The 1977 Chicago Bears season was their 58th

regular season In an organized sports league, a typical season is the portion of one year in which regulated games of the sport are in session: for example, in Major League Baseball the season lasts approximately from the last week of March to the last week of ...

completed in the

National Football League The National Football League (NFL) is a professional American football league that consists of 32 teams, divided equally between the American Football Conference (AFC) and the National Football Conference (NFC). The NFL is one of the ...

. The team finished with a 9–5 record, which was their first winning season since

1967 Events January * January 1 – Canada begins a year-long celebration of the 100th anniversary of Confederation, featuring the Expo 67 World's Fair. * January 5 ** Spain and Romania sign an agreement in Paris, establishing full consular and ...

and earned them a wild card spot against the Dallas Cowboys, who eventually beat the Bears en route to a Super Bowl victory. This was their first postseason appearance since winning the

1963 Events January * January 1 – Bogle–Chandler case: Commonwealth Scientific and Industrial Research Organisation scientist Dr. Gilbert Bogle and Mrs. Margaret Chandler are found dead (presumed poisoned), in bushland near the Lane Co ...

championship In sport, a championship is a competition in which the aim is to decide which individual or team is the champion. Championship systems Various forms of competition can be referred to by the term championship. Title match system In this system ...

. They secured this by winning their last six games, including among others the last of the Tampa Bay Buccaneers’ record run of twenty-six losses. Star halfback

Walter Payton Walter Jerry Payton (July 25, 1953Although most sources at the time of his death gave Payton's birth year as 1954, reliable sources subsequently state he was born in 1953. – November 1, 1999) was an American football running back who played ...

had the best season of his career as he led the entire NFL in rushing (1,852 yards), 275 of those 1,852 came on a November 20 game against their division rivals the

Minnesota Vikings The Minnesota Vikings are a professional American football team based in Minneapolis. They compete in the National Football League (NFL) as a member club of the National Football Conference (NFC) North division. Founded in 1960 as an expansi ...

and he did it despite coming down with the flu and a dark rainy day at

Soldier Field Soldier Field is a multi-purpose stadium on the Near South Side of Chicago, Illinois, United States. Opened in 1924 and reconstructed in 2003, the stadium has served as the home of the Chicago Bears of the National Football League (NFL) since ...

. A week after the Dallas playoff loss, Coach Pardee stunned the team by resigning to take the head coaching position of the

Washington Redskins The Washington Commanders are a professional American football team based in the Washington metropolitan area. The Commanders compete in the National Football League (NFL) as a member club of the league's National Football Conference (NFC) N ...

(

George Allen George Allen may refer to: Politics and law * George E. Allen (1896–1973), American political operative and one-time head coach of the Cumberland University football team * George Allen (Australian politician) (1800–1877), Mayor of Sydney and ...

having been fired after the Redskins were eliminated from the playoffs by a Bears overtime victory over the New York Giants in the last game of the regular season).

Offseason

NFL Draft

Roster

Regular season

Schedule

Playoffs

Game summaries

Week 1

Week 2

*TV Station: CBS *TV Announcers:

Frank Glieber Frank John Glieber (April 5, 1934 – May 1, 1985) was an American sportscaster. Early life and career Born and raised in Milwaukee, Wisconsin, Glieber was the oldest child of immigrants—John, a native of Austria, and Mary, a native of Ger ...

Johnny Morris Johnny or Johnnie Morris may refer to: * Johnnie Morris (actor) (1887–1969), American comedian and actor *Johnny Morris (television presenter) (1916–1999), British television presenter *Johnny Morris (footballer) (1923–2011), English football ...

Jim Hart completed 12 straight passes, one of 10 yards for a second-quarter touchdown, while directing St. Louis to victory over Chicago 16-13. The veteran Hart who completed 16 of 24 passes while suffering two interceptions, contributed balance to a crisp Cards attack and

Jim Bakken James LeRoy Bakken (born November 2, 1940) is an American former professional football player who was a punter and placekicker for the National Football League’s St. Louis Cardinals. He was a four-time Pro Bowl selection and was named to t ...

booted three field goals.

