LAKE FOREST, Ill. -- It doesn't happen often, but the entire trajectory of a franchise can change in one game.
The Chicago Bears know firsthand. The last trip for the Los Angeles Chargers -- then based in San Diego -- to Chicago on Nov. 20, 2011 unexpectedly triggered a series of events that took the Bears years to recover from.
On that day, the Bears were on a roll -- the 31-20 victory over the Chargers was their fifth-straight win. At 7-3, the Bears seemed destined for another playoff berth after losing at home to the Green Bay Packers in the NFC Championship Game the previous year.