2021 Chicago Bears season

Last updated

2021 Chicago Bears season
Owner Virginia Halas McCaskey
General manager Ryan Pace
Head coach Matt Nagy
Chris Tabor (Acting HC for Week 8 after Nagy tested positive for COVID-19)
Home field Soldier Field
Results
Record6–11
Division place3rd NFC North
Playoff finishDid not qualify
Pro Bowlers
AP All-Pros
3
Uniform
Chicago bears unif20.png

The 2021 season was the Chicago Bears' 102nd season in the National Football League (NFL), their 103rd overall, and their fourth and final under head coach Matt Nagy. This was the first season under the NFL's new 17-game schedule.

Contents

The Bears finished 6–11, failing to improve upon their 8–8 record from the previous year, and failed to return to the playoffs. Nagy along with general manager Ryan Pace were fired on January 10, 2022. [1]

Draft

2021 Chicago Bears Draft
RoundSelectionPlayerPositionCollege
1 11 Justin Fields QB Ohio State
239 Teven Jenkins OT Oklahoma State
5151 Larry Borom OL Missouri
6217 Khalil Herbert RB Virginia Tech
221 Dazz Newsome WR North Carolina
228 Thomas Graham Jr. CB Oregon
7250 Khyiris Tonga DT BYU

Notes

Staff

2021 Chicago Bears staff

Front office

Head coaches

Offensive coaches

Defensive coaches

Special teams coaches

Strength and conditioning

Final roster

2021 Chicago Bears final roster
Quarterbacks

Running backs

Wide receivers

Tight ends

Offensive linemen

Defensive linemen

Linebackers

Defensive backs

Special teams

Reserve lists


Practice squad


Rookies in italics
53 active, 11 inactive, 15 practice squad (+1 exempt)

Preseason

WeekDateOpponentResultRecordVenueRecap
1August 14 Miami Dolphins W 20–131–0 Soldier Field Recap
2August 21 Buffalo Bills L 15–411–1Soldier Field Recap
3August 28at Tennessee Titans W 27–242–1 Nissan Stadium Recap

Regular season

Schedule

The Bears' 2021 schedule was announced on May 12. The Bears alternated home and away games every game of the season, becoming first team to do so in a 17-game season and the fifth since the NFL season expanded to 16 games in 1978.

WeekDateOpponentResultRecordVenueRecap
1 September 12at Los Angeles Rams L 14–340–1 SoFi Stadium Recap
2 September 19 Cincinnati Bengals W 20–171–1 Soldier Field Recap
3 September 26at Cleveland Browns L 6–261–2 FirstEnergy Stadium Recap
4 October 3 Detroit Lions W 24–142–2Soldier Field Recap
5 October 10at Las Vegas Raiders W 20–93–2 Allegiant Stadium Recap
6 October 17 Green Bay Packers L 14–243–3Soldier Field Recap
7 October 24at Tampa Bay Buccaneers L 3–383–4 Raymond James Stadium Recap
8 October 31 San Francisco 49ers L 22–333–5Soldier Field Recap
9 November 8at Pittsburgh Steelers L 27–293–6 Heinz Field Recap
10 Bye
11 November 21 Baltimore Ravens L 13–163–7Soldier Field Recap
12 November 25 at Detroit Lions W 16–144–7 Ford Field Recap
13 December 5 Arizona Cardinals L 22–334–8Soldier Field Recap
14 December 12at Green Bay Packers L 30–454–9 Lambeau Field Recap
15 December 20 Minnesota Vikings L 9–174–10Soldier Field Recap
16 December 26at Seattle Seahawks W 25–245–10 Lumen Field Recap
17 January 2 New York Giants W 29–36–10Soldier Field Recap
18 January 9at Minnesota Vikings L 17–316–11 U.S. Bank Stadium Recap
Notes:
* Intra-division opponents are in bold text.
Legend:
 #  Games played with navy uniforms.
 #  Games played with white uniforms.
 #  Game played with "classic" 1936 uniforms.
 #  Games played with alternate orange uniforms.
   Light green background indicates a victory.
   Light red background indicates a loss.

