2016 Chicago Bears Just Claimed Two of the Worst NFL Records Ever

Fans are really tired of their Chicago Bears breaking ugly records these days. It was bad enough being one of the only teams to ever give up 50 points in back-to-back games. Or having to put a staggering 19 players on injured reserve, spending a total of $66 million on those players. By far the most in the league. Then of course there is the fact they've finished the year at 3-13. That marks the worst record the Bears franchise has ever produced in a 16-game season. To say nothing of the ridiculous amount of turnovers they gave up (10) or points they allowed in the final two weeks alone (79). What else is there for this team to accomplish in terms of sheer ineptitude? Well if franchise lows aren't enough, they seemed determined to target NFL all-time marks as well. Turns out that with their loss in Minnesota they claimed two more dubious records to their growing list. 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. https://twitter.com/ZachZaidman/status/815715454056534016 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. https://twitter.com/ZachZaidman/status/815719173745676288 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.