The schedule was released on April 14. The Bears' opponents had a combined 2015 record of 118–138 (), giving the Bears the second-softest schedule in the league.
Game summaries Week 1: at Houston Texans The Bears opened the 2016 season on the road against the
Houston Texans, who defeated the Bears in all three of their previous meetings, most recently a 13–6 win in
2012. The game was the second Bears–Texans game at
NRG Stadium, the first being a Houston 31–24 win in
2008. On offense, the Bears faced a Texans defense that was ranked third in the NFL in 2015, which
WBBM-TV writer Jeff Joniak wrote should be handled by controlling the ball and blocking defenders
J. J. Watt,
Whitney Mercilus and
Jadeveon Clowney. Meanwhile, the Texans were led by quarterback
Brock Osweiler, who guided the Broncos to victory against the Bears in his debut as an NFL starter last year. Osweiler was bolstered by a fast-paced receiving corps featuring
DeAndre Hopkins and rookies
Will Fuller and
Braxton Miller. With an unproven roster, including six new starters on offense, Joniak believed the Bears should utilize this as an "element of surprise" against the Texans. Chicago capitalized on the takeaway with Jeremy Langford's one-yard touchdown run. After the Texans punted, the Bears elected to attempt a fourth down conversion at Houston's 31-yard line, but turned the ball over on downs when Jay Cutler fumbled the snap.
Nick Novak kicked a 28-yard field goal in the second quarter. The Texans took the lead when Osweiler threw a 23-yard touchdown pass to Hopkins, and had a chance to increase the margin when Osweiler threw a potential 83-yard touchdown pass to Fuller, but he dropped the pass; they punted three plays later. With 31 seconds left in the half, the Bears offense traveled 75 yards on three plays, including a 54-yard pass by Cutler to
Alshon Jeffery, ending the drive with Cutler's 19-yard touchdown pass to
Eddie Royal. On the second play of the third quarter, Cutler was intercepted by
Andre Hal after Kevin White appeared to stop running his route midplay. For the Bears' offense to succeed against the Eagles, Jeff Joniak stated it would have to be more productive; while the Bears had 12 possessions (a league average) against the Texans, none of them were at least ten plays long, while also having only 54 snaps, the second-least in the NFL. In comparison, in their win against the Browns in week one, the Eagles ran 73 plays with a league-high 39:20 time of possession. On defense, the Bears had to improve on third down, where they allowed an NFL-high 12 of 20 third down conversions last week. Likewise, the defense had to pressure Eagles rookie quarterback
Carson Wentz, who completed all eight of his passes in blitzing situations against Cleveland. After Chicago punted, Philadelphia took the lead with
Caleb Sturgis' 25-yard field goal. Though the Bears attempted to respond with
Connor Barth's 31-yard kick, it hit the left upright; they would take the lead on their next series with Jeremy Langford's one-yard touchdown run, receiving support from Jay Cutler throwing a 49-yard pass to Alshon Jeffery to reach the Eagles' five-yard line. Sturgis kicked 29- and 53-yard field goals to give the Eagles the 9–7 lead entering halftime.