Week 3

*TV Station: CBS *TV Announcers:

Don Criqui Don Criqui (born October 1, 1940) is an American sportscaster. He holds the record for longest-tenured NFL broadcaster in U.S. TV history, calling NFL football for 47 seasons (1967-2013) on NBC and CBS. Criqui's final NFL broadcast came on De ...

Emerson Boozer Emerson Boozer (born July 4, 1943) is a former running back in the American Football League (AFL) and in the National Football League (NFL). In the last year of separate drafts by the AFL and the NFL, Boozer signed with the AFL's New York Jets, r ...

Archie Manning Elisha Archibald Manning III (born May 19, 1949) is a former American football quarterback who played in the National Football League (NFL) for 13 seasons, primarily with the New Orleans Saints. He played for the Saints from 1971 to 1982 and al ...

scored on runs of 8, 2 and 11 and threw a 35-yard Touchdown pass to

Chuck Muncie Harry Vance "Chuck" Muncie (March 17, 1953 − May 13, 2013) was an American professional football player who was a running back for the New Orleans Saints and San Diego Chargers in the National Football League (NFL) from 1976 to 1984. He wa ...

as the Saints gain a road victory. The Saints also got TDs on a 52-yard fumble recovery by

Bob Pollard Robert Lee Pollard (December 30, 1948) is an American football former defensive lineman who played eleven seasons in the National Football League (NFL) for the New Orleans Saints and the St. Louis Cardinals. Pollard attended the black Hebert ...

and a 57-yard interception return by Jim Merlo.

Week 4

Week 6

*Soldier Field in Chicago, Illinois *TV Station: CBS *Announcers:

Vin Scully Vincent Edward Scully (November 29, 1927 – August 2, 2022) was an American sportscaster. He was best known for his 67 seasons calling games for Major League Baseball's Los Angeles Dodgers, beginning in 1950 (when the franchise was located ...

Alex Hawkins Clifton Alexander Hawkins (July 2, 1937 – September 12, 2017) was an American football player who played professionally as a running back in the National Football League (NFL) for the Baltimore Colts and Atlanta Falcons. He excelled as a spe ...

With about two minutes to go,

Chicago (''City in a Garden''); I Will , image_map = , map_caption = Interactive Map of Chicago , coordinates = , coordinates_footnotes = , subdivision_type = Country , subdivision_name ...

appeared to have a one point victory over

Atlanta Atlanta ( ) is the capital and most populous city of the U.S. state of Georgia. It is the seat of Fulton County, the most populous county in Georgia, but its territory falls in both Fulton and DeKalb counties. With a population of 498,715 ...

. But the Bears' Steve Schubert fumbled a punt deep in his own territory, Atlanta recovered and Haskel Stanback plowed in moments later from the two-yard line for the Falcons victory. Chicago had taken a 3-0 lead on Bob Thomas' 40-yard field goal, but

Nick Mike-Mayer Nicholas Mike-Mayer (MICK-uh-myur) (born March 1, 1950) is a former American football placekicker in the National Football League from 1973– 1982 for the Atlanta Falcons, Philadelphia Eagles, and the Buffalo Bills. He made the Pro Bowl ...

come back with shots of 32 ,44, and 21 yards to put Atlanta ahead 9-3. Brian Baschnagel's 84-yard kickoff return resulted in the Bears only touchdown.

