For over four decades, the NFL had played 16-game regular seasons. That, of course, is about to change. With one of the longest schedule eras in NFL history coming to an official end, a humiliating mark for the league’s charter franchise (no less!) has been cemented in stone.
The Bears have finished pro football’s 16-game era, 42 years to be exact (1978-2020), without one single-season 4,000 yard passer. Not Jay Cutler, a player the Bears traded multiple first-round picks for. Not Mitchell Trubisky, who was once the hallowed No. 2 overall pick in the NFL Draft.