Week 3: at Dallas Cowboys In week three, the Bears went to
Arlington, Texas to face the
Dallas Cowboys in the second game of 2016 against a Texas-based team; this marked the first time since
1992 that the Bears played on the road against both Texas teams in a season. Week three marked the 26th game between Chicago and Dallas, the latter leading the series 14–11 entering the game. While the Bears won the last game in Dallas 34–18 (in 2012), the Cowboys won the most recent game 41–28 (in
2014). Jeff Joniak wrote the Bears offense should attack the Cowboys with their run game; the latter had allowed 4.8 yards per carry in the first two games. Additionally, the offense was without Jay Cutler after his injury sustained in week two, meaning Brian Hoyer started against Dallas, though Alshon Jeffery, who was battling knee injuries during the week, made his return for week three. The defense, also depleted by injuries with players like Danny Trevathan and Eddie Goldman ruled out for the game, had to be able to successfully tackle Cowboys receiver
Dez Bryant and tight end
Jason Witten while also applying pressure on rookie quarterback
Dak Prescott. Joniak also wrote the Bears needed to excel on both sides in the red zone; against the Eagles, the Bears defense had a 50 percent touchdown efficiency in the red zone, made some big plays in the red zone in the loss to the Eagles, with a 50 percent touchdown efficiency rating on six attempts. Meanwhile, against the
Washington Redskins, the Cowboys restricted them to just two field goals in the red zone, including a late interception by
Barry Church. during the opening drive. The Bears' next two drives ended with punts, while the Cowboys' resulting drives concluded with scores:
Dan Bailey kicked a 49-yard field goal and
Lance Dunbar scored on a one-yard run. Down 17–0, Chicago would score their first points of the game via Connor Barth's 34-yard field goal in the second quarter. On the following kickoff, Barth attempted an onside kick that
Sherrick McManis successfully recovered, but
Jonathan Anderson was ruled offsides, nullifying the play. Instead of retrying the onside, Barth simply kicked off. Dallas scored on the next drive with
Alfred Morris' three-yard touchdown run. After the Bears punted to start the second half, The first divisional game of the year, the Bears had struggled against
NFC North teams in recent years; of their last 18 divisional matchups, they lost 14, including seven of the last nine at home. In his Keys to the Game, Jeff Joniak stated the Bears offense, once again with Brian Hoyer starting at quarterback in place of a still-healing Jay Cutler, had to hold off
Teryl Austin's blitzes; the Lions had the second-highest number of blitzes in the league. While Detroit's top pass rusher
Ezekiel Ansah was nursing an ankle injury, substitute
Kerry Hyder recorded four sacks in his place. Joniak added the Bears could attack linebacker
Tahir Whitehead, who had allowed three touchdown passes in 2016. Against a Detroit offense led by quarterback
Matthew Stafford, the Bears needed to contain his targets like
Marvin Jones, who had excelled over the course of the 2016 season,
Pro Bowler
Golden Tate, the experienced
Anquan Boldin and young tight end
Eric Ebron. As in previous games, third down was a critical factor in the game, Joniak stating the defense "must get off the field." the Bears scored first when Hoyer threw a four-yard touchdown pass to Eddie Royal despite being covered by
Nevin Lawson. The next six series of the game ended in punts, the trend ending when the Bears were stopped on fourth down in Lions territory midway through the second quarter; "An efficient offensive attack", particularly a rushing-based offense like against the Lions, was a key to success against the Colts defense, according to Jeff Joniak; the Colts allowed the second-highest runs of at least four yards with 51.5 percent. He added the offense should punctuate the run with deep passes, as the Colts were the most penalized defense in the NFL with six pass interference and three personal fouls, along with just four turnovers forced resulting in only three total points. Meanwhile, the Bears defense had to attack Colts quarterback
Andrew Luck; Indianapolis was allowing a league-high 15 sacks, was ranked 29th in pass protection efficiency, the second-most hurries (35) the highest number of knockdowns (33) allowed, along with 10 combined false start and holding penalties. Joniak added
jet lag could play a factor in the game, as the Colts had lost in
London the week before and had no bye week. Connor Barth scored the first points of the game when he kicked a 35-yard field goal on the Bears' opening drive.
