The 2016 Chicago Bears entered head coach John Fox's second year with modest optimism after a 6-10 campaign the previous season. General manager Ryan Pace made aggressive moves in the offseason to reshape the roster, signing high-profile free agents like defensive lineman Akiem Hicks, linebacker Danny Trevathan, and Pro Bowl guard Josh Sitton, while trading up to select linebacker Leonard Floyd with the ninth overall pick in the NFL draft. However, whatever expectations existed were quickly derailed by an avalanche of bad luck and health issues, culminating in an NFL-high 19 players landing on the injured reserve list. The final outcome was an absolute disaster, as the team slumped to a miserable 3-13 record and finished dead last in the NFC North division. Missing the playoffs was a foregone conclusion long before December, turning a year of hoped-for progression into a complete organizational reset.

Offensively, Chicago was defined by a chaotic quarterback carousel and a surprisingly potent ground game. Jay Cutler started just five games due to multiple thumb and shoulder injuries, throwing for 1,059 yards, four touchdowns, and five interceptions. Free agent acquisition Brian Hoyer stepped in for six appearances and was highly efficient, throwing for 1,445 yards, six touchdowns, and zero interceptions before breaking his arm. That forced Matt Barkley into action for seven games, where he racked up 1,611 yards and eight touchdowns but threw a brutal 14 interceptions. Despite the passing volatility, rookie running back Jordan Howard was a revelation, finishing second in the NFL with 1,313 rushing yards and six touchdowns on 252 carries. Wide receiver Cameron Meredith also emerged from obscurity to lead the team with 888 receiving yards, out-gaining Alshon Jeffery's 821 yards. Ultimately, coordinator Dowell Loggains' unit leaned pass-heavy with 559 attempts versus 380 rushes, finishing 15th in total yards with 5,704 but an anemic 28th in scoring at 17.4 points per game.

On the other side of the ball, the defense was a paradoxical group that showed schematic competence but suffered from an historic inability to force turnovers. Chicago fielded a respectable front that ranked 15th in total yards allowed at 5,548 and fourth in passing attempts allowed. The primary strength lay in an active pass rush fronted by linebacker Willie Young, who led the team with 7.5 sacks. He was ably supported by free agent defensive end Akiem Hicks and rookie outside linebacker Leonard Floyd, who each contributed 7.0 sacks to the pass-rushing effort. Inside linebacker Jerrell Freeman anchored the middle of the field when healthy, providing a steadying presence. However, the secondary was completely toothless, resulting in a ranking of 29th in interceptions with a poor eight picks all year. Coupled with just three fumble recoveries, the Bears forced an NFL-worst 11 total takeaways, which constantly put the team in bad field positions and dragged their scoring defense down to 24th in the league, allowing 24.9 points per game.

The timeline of the season was a grueling sequence of early disappointments and fleeting flashes of competence. Chicago repeated its 2015 script by dropping its opening three games, immediately burying itself in the standings. A turning point of sorts arrived in Week 4 against the division rival Detroit Lions, where the Bears ground out a 17-14 victory to capture their first win. Four weeks later, they delivered their most impressive performance of the season on Monday Night Football, upsetting the Minnesota Vikings 20-10 behind a 153-yard rushing effort by Howard. Another high point occurred in the snowy conditions of Week 13, when they dismantled the San Francisco 49ers 26-6 at Soldier Field. But any momentum evaporated as the team collapsed down the stretch, concluding the year on a devastating four-game losing streak. This final skid included a heartbreaking 30-27 home loss to Green Bay and ended with a humiliating 38-10 road blowout at the hands of the Vikings, ensuring an abysmal winless record away from home.

By failing to qualify for the postseason, this group carved out an unfortunate piece of franchise history. Their 3-13 finish stood as the worst full-season record for the Bears since the NFL established the 16-game format back in 1978, and marked the second-worst winning percentage in the long history of the organization behind only a 1-13 campaign in 1969. They also achieved the ignominious distinction of going 0-8 on the road for the very first time. There were no major league-wide individual awards but the season did provide a couple of foundational pieces. Jordan Howard's extraordinary rookie campaign earned him a trip to the Pro Bowl alongside veteran left guard Josh Sitton. This draft class, which also featured center Cody Whitehair starting all 16 games, established a silver lining for a season otherwise remembered as the rock bottom of the John Fox era in Chicago.