The 1977

Chicago Bears The Chicago Bears are a professional American football team based in Chicago. The Bears compete in the National Football League (NFL) as a member of the National Football Conference (NFC) NFC North, North division. They are one of two remaining ...

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 S ...

completed in the

National Football League The National Football League (NFL) is a Professional gridiron football, professional American football league in the United States. Composed of 32 teams, it is divided equally between the American Football Conference (AFC) and the National ...

. 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 Canadian Confederation, Confederation, featuring the Expo 67 World's Fair. * January 6 – Vietnam War: United States Marine Corps and Army of ...

and earned them a wild card spot against the Dallas Cowboys, who eventually beat the Bears 37–7 en route to a

Super Bowl The Super Bowl is the annual History of the NFL championship, league championship game of the National Football League (NFL) of the United States. It has served as the final game of every NFL season since 1966 NFL season, 1966 (with the excep ...

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 Cove ...

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 sys ...

. They secured this by winning their last six games, including among others the last of the Tampa Bay Buccaneers’ record run of 26 consecutive losses.

Sid Gillman Sidney Gillman (October 26, 1911 – January 3, 2003) was an American football player, coach and executive. Gillman's insistence on stretching the football field by throwing deep downfield passes, instead of short passes to running backs or wid ...

was hired to serve as offensive coordinator of the team. 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 professional American football, ...

had the best season of his career as he led the entire

NFL The National Football League (NFL) is a professional American football league in the United States. Composed of 32 teams, it is divided equally between the American Football Conference (AFC) and the National Football Conference (NFC). The N ...

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. The Vikings compete in the National Football League (NFL) as a member of the National Football Conference (NFC) NFC North, North division. Founded in 1960 as ...

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

Soldier Field Soldier Field is a multi-purpose stadium on the Near South Side, Chicago, 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 from the National ...

. 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 of the National Football Conference (NFC) NFC East, East ...

( George Allen having been fired after the Redskins were eliminated from the playoffs by a Bears overtime victory over the

New York Giants The New York Giants are a professional American football team based in the New York metropolitan area. The Giants compete in the National Football League (NFL) as a member of the National Football Conference (NFC) NFC East, East division. The ...

in the last game of the regular season). When Gillman expressed desire to open up the offense, those ideas were rejected by upper staff, which led to the resignation of Gillman.

Offseason

NFL draft

Undrafted free agents

Roster

Regular season

Schedule

Playoffs

Game summaries

Week 1

Week 2

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 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 ...

, Emerson Boozer

Archie Manning Elisha Archibald Manning III (born May 19, 1949) is an American former professional football player who was a quarterback in the National Football League (NFL) for 14 seasons, primarily with the New Orleans Saints from 1971 to 1982. He also h ...

scored on runs of 8, 2 and 11 and threw a 35-yard Touchdown pass to Chuck Muncie 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 former professional American football, football defensive end who played for 11 seasons in the National Football League (NFL) for the New Orleans Saints—where he played four seasons as a ...

and a 57-yard interception return by

Jim Merlo James Louis Merlo (born October 3, 1951) is an American football linebacker who played seven seasons in the National Football League (NFL). He played college football at Stanford University Leland Stanford Junior University, commonly ref ...

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, best known for his broadcast work in Major League Baseball. Scully was the play-by-play announcer for the Brooklyn / Los Angeles Dodgers for sixty-se ...

, Alex Hawkins With about two minutes to go,

Chicago Chicago is the List of municipalities in Illinois, most populous city in the U.S. state of Illinois and in the Midwestern United States. With a population of 2,746,388, as of the 2020 United States census, 2020 census, it is the List of Unite ...

appeared to have a one-point victory over

Atlanta Atlanta ( ) is the List of capitals in the United States, capital and List of municipalities in Georgia (U.S. state), most populous city in the U.S. state of Georgia (U.S. state), Georgia. It is the county seat, seat of Fulton County, Georg ...

. 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 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

Walter Payton's 205 tied

Gale Sayers Gale Eugene Sayers (May 30, 1943 – September 23, 2020) was an American professional football halfback and return specialist in the National Football League (NFL). Sayers played for the Chicago Bears from 1965 to 1971, though injuries effec ...

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 professional football player who was a running back for three seasons with the BC Lions of the Canadian Football League (CFL) and in the National Football League (NFL) with the Chicago Bea ...

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

Week 8

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

Frank Glieber Frank John Glieber (April 5, 1934 – May 1, 1985) was a versatile American sportscaster known primarily for his play-by-play commentary on NFL telecasts for CBS Sports. Along the way, he served as a mentor to several athletes and coaches wh ...

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 Kenneth Othell Burrough (July 14, 1948 – February 24, 2022) was an American professional football player who was a wide receiver for the Houston Oilers of the National Football League (NFL). He played college football for the Texas Southern ...

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 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 an American former football player who was a running back in the National Football League (NFL) for the Dallas Cowboys and Cleveland Browns. He also was a member of the Chicago Blitz and Ari ...

’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 quarterback who played in the National Football League (NFL) for 11 se ...

’s 28-yard scoring pass to tight end Billy Joe Dupree. In the second half, running back

Tony Dorsett Anthony Drew Dorsett Sr. (born April 7, 1954) is an American former professional American football, football running back who played in the National Football League (NFL) for the Dallas Cowboys and Denver Broncos. Raised in western Pennsylvani ...

recorded two rushing touchdowns and Efren Herrera 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 In American football, most valuable player (MVP) awards are given by various entities to the National Football League (NFL) player who is considered the most valuable during the regular season. Organizations which issue an NFL MVP award include t ...

* 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
{{DEFAULTSORT:1977 Chicago Bears Season

Chicago Bears seasons