Adam Vinatieri responded with a 54-yard field goal and the Colts took the lead in the second quarter when Luck threw a one-yard touchdown pass to
Dwayne Allen. Both teams traded field goals on their next drives before Brian Hoyer threw a 14-yard touchdown pass to Cameron Meredith. With 11 seconds left in the first half, Vinatieri kicked a 26-yard field goal to give Indianapolis the 16–13 lead at halftime. He converted a 41-yard field goal in the third quarter to increase the margin to six points; when Barth tried a 49-yarder on the next series, he missed it wide left, but redeemed himself with a 24-yard kick in the fourth. Hoyer later led the Bears on a 96-yard drive, ending it with a 21-yard touchdown pass to Jordan Howard; the drive was the longest touchdown-scoring series since a 97-yard possession against the
Steelers in
2009. Luck responded with a 35-yard touchdown pass to
T. Y. Hilton, who beat Jacoby Glenn for the score, followed by Vinatieri's 35-yard field goal after Meredith lost a fumble. Down by six points, Hoyer attempted to rally the Bears on one last drive but missed an open Alshon Jeffery on fourth down, throwing an incomplete pass to Meredith. The Colts ran out the clock to end the game. Jeff Joniak wrote the offense should employ a run-based attack with Jordan Howard, interspersed with short passes by Brian Hoyer. The Bears led the league in passes of at least four yards and rushes of at least six yards on first down. Defensively, the Bears needed to disrupt quarterback
Blake Bortles' rhythm; when his consistency is broken, he is prone to throwing interceptions. To do so, Joniak stated the Bears should apply a pass rush as "young quarterbacks don't like pressure." Meanwhile, Jacksonville's rushing attack, while not seeing much action, was spearheaded by
T. J. Yeldon and
Chris Ivory. Joniak also believed a crucial factor of the game is the battle on third down, where the Jaguars had struggled during the season. Of his six interceptions in 2016, Bortles had thrown four on third down, while the Jaguars were ranked 29th and 32nd on third down defense and offense, respectively. The Bears escaped a 7–0 deficit when Tracy Porter intercepted Bortles in the endzone to stop an 84-yard drive, instead taking a three-point lead on Connor Barth's 36-yard field goal in the second quarter. After the Jaguars punted, the Bears drove 86 yards and scored on Jordan Howard's one-yard touchdown run. By halftime, the Bears led 10–0, the first time they had shut out an opponent in the first half since 2012 against the Lions. The Bears were struggling to score in 2016, averaging a league-worst 16.8 points per game. As such, Jeff Joniak wrote the Bears needed to score touchdowns, especially considering their struggles in the red zone (on 19 trips to the region, the Bears scored only nine times). Outside of the red zone, the Bears scored only 10 points; in comparison, the NFL average was 37. Chicago's rushing attack faced a Green Bay defense that allowed only eight runs of at least ten yards and 3.4 yards on first down, the third-lowest in the league. On defense, the Bears faced
Aaron Rodgers; while the Packers offense was only 26th in yardage and at –3 in turnover ratio, the unit led the league in third down completion percentage. Rodgers also excelled in the first quarter of games, where he had thrown four touchdown passes, good for second in the league, and a 106
passer rating. However, the Packers struggled on drives starting within their own 20-yard line, failing to score on 14 such drives, the only team unable to do so. Joniak also wrote the team needed a "spark"; defeating the Packers at Lambeau for the second straight season would "do wonders for a young team trying to find its way." After the Bears punted on the opening drive, the Packers took the lead first with
Mason Crosby's 32-yard field goal. The Bears were forced to punt again on their next series and the Packers reached as far as the Bears' one-yard line before they were stopped on fourth down. On Chicago's resulting drive, Brian Hoyer was hit by
Clay Matthews and
Julius Peppers while throwing a pass, breaking his left arm. With Jay Cutler also inactive, third-string quarterback
Matt Barkley took over for the next possession. With Barkley, the Bears were able to score points via Connor Barth's 39-yard field goal, which the Packers responded with Crosby's 40-yard kick. On Green Bay's first drive of the second half, A week before the game, John Fox officially cleared Jay Cutler to return to practice and make his first start since week two. With Cutler back, Jeff Joniak emphasized the offense helping him to adapt to game conditions once again, especially against a Vikings defense that had allowed just 14 points per game After the Vikings punted on their opening drive, the Bears scored on Connor Barth's 30-yard field goal; the drive had been set up by Jordan Howard's 69-yard run. Howard also provided a 34-yard catch six drives later, which helped lead to Barth kicking a 28-yard field goal in the second quarter. On Chicago's next possession, Howard scored on a two-yard touchdown run. the Vikings were forced to settle for
Blair Walsh's 30-yard field goal. The Bears scored on the first drive of the second half when Cutler threw an 11-yard touchdown pass to Alshon Jeffery to give the Bears a 20–3 lead. Neither team scored on each of their next two drives. In his return, Cutler completed 20 of 31 passes for 252 yards, a touchdown and a 100.5 passer rating, while the offense recorded 403 yards with no turnovers. Howard, who recorded 153 rushing yards, 49 receiving yards and a rushing touchdown, On defense, the Bears sacked Bradford five times, forced the Vikings offense to go three-and-out on three straight drives and convert just two of their thirteen third-down situations. The Bears and Bucs exchanged punts on their opening drives before the first turnover of the game was committed when Jay Cutler's pass for Alshon Jeffery was intercepted by
Brent Grimes. Though Tampa Bay was forced to punt on the following drive, they scored when former Bears safety
Chris Conte intercepted Cutler's pass to Logan Paulsen and returned it for a touchdown. The Bears eventually scored on Connor Barth's 54-yard field goal and regained the ball when Winston's pass for
Cecil Shorts was deflected and intercepted by Harold Jones-Quartey.
