The first comes from the defensive side of the ball. Thanks to injuries in their front seven and a secondary overrun with junior varsity talent, the team struggled to an incredible degree at forcing turnovers. So much in fact that if not for a late interception by undrafted rookie Cre’Von LeBlanc, Chicago would own the league record for the few takeaways ever in a 16-game season. As it stands they’ve settled for just tying it.
The 11 takeaways by the #Bears during the 2016 season ties the record for fewest takeaways by an NFL team in a 16 game season.
— Zach Zaidman (@ZachZaidman) January 2, 2017
Don’t forget that just four years ago the Bears defense forced 44 takeaways in the 2012 season. They averaged over 30 during the entire Lovie Smith era. Have things really degraded that much? Seems that way, and they weren’t even done. That clunker in Minnesota was the fitting exclamation point to another franchise-first and tying of a league mark.
This is the first time in #Bears history that the team finished 0-8 on the road.
— Zach Zaidman (@ZachZaidman) January 2, 2017
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They say the sign of a true championship football team is how they’re able to perform on the road in front of a hostile crowd. In that case the Bears are about as far away from contention as a team gets. Yet Fox and GM Ryan Pace continue to preach that the team is closer than it looks. All it will take is a little more time and tweaking of the formula. How many times have fans heard that one before?
Not they have any choice in the matter. At this point all people can do is shrug off the embarrassment and move forward.
