EAST RUTHERFORD, N.J. – It was a familiar feeling for Bears fans as the final minutes ticked down at Met Life Stadium on a rainy afternoon in East Rutherford, New Jersey.
The visiting team was on their way to a ninth loss during the 2022 season as they fell to the Jets 31-10 as a close game at the half was blown wide open in the final 30 minutes.
While it dropped the team to six games under .500 for this campaign, it also kept up a trend for the team that’s continued over the last three seasons: A lengthy losing streak.
In each of the last three seasons, the Bears have had at least a five-game losing skid, with their loss to New York being the fifth-in-a-row for the team here in 2022. After beating the Patriots in Week 7, the Bears lost to the Cowboys on the road (49-29), home games to the Dolphins (35-32) then Lions (31-30), then another road game to the Falcons in Week 11 (27-24).
The 21-point loss to the Jets Sunday runs the Bears’ losing streak to five games, which they also had the last two seasons.
After a 5-1 start to the 2020 campaign, the team hit a massive mid-season swoon as they lost six consecutive contests. The last of those came against the Lions at home as the Bears surrendered a ten-point fourth quarter lead in a 34-30 loss.
That team was able to recover as they won three of their last four games to finish 8-8 and squeeze into the playoffs as the last wild card.
The 2021 squad wouldn’t have that luck as their 3-2 start was wrecked by a five-game losing streak in the middle of the season that spelled doom for head coach Matt Nagy and his staff. They’d finish the year 6-11, with the coaches and general manager Ryan Pace being fired at the conclusion of the season.
In 2022, the Bears are rebuilding under new general manager Ryan Poles and head coach Matt Eberflus, so the struggles aren’t as surprising to some. On Sunday, the team played without starting quarterback Justin Fields and then lost starters Darnell Mooney and Eddie Jackson to injuries during the course of the game.
Mooney is reportedly going to miss the rest of the season as he undergoes ankle surgery while the team awaits word on the extent of Jackson’s injury.
The Bears face the Packers at Soldier Field this Sunday at Noon.