Week 11: at New York Giants The Bears traveled to
MetLife Stadium in Week 11 to take on the 6–3
New York Giants. In 57 prior matchups, the Bears led the series 33–25–2. According to Jeff Joniak's Keys to the Game, the Bears offense needed to rely on Jordan Howard and the running game; the rushing attack, which led the NFL in yards per carry (YPC) with 5.5, faced a Giants defense that ranked 18th in first down run defense with 4.27 yards, seventh in overall run defense and fifth in YPC allowed. In terms of rushing plays of at least ten yards, the Giants allowed 19, the fourth-best in the league, while the Bears had 28, including 21 by Howard. On defense, the Bears had to contain New York's players after catches;
Odell Beckham Jr. had 281 yards after catches, sixth-most among receivers, while the Giants as a whole was ranked sixth in the category. However, the Giants struggled with turnovers, allowing 18 (including ten by quarterback
Eli Manning's interceptions), which ranked 27th in the league. Joniak stated the Bears needed "to find the players who are willing to fight, scratch and crawl their way out of the hole they're in." On the opening drive, Jay Cutler threw a 19-yard touchdown pass to Zach Miller, but in windy conditions, Connor Barth missed the extra point wide right. The Giants responded with
Rashad Jennings' two-yard touchdown run, though former Bear Robbie Gould also missed the extra point when his kick hit the left upright. Barth kicked a 40-yard field goal on the following drive to give the Bears the 9–6 lead at the end of the first quarter. In the second quarter, Howard helped the Bears record a 79-yard drive with a 27-yard run, ending the series with a one-yard touchdown run. he was placed on injured reserve on Wednesday, ending his season. Midway through the fourth quarter, Leonard Floyd was hospitalized after injuring his neck in a collision with Akiem Hicks, though he was later released. Later that day, Cutler was revealed to have suffered a shoulder injury in the game and was placed on injured reserve on December 5.
Week 12: vs. Tennessee Titans In week twelve, the Bears hosted the 5–6
Tennessee Titans. The Bears were 6–5 in the all-time series, most recently a 51–20 victory in 2012, though the Bears lost the last game in Chicago, a 31–24 defeat in 2008. With Jay Cutler sidelined, Matt Barkley made his first career NFL start against a
Dick LeBeau-led defense that blitzed often; on second down, the Titans recorded 12 sacks, second-most in the league. For the Bears defense, they faced an offense powered by a running game featuring
DeMarco Murray and
Derrick Henry, while quarterback
Marcus Mariota led a unit that ranked eighth in the NFL in five-minute drives and a fifth-ranked third down conversion rate. Despite the recent woes, Jeff Joniak wrote the Bears needed to maintain a high morale and allow younger players to develop, both as players and as a team. the Bears scored first when Barkley threw a seven-yard touchdown pass to
Daniel Brown, their first career touchdowns. The Titans responded with Henry's 11-yard touchdown run with four seconds left in the first quarter, followed by Mariota throwing a four-yard touchdown pass to
Delanie Walker in the second quarter. Chicago attempted to score again when they entered Tennessee's red zone on their next drive, but Barkley's pass for
Ben Braunecker was intercepted by
Wesley Woodyard. The next two drives of the game ended with a punt before Mariota threw a 29-yard touchdown pass to
Rishard Matthews to give the Titans a 21–7 entering halftime.
