LAKE FOREST, Ill. — While there were many bad things about the Bears’ first game of the 2023 season, there was a streak that continued that’s a painful one for players, coaches, and fans.

It’s proof of the total rebuild the team has gone through the past year-and-a-half, and how far they still have to go to get back among the elite in the NFL.

By dropping their opener 38-20 to the Packers, the Bears have now lost 11 consecutive games dating back to October of 2022. Their last victory came against the Patriots in Week 7 of last season, and they dropped the final ten games of that campaign to finish 3-14.

The 11-straight defeats are the most in Bears’ history, besting the previous mark by a full three games. Before this streak, the record was eight consecutive losses, which had been pulled off four times in team history.

  • 2014 (Last 5 Games) & 2015 (First 3 Games)
  • 1996 (Last Game) & 1997 (First 7 Games)
  • 2002
  • 1978

There have been chances to break the streak, with the Bears losing four of those games by five points or less. But there has been a fair share of decisive defeats, with six coming by 16 or more points, including the last four defeats.

While currently the longest active losing streak in the NFL, it’s nowhere near the league record that’s held by a team that used to call Chicago home.

The Cardinals own the overall losing streak record in the league with 29 straight defeats from 1942-1945, including the 1944 season when they merged with the Steelers. Oddly enough, they snapped it against the Bears at Wrigley Field on October 14, 1945 in a 16-7 win.

As far as post-AFL-NFL mergers losing streaks go, that belongs to the Bears’ opponent this weekend. The Buccaneers began playing football in 1976, and they lost their first 26 games as a franchise, with the last loss coming to the Bears in Tampa Stadium on December 4, 1977 (10-0).

Now the Bears will face the Buccaneers on the road this weekend in hopes of ending their longest losing streak in history. The team has lost their last three games at Raymond James Stadium, with their last being a 38-3 decision on October 24, 2021.