Week 7

*Lambeau Field in Green Bay, Wisconsin *TV Station: CBS *Announcers:

Gary Bender Gary Nedrow Bender (born September 1, 1940) is a retired American sportscaster and 2008 inductee into the Kansas Sports Hall of Fame. He officially retired, April 13, 2011, from Fox Sports Arizona after 18 years calling the NBA's Phoenix Su ...

and

Walter Payton's 205 tied

Gale Sayers Gale Eugene Sayers (May 30, 1943September 23, 2020) was an American professional football player who was both a halfback and return specialist in the National Football League (NFL). In a relatively brief but highly productive NFL career, Sa ...

record for most rushing yards in a game that was set in 1968. "I didn't want to break Sayers' record because Sayers is a super guy. What's a record? I just want to win the game" Payton said it after scoring touchdown runs of 1 and 6 and setting up

Johnny Musso Johnny Musso (born March 6, 1950) is an American former football player, a running back for three seasons with the BC Lions of the Canadian Football League and in the National Football League with the Chicago Bears. Early years Born and rais ...

's 3-yard touchdown run in a rout over the Packers.

Week 8

*The Astrodome in Houston, Texas *TV Station: CBS *Announcers:

and Johnny Morris Houston's big play offense, dormant throughout the season sprang to life on touchdown bombs of 85 and 43 yards to Ken Burrough and a 75-yard free kick return and a 61-yard touchdown run by Billy Johnson as the Oilers dazzled Chicago 47-0. Houston's first two big plays, Johnson's run and Burrough's 85-yarder we're delivered over a span of 2:55 in the second quarter and helped the Oilers to a 17-0 halftime lead and never looked back. Coach Jack Pardee call the loss "The worst thing i've ever been associated with in any form". This loss turns out to be a turning point in the Bears season. They would not lose a game again in the 1977 regular season.

Week 10

Week 11

20 Rush, 137 Yds, 4 Rec, 107 Yds Pro-Football-Reference.com
Retrieved 2014-Nov-27.

Standings

Postseason

NFC Divisional Playoff

Safety

Charlie Waters Charlie Tutan Waters (born September 10, 1948) is a former American football player, a safety in the National Football League for twelve seasons, all with the Dallas Cowboys. He played college football at Clemson University. Early years Born in M ...

led the Cowboys to a 37–7 victory by setting an NFL playoff record of 3 interceptions. Dallas built a 17–0 halftime lead, with the aid of running back

Doug Dennison William Douglas Dennison (born December 18, 1951) is a former American football running back in the National Football League for the Dallas Cowboys and Cleveland Browns. He also was a member of the Chicago Blitz and Arizona Wranglers of the Unite ...

’s 2-yard touchdown run and quarterback

Roger Staubach Roger Thomas Staubach (, -; , -; born February 5, 1942), nicknamed "Roger the Dodger", "Captain America", and "Captain Comeback", is an American former professional football player who was a quarterback in the National Football League (NFL) for ...

’s 28-yard scoring pass to tight end

Billy Joe Dupree Billy Joe DuPree (born March 7, 1950) is a former American football tight end in the National Football League (NFL) for the Dallas Cowboys. He played college football at Michigan State University. Early years DuPree was born and raised in Monro ...

. In the second half, running back

Tony Dorsett Anthony Drew Dorsett Sr. (born April 7, 1954) is a former American football running back who played professionally in the National Football League (NFL) for the Dallas Cowboys and Denver Broncos. From Western Pennsylvania, Dorsett attended the ...

recorded two rushing touchdowns and

Efren Herrera Efren or Efrén is a given name. Notable people with the name include: *Efrén Echeverría (born 1932), musician guitarist, composer, and compiler from Paraguay *Efrén Pérez Rivera (born 1929), former college professor and noted Puerto Rican envi ...

added two more field goals. The Bears were limited to 224 total yards and did not score until the fourth quarter when the game was already out of reach.

Awards and records

* Walter Payton,

NFL MVP The National Football League Most Valuable Player Award (NFL MVP) is an award given by various entities to the American football player who is considered the most valuable in the National Football League (NFL) during the regular season. Organizati ...

* Walter Payton, led NFL in rushing (1,852 yards) * Walter Payton, Pro Bowl Most Valuable Player *

, Led NFL in Total Yards, (2,216)

References

External links

Chicago Bears on Pro Football Reference

Chicago Bears on jt-sw
Chicago Bears Chicago Bears seasons Chicago Bears {{ChicagoBears-season-stub