Week 13: vs. San Francisco 49ers The 2–9 Bears hosted the 1–10
San Francisco 49ers in Week 13, the 65th meeting between the two teams. The Bears trailed the series 34–30–1 entering the game, including losing last year's game in Chicago by a score of 26–21. Jeff Joniak wrote the Bears offense could exploit a 49ers defense through rushing; in 2016, 49ers' opponents ran the ball 48.2 percent of the time, a league high and nine percent higher than the average. The 49ers also allowed 49 runs of at least 10 yards and 14 runs of 20 yards, meaning the Bears could utilize the running back trio of Jordan Howard, Jeremy Langford, and Ka'Deem Carey effectively. The 49ers had also been outscored by 116 points in 2016. On defense, the Bears needed to stop the 49ers' own rushing attack, led by
Carlos Hyde, which ranked fourth in the NFL in running and fourth in plays of at least four yards on first down. The 49ers offense also ran the most plays in the NFL, along with having the fewest minutes with the ball. To add to the 49ers' struggles on offense, they were forced to punt often; punter
Bradley Pinion's 64 punts were the most in the league. Joniak stated the Bears, who needed to find a way to force turnovers, could do so against a 49er team that allowed a league-high 83 points after giveaways. In a game that featured snow, Joniak believed the "team [that] handles the situation better could have an edge," and while the Bears would normally have that advantage, much of the roster had little experience playing in such conditions. Early in the second quarter,
Shaun Draughn blocked a Bears punt, which was returned by
Dontae Johnson for a touchdown. However, a review showed Johnson's foot had stepped out of bounds at the Bears' four-yard line. To add to the play,
Rashard Robinson celebrated the apparent score by making a
snow angel in the endzone, which drew a 15-yard penalty for unsportsmanlike conduct. As a result, the 49ers started the drive on the 19-yard line and was forced to settle for
Phil Dawson's 31-yard field goal. On the ensuing kickoff, Deonte Thompson fumbled the ball and San Francisco's
Jimmie Ward recovered, which led to Dawson's 28-yard field goal. With 1:56 left in the first half, Matt Barkley guided the Bears offense on an 81-yard drive The six points allowed were the fewest by the Bears since they allowed three against
Jacksonville in 2012. The defense also forced six sacks and allowed just 147 total yards; the former was the most since 2012 against the
St. Louis Rams and the latter is the fewest since 2010 against
Carolina. Both teams did not complete a pass in the first quarter; Barkley and Kaepernick attempted a combined three passes in the quarter. It was the first time since the game between the
Patriots and
Jets that neither team could complete a pass in a quarter. Kaepernick eventually threw a four-yard pass to
Vance McDonald in the second quarter, ending the run at 22:30.
Week 14: at Detroit Lions The Bears traveled to Detroit for the second game of the season against the Lions, who led the division with an 8–4 record. Matt Barkley, who played in rowdy stadiums during his college career at
USC, faced a
Ford Field that Jeff Joniak stated would be agitated by the Lions' recent success, describing the atmospheres as "just different in the NFL." Barkley's offense also took on a defense that restricted its last six opponents to less than 20 points and prefer to blitz. As such, Joniak wrote the Bears' rushing offense would be crucial in the game. Defensively, the Bears needed to contain the Lions after catches, a category in which Detroit ranked fifth in the NFL, and as such need to ensure solid tackles. The Lions offense favored the pass, throwing 64 percent of the time, the fifth-highest, while Matthew Stafford had thrown 25 percent of his passes to running backs. Running back
Theo Riddick caught 53 catches, meaning the Bears needed to apply pressure to him. As Joniak described it, the odds were "all stacked against the Bears", but an upset victory would give the Bears a 3–1 record in the NFC North, which would help John Fox and the Bears "turn negatives into positives by winning in the division to prop up what has turned into a rebuilding season." Connor Barth scored the first points of the game when he kicked a 38-yard field goal on the Bears' first drive. The Lions responded in the second quarter with Matt Prater's 29-yard field goal, followed by Stafford completing a 19-yard touchdown pass to Anquan Boldin with 19 seconds left in the first half; Boldin capitalized on Harold Jones-Quartey falling while attempting to cover him for the score. In the third quarter, Prater extended the gap to ten points when he kicked a 54-yard field goal. Barkley threw a 31-yard touchdown pass to Cameron Meredith on the Bears' resulting drive to draw the Bears within three points. while also dropping to 0–7 in away games for the first time since