Game summaries

Week 1: at Los Angeles Rams

Week 1: Chicago Bears at Los Angeles Rams – Game summary
Period1234Total
Bears077014
Rams10314734

at SoFi Stadium, Inglewood, California

Game information

Week 2: vs. Cincinnati Bengals

Week 2: Cincinnati Bengals at Chicago Bears – Game summary
Period1234Total
Bengals0031417
Bears7001320

at Soldier Field, Chicago, Illinois

Game information

Week 3: at Cleveland Browns

Week 3: Chicago Bears at Cleveland Browns – Game summary
Period1234Total
Bears30306
Browns01031326

at FirstEnergy Stadium, Cleveland, Ohio

Game information

Week 4: vs. Detroit Lions

Week 4: Detroit Lions at Chicago Bears – Game summary
Period1234Total
Lions007714
Bears7710024

at Soldier Field, Chicago, Illinois

Game information

Week 5: at Las Vegas Raiders

Week 5: Chicago Bears at Las Vegas Raiders – Game summary
Period1234Total
Bears0140620
Raiders30069

at Allegiant Stadium, Paradise, Nevada

Game information

Week 6: vs. Green Bay Packers

Week 6: Green Bay Packers at Chicago Bears – Game summary
Period1234Total
Packers0107724
Bears700714

at Soldier Field, Chicago, Illinois

  • Date: October 17
  • Game time: 12:00 p.m. CDT
  • Game weather: Sunny, 62 °F (17 °C)
  • Game attendance: 62,332
  • Referee: Brad Rogers
  • TV announcers (Fox): Joe Davis, Greg Olsen and Pam Oliver
  • Recap, Game Book
Game information

Week 7: at Tampa Bay Buccaneers

Week 7: Chicago Bears at Tampa Bay Buccaneers – Game summary
Period1234Total
Bears03003
Buccaneers21140338

at Raymond James Stadium, Tampa, Florida

Game information

Week 8: vs. San Francisco 49ers

Week 8: San Francisco 49ers at Chicago Bears – Game summary
Period1234Total
49ers3661833
Bears3103622

at Soldier Field, Chicago, Illinois

  • Date: October 31
  • Game time: 12:00 p.m. CDT
  • Game weather: Partly sunny, 52 °F (11 °C)
  • Game attendance: 60,877
  • Referee: Land Clark
  • TV announcers (Fox): Adam Amin, Greg Olsen and Pam Oliver
  • Recap, Game Book
Game information

Week 9: at Pittsburgh Steelers

Week 9: Chicago Bears at Pittsburgh Steelers – Game summary
Period1234Total
Bears0332127
Steelers776929

at Heinz Field, Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania

Game information

Week 11: vs. Baltimore Ravens

Week 11: Baltimore Ravens at Chicago Bears – Game summary
Period1234Total
Ravens0601016
Bears007613

at Soldier Field, Chicago, Illinois

  • Date: November 21
  • Game time: 12:00 p.m. CST
  • Game weather: Mostly sunny, 43 °F (6 °C)
  • Game attendance: 60,679
  • Referee: Shawn Smith
  • TV announcers (CBS): Jim Nantz, Tony Romo, Tracy Wolfson and Gene Steratore
  • Recap, Game Book
Game information

Week 12: at Detroit Lions

Thanksgiving Day games

Week 12: Chicago Bears at Detroit Lions – Game summary
Period1234Total
Bears0130316
Lions707014

at Ford Field, Detroit, Michigan

Game information

Week 13: vs. Arizona Cardinals

Week 13: Arizona Cardinals at Chicago Bears – Game summary
Period1234Total
Cardinals1473933
Bears077822

at Soldier Field, Chicago, Illinois

Game information

Week 14: at Green Bay Packers

Week 14: Chicago Bears at Green Bay Packers – Game summary
Period1234Total
Bears3240330
Packers02117745

at Lambeau Field, Green Bay, Wisconsin

  • Date: December 12
  • Game time: 7:20 p.m. CST
  • Game weather: Cloudy, 37 °F (3 °C)
  • Game attendance: 78,273
  • Referee: Ronald Torbert
  • TV announcers (NBC): Al Michaels, Cris Collinsworth, Kathryn Tappen and Terry McAulay
  • Recap, Game Book
Game information

Week 15: vs. Minnesota Vikings

Week 15: Minnesota Vikings at Chicago Bears – Game summary
Period1234Total
Vikings737017
Bears03069

at Soldier Field, Chicago, Illinois

Game information

Week 16: at Seattle Seahawks

Week 16: Chicago Bears at Seattle Seahawks – Game summary
Period1234Total
Bears0771125
Seahawks7107024

at Lumen Field, Seattle, Washington

  • Date: December 26
  • Game time: 3:05 p.m. CST/1:05 p.m. PST
  • Game weather: Snow, 25 °F (−4 °C)
  • Game attendance: 68,492
  • Referee: Carl Cheffers
  • TV announcers (Fox): Aaron Goldsmith, Aqib Talib and Megan Olivi
  • Recap, Game Book
Game information

