011 — Green Bay Packers (15-1): Lost at home 37-20 to the New York Giants in the divisional round.
2012 — Green Bay Packers (11-5): Beat the Minnesota Vikings at home 24-10 in the wild-card round, lost on the road to the San Francisco 49ers 45-31 in the divisional round.
2013 — Green Bay Packers (8-7-1): Lost at home 23-20 to the San Francisco 49ers in the wild-card round.
2014 — Green Bay Packers (12-4): Beat the Dallas Cowboys at home 26-21 in the divisional round, lost to the Seattle Seahawks on the road 28-22 in overtime in the NFC title game.
2015 — Minnesota Vikings (11-5): Lost at home to the Seattle Seahawks 10-9 in the wild-card round.
2016 — Green Bay Packers (10-6): Beat the New York Giants at home 38-13 in the wild-card round, beat the Dallas Cowboys on the road 34-31 in the divisional round, lost to the Atlanta Falcons on the road 44-21 in the NFC title game.
2017 — Minnesota Vikings (13-3): Beat the New Orleans Saints at home 29-24 in the divisional round, lost at Philadelphia 38-7 in the NFC title game.
2018 — Chicago Bears (12-4): Lost at home to the Philadelphia Eagles 16-15 in the wild-card round.
2019 — Green Bay Packers (13-3): Beat the Seattle Seahawks at home 28-23 in the divisional round, lost on the road to the San Francisco 49ers 37-20 in the NFC title game. 
2020 — Green Bay Packers (13-3): Beat the Los Angeles Rams at home 32-18 in the divisional round, lost at home to the Tampa Bay Buccaneers 31-26 in the NFC title game. 

2021 — Green Bay Packers (13-4): Lost at home 13-10 to the San Francisco 49ers in the divisional round.
2022 — Minnesota Vikings (13-4): Lost at home to the New York Giants 31-24 in the wild-card round.
2023 — Detroit Lions (12-5): Beat the Los Angeles Rams at home 24-23 in the wild-card round, beat the Tampa Bay Buccaneers 31-23 at home in the divisional round, lost at San Francisco 34-31 in the NFC title game.  
2024 — Detroit Lions (15-2): Lost at home to the Washington Commanders 45-31 in the divisional round.  
2025 — Chicago Bears.