On Monday Night Football, the Bears traveled west to face the 2-6 San Diego Chargers. The two teams last met in 2011 at Soldier Field, the Bears winning 31-20, though their last meeting in San Diego was in 2007, which the Chargers won 14-3, and the last MNF game in San Diego was a Chargers 20-7 victory in 1984; in eleven games, the Bears led the series 6-5. Jeff Joniak wrote that the Bears offense could capitalize on a defense that allowed the most yards after the catch in the NFL. Additionally, offenses often started drives at 32-yard line, ranked 31st in the league, while the Chargers also had the least points off turnovers with seven. The Chargers were also allowing 6.34 yards per play, the second-worst in the NFL. To attack, the offense would balance passes that focused on favorable receiver/cornerback matchups and run with Jeremy Langford, who was making his first career start with Matt Forte out. Defensively, the Bears faced an offense struggling with injuries, particularly at the line: of the five positions, four have seen two or more players starting. However, quarterback Philip Rivers excelled despite the injuries, having thrown for 18 touchdowns and 7.9 yards per pass, both of which were among the highest in the NFL; Rivers' performance had also enabled him to be in position to overtake Peyton Manning's single-season passing yards record. The Chargers had the top-ranked offense in the NFL, and also ranked first in yardage after the catch. Another offensive player that the Bears faced was tight end Antonio Gates, who led the league in career touchdowns with 101. However, the San Diego running game was struggling, with 3.6 rushing yards per play, which ranked 30th in the league. Special teams-wise, both teams were among the worst in the NFL: the Chargers were ranked 30th in average return yardage allowed, while the Bears were 31st; the former also allowed a league-high ten returns of 30-39 yards. For the Chargers' punt return unit, they had only one yard in 2015. San Diego also had league-worsts in starting yard line after kickoffs with 19.3 yards, drives starting within their own 20-yard line (11) and average starting area (21). Forte, receiver Eddie Royal, safety Harold Jones-Quartey, Shea McClellin, Hroniss Grasu, Tayo Fabuluje and defensive lineman Ziggy Hood were inactive. The Chargers won the coin toss and elected to kick off. Despite reaching the Chargers' 28-yard line, two scoring opportunities were denied with Jason Verrett deflecting Jay Cutler's pass for Alshon Jeffery and Robbie Gould's field goal sailing wide left. Afterwards, the Chargers scored with Danny Woodhead's 14-yard touchdown catch from Rivers. On the Bears' next possession, the offense entered Charger territory again, reaching as far as the 10-yard line, where Cutler was sack-stripped by Melvin Ingram, with the ball being recovered by Eric Weddle, though the Chargers failed to capitalize and punted. After the Bears punted as well, they reclaimed the ball when Tracy Porter stripped Dontrelle Inman and linebacker Christian Jones recovered. However, after two plays, Verrett intercepted Cutler's pass for Jeffery, returning it 68 yards for the touchdown; the Chargers eventually missed the extra point, making the score 13-0. On the next drive, Cutler threw a one-yard touchdown pass to Martellus Bennett. After both teams exchanged punts, the Chargers scored the final points of the first half with Josh Lambo's 31-yard field goal. In the second half, after the Chargers punted, Gould's 34-yard field goal attempt hit the left upright. San Diego punted again, and the Bears engineered a 93-yard drive that culminated with Langford scoring on a one-yard run. The Chargers increased the margin to five points with Lambo kicking a 22-yard field goal. Guiding an 80-yard drive, Cutler threw a 25-yard pass to tight end Zach Miller, who caught the pass with one hand as he scored the go-ahead touchdown. Afterwards, Langford scored on the two-point conversion. The Chargers' final drive fell apart with plays like Lamarr Houston's two sacks, and on 4th down and 23, Rivers' deep pass fell incomplete. With 1:09 left in the game, Cutler kneeled three times to end the game. With Cutler's touchdown to Bennett, he overtook Sid Luckman for the most passing touchdowns in franchise history with 138. Additionally, his final touchdown marked his twelfth fourth quarter touchdown, the most in the league. Miller's touchdown catch was his first since the 2011 season.. How many losses did the Chargers have coming into this game?