Bears play first penalty-free game since 1995

A bright spot emerged from an otherwise disappointing Bears loss on Sunday.

Despite the 17-15 defeat at the hands of the Broncos, the game marked the first time in nearly 20 years that Chicago played a penalty-free game.

The Bears’ last clean game came on Christmas Eve, 1995 – a 20-14 win over the Philadelphia Eagles.

In that game, Rashaan Salaam ran for 130 yards and Erik Kramer threw two touchdown passes to Keith Jennings as the Bears led the entire way.

Chicago became the 24th team in the last 15 seasons to go an entire game without being penalized, according to ESPN’s Stats & Info. In addition, the Bears are the first team to play a penalty-free game and still lose since Green Bay did it in a 27-20 loss to Chicago in 2013.

No NFL team had played a game without being penalized since the Patriots did it in Week 13 of the 2013 season, according to ESPN.

Remarkably, Denver racked up 118 yards yards of penalties on eight whistles, yet still led the entire game.

This fact alone likely won’t provide much solace for Chicago fans following the heartbreaking loss, but it might provide for a bit of optimism moving forward, especially as the Bears near a winnable stretch of games that include San Francisco, Washington and Detroit.

Passing touchdown leaders for all 32 NFL franchises

[FBTW]