They acquired wide receiver Brandon Marshall from the Miami Dolphins, who had played with Bears Quarterback, Jay Cutler with the Denver Broncos from 2006 to 2008.

[9] The Bears finished the season by leading the NFL in takeaways with 44, sixth in third-down efficiency (35.5 percent) and eighth in sacks with 41,[10] while ranking third in the league in fewest points allowed with 277; Chicago was the lone team in the top five in that category to not qualify for the playoffs.

[24] On March 13, the first day of free agency, Chicago acquired wide receiver Brandon Marshall from the Miami Dolphins for two third round draft picks,[25] along with Jason Campbell[26] and Blake Costanzo.

[52] In round three, the Bears drafted Oregon State safety Brandon Hardin 79th overall, despite missing the entire 2011 college football season with a shoulder injury.

[61] Middle linebacker Brian Urlacher, cornerback Charles Tillman, wide receiver Devin Hester and kicker Robbie Gould did not attend the workouts.

[69] The first acquisition of August was former Bears receiver Rashied Davis[70] after Devin Thomas announced his retirement, and Derek Walker was signed the next day.

[89] In the final preseason game against the Cleveland Browns, a frequent preseason opponent, the Bears took an early lead that they never relinquished for the rest of the game on two Josh McCown touchdown passes, an interception return by rookie Greg McCoy, and a blocked punt returned 22 yards for a touchdown by Brittan Golden, leading to a Bears 28–20 victory.

[115] The team had the twentieth strongest schedule in the NFL, tied with the Detroit Lions, New York Jets, and Kansas City Chiefs with opponents having a combined record of 126–130 (.492) in 2011.

The Bears opened the game on a sour note when Jay Cutler's pass to Matt Forte was intercepted by Jerrell Freeman and returned for a touchdown, giving the Colts a 7–0 lead.

In a Thursday Night showdown against the rival Green Bay Packers, the Bears struggled throughout much of the game, and the offense was only able to muster one touchdown and 168 yards.

Cutler's counterpart Aaron Rodgers was sacked five times, and ended the game by completing 22 of 32 passes for 219 yards and a touchdown, an interception and a passer rating of 85.3.

After Tim Jennings intercepted a Rodgers pass, Cutler connected with Kellen Davis to narrow the score to 23–10 with 6:49 left in the game, but the Packers would hold for the win.

[130] In the fourth quarter, Bears cornerback Tim Jennings deflected a Bradford pass intended for Danny Amendola to Major Wright, who returned the interception 45 yards for a touchdown.

After a scoreless first quarter and Robbie Gould's field goal, Charles Tillman intercepted Tony Romo, returning the pick for a touchdown.

The second and third turnovers were forced in the third quarter on Zack Bowman's muffed punt recovery, and Brian Urlacher recovering Joique Bell's fumble.

[144] The Bears struck first on Jay Cutler's touchdown pass to Brandon Marshall, and Robbie Gould kicked a field goal to increase the first half score to 10–0.

The tide eventually turned when Panthers punter Brad Nortman shanked a 6-yard punt, and Jay Cutler hit Kellen Davis on a 12-yard touchdown pass with less than seven minutes left in the game.

[161] The first half proved disastrous for Chicago, as Kellen Davis had the ball stripped by former Bear Danieal Manning, and recovered by Texans linebacker Tim Dobbins.

The Bears faced off on Monday night against the San Francisco 49ers in a battle of backup quarterbacks between Jason Campbell and Colin Kaepernick[164] after Jay Cutler[165] and Alex Smith[166] were lost for the game due to concussions.

After David Akers made a 32-yard field goal, and the Bears went three-and-out, Kaepernick completed a 57-yard touchdown pass to Kyle Williams to give the 49ers a 10–0 lead in the first quarter.

The game was an injury-laden game for both teams, with a total of seven players lost for both teams, with Chicago losing five (Lance Louis [knee], Chris Spencer [knee], Matt Forte [ankle], Devin Hester [concussion], and Charles Tillman [ankle]), while Minnesota lost Kyle Rudolph and Harrison Smith to concussions.

[169] The Bears first offensive play resulted in Matt Forte fumbling for the first time all season when he ran into Evan Rodriguez, and had the ball recovered by Vikings linebacker Chad Greenway.

Jay Cutler, returning from the concussion he sustained two weeks prior, moved the ball downfield to the Vikings one-yard line, where Michael Bush ran in to give the Bears the lead.

[173] The Bears started the game strong, with Brian Urlacher forcing Marshawn Lynch to fumble, and the ball was recovered by Kelvin Hayden, and Jay Cutler eventually hit Earl Bennett on a 12-yard touchdown pass.

The Bears would later fail twice to expand their lead; first, Lovie Smith called for Michael Bush to run up the middle on fourth-and-one at the Seattle 15, and he was stopped for no gain.

The Seahawks capitalized on the two blunders, with rookie quarterback Russell Wilson hitting Golden Tate on a 49-yard pass, and eventually scored on Lynch's 4-yard touchdown run.

On Chicago's first drive, Jay Cutler's pass intended for Alshon Jeffery was intercepted by Josh Robinson, who returned the pick to the five-yard line, setting up Peterson's second one-yard touchdown run.

[180] Cutler would later be lost for the game due to a neck injury when he was hit by Everson Griffen,[179] and was replaced by Jason Campbell, who threw a 16-yard touchdown pass to Brandon Marshall to bring the Bears seven points behind.

[182] However, Gould's onside kick was recovered by Kyle Rudolph, ending the game with a Vikings victory,[183] and snapping the Bears six-game winning streak in the rivalry.

In the second quarter, Lions quarterback Matthew Stafford fumbled, and the ball was recovered by Julius Peppers, who reached Detroit's 10-yard line, and Matt Forte later scored on a one-yard run.