1974. The game ultimately featured temperatures of . The Packers opened the game with a score on the opening drive courtesy of
Ty Montgomery's four-yard run. After three drives that ended with punts, the Packers were threatening to enter the Bears' red zone when Rodgers was sacked by Pernell McPhee to force a turnover on downs. Connor Barth kicked a 26-yard field goal and the Bears took the lead later in the second quarter when Matt Barkley threw a ten-yard touchdown pass to Josh Bellamy. The Packers tied the game with Mason Crosby's 34-yard field goal. On the last play of the first half, Barkley's Hail Mary pass was intercepted by
Micah Hyde. To attack Washington's defense, Jeff Joniak stated the Bears should utilize Jordan Howard; Howard, who was approaching 1,200 rushing yards on the season, took on a Redskins run defense that ranked 27th in percentage of runs at least four yards and 30th in first down run defense with 4.98 yards per carry.
Chris Thompson scored the first points of the game for the Redskins with a seven-yard touchdown run. Matt Barkley attempted to lead the Bears in response, spurred by 18-yard passes to Deonte Thompson and Alshon Jeffery along with Howard's 23-yard run. However, Barkley threw two incomplete passes, which resulted in Connor Barth attempting a 22-yard field goal, but the kick was blocked by
Preston Smith. Thompson ran for a 17-yard touchdown on the next drive; when Chicago entered Washington territory once again, Barkley's pass for Josh Bellamy went into triple coverage and was intercepted by
Bashaud Breeland at the one-yard line.
Dustin Hopkins later kicked a 29-yard field goal. The Vikings scored first on Sam Bradford throwing a
swing pass to
Jerick McKinnon, who beat Adrian Amos for the 19-yard touchdown. Matt Barkley led the Bears into the Vikings' red zone, where his pass for Alshon Jeffery was underthrown and intercepted by
Xavier Rhodes, which the Vikings converted into
Kai Forbath's 21-yard field goal. Two plays into the Bears' ensuing drive, Jeremy Langford fumbled when
MyCole Pruitt bumped into him and
Anthony Harris recovered the loose ball. Minnesota converted it into another score when Bradford threw a 22-yard touchdown pass to
Kyle Rudolph, who escaped Harold Jones-Quartey to make the score. Both teams punted on their next drives before the Bears scored for the first time in the game; Langford took the snap before handing the ball off to Cameron Meredith, who passed to Barkley for the two-yard touchdown. Although the Bears forced the Vikings to punt on their next possession,
Bralon Addison muffed the following punt and Viking
Jayron Kearse recovered; the takeaway later resulted in Bradford's one-yard touchdown pass to
Jarius Wright. On the final kickoff return of the first half, Deonte Thompson returned it 61 yards. Barkley then threw a 31-yard pass to Meredith, which set up Connor Barth's 29-yard field goal. The first two drives of the third quarter ended with an interception as Barkley's pass for Meredith was intercepted by
Trae Waynes, followed by Bradford's pass for Cordarrelle Patterson being intercepted by Cre'Von LeBlanc. However, the Bears were stopped on fourth down and turned the ball over, which resulted in Minnesota scoring again on McKinnon's ten-yard touchdown run in the fourth quarter. The Vikings'
Everson Griffen recovered a fumble on the next driver and returned it 20 yards for a touchdown. David Fales replaced Barkley on the next series, but was unable to lead the Bears on a scoring drive as the Bears fell 38–10. Chicago ended the year with a 3–13 record, the worst in team history since they went 1–13 in
1969 and the worst since the NFL's expansion to a 16-game schedule. The Bears also lost all eight away games for the first time since they went 0–7 on the road in
1974. Yet ironically that same year (2016), Chicago's baseball team, Cubs, won the World Series. They had their best season in history. ==Standings==