Week 17: vs. New York Giants

Week 17: New York Giants at Chicago Bears – Game summary
Period1234Total
Giants03003
Bears1487029

at Soldier Field, Chicago, Illinois

Game information

Week 18: at Minnesota Vikings

Week 18: Chicago Bears at Minnesota Vikings – Game summary
Period1234Total
Bears3113017
Vikings0372131

at U.S. Bank Stadium, Minneapolis, Minnesota

  • Date: January 9
  • Game time: 12:00 p.m. CST
  • Game weather: None (indoor stadium)
  • Game attendance: 66,625
  • Referee: Brad Allen
  • TV announcers (Fox): Gus Johnson, Aqib Talib and Megan Olivi
  • Recap, Game Book
Game information

Standings

Division

NFC North
WLTPCTDIVCONFPFPASTK
(1) Green Bay Packers 1340.7654–29–3450371L1
Minnesota Vikings 890.4714–26–6425426W1
Chicago Bears 6110.3532–44–8311407L1
Detroit Lions 3131.2062–43–9325467W1

Conference

#TeamDivisionWLTPCTDIVCONFSOSSOVSTK
Division winners
1 [lower-alpha 1] Green Bay Packers North1340.7654–29–3.479.480L1
2 [lower-alpha 1] Tampa Bay Buccaneers South1340.7654–28–4.467.443W3
3 [lower-alpha 2] Dallas Cowboys East1250.7066–010–2.488.431W1
4 [lower-alpha 2] Los Angeles Rams West1250.7063–38–4.483.409L1
Wild cards
5 Arizona Cardinals West1160.6474–27–5.490.492L1
6 San Francisco 49ers West1070.5882–47–5.500.438W2
7 [lower-alpha 3] Philadelphia Eagles East980.5293–37–5.469.350L1
Did not qualify for the postseason
8 [lower-alpha 3] New Orleans Saints South980.5294–27–5.512.516W2
9 Minnesota Vikings North890.4714–26–6.507.434W1
10 [lower-alpha 4] Washington Football Team East7100.4122–46–6.529.420W1
11 [lower-alpha 4] [lower-alpha 5] Seattle Seahawks West7100.4123–34–8.519.424W2
12 [lower-alpha 4] [lower-alpha 5] Atlanta Falcons South7100.4122–44–8.472.315L2
13 Chicago Bears North6110.3532–44–8.524.373L1
14 Carolina Panthers South5120.2942–43–9.509.412L7
15 New York Giants East4130.2351–53–9.536.485L6
16 Detroit Lions North3131.2062–43–9.528.627W1
Tiebreakers [lower-alpha 6]
  1. 1 2 Green Bay finished ahead of Tampa Bay based on conference record (9–3 vs. 8–4).
  2. 1 2 Dallas finished ahead of LA Rams based on conference record (10–2 vs. 8–4).
  3. 1 2 Philadelphia finished ahead of New Orleans based on head-to-head victory.
  4. 1 2 3 Washington finished ahead of Atlanta and Seattle based on head-to-head victories.
  5. 1 2 Seattle finished ahead of Atlanta based on win percentage in common games (4–2 vs. 3–3 against: San Francisco, New Orleans, Jacksonville, Washington, and Detroit).
  6. When breaking ties for three or more teams under the NFL's rules, they are first broken within divisions, then comparing only the highest-ranked remaining team from each division.

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References

  1. "Pace, Nagy relieved of duties with the Bears". www.chicagobears.com. Retrieved January 10, 2022.
  2. "Chicago Bears select QB Justin Fields with No. 11 pick in NFL draft after making deal with New York Giants". ESPN.com. April 30, 2021. Retrieved May 1, 2021.
  3. Simmons, Myles (April 30, 2021). "Bears trade up for Teven Jenkins". ProFootballTalk. Retrieved May 1, 2021.
  4. Mayer, Larry (April 26, 2020). "Bears draft Gipson with pick acquired in trade". ChicagoBears.com. Retrieved April 26, 2020.
  5. Mayer, Larry (July 26, 2020). "Bears trade Shaheen to Dolphins". ChicagoBears.com. Retrieved July 26, 2020.