1976 Chicago Bears season

1976 Chicago Bears season
1976 Chicago Bears season
Owner	George Halas
Head coach	Jack Pardee
General manager	Jim Finks
Home field	Soldier Field
Results
Record	7–7
Division place	2nd NFC Central
Playoff finish	Did not qualify
	← 1975; Bears seasons; 1977 →;

The 1976 Chicago Bears season was their 57th regular season completed in the National Football League. The team finished with a 7–7 record, in their second season under Jack Pardee. The .500 record and second-place finish were the team's best since 1968. This was also the first season for the Chicago Honey Bears, the team's official cheerleading squad.^[1]

Offseason[]

NFL Draft[]

Round	Pick	Player	Position	School/Club Team

Roster[]

**1976 Chicago Bears final roster**

	Quarterbacks 7 Bob Avellini 9 Virgil Carter 19 Gary Huff Running backs 20 Mike Adamle 35 Roland Harper 22 Johnny Musso 34 Walter Payton 36 Larry Schreiber Wide receivers 47 Brian Baschnagel 80 Bo Rather 85 Steve Schubert 89 James Scott 25 Ron Shanklin 83 Randall Burks Tight ends 88 Greg Latta		Offensive linemen 79 Lionel Antoine OT 65 Noah Jackson G 62 Dan Jiggetts T 70 Dennis Lick T 52 Dan Neal C 53 Dan Peiffer C 75 Jeff Sevy G 69 Revie Sorey G Defensive linemen 82 Royce Berry DE 60 Wally Chambers DT 73 Mike Hartenstine DE 68 Jim Osborne DT 76 Ron Rydalch DT 71 Roger Stillwell DE		Linebackers 50 Waymond Bryant 59 Ross Brupbacher 55 Doug Buffone 54 Tom Hicks 58 Jerry Muckensturm 57 Don Rives Defensive backs 45 Craig Clemons S 48 Allan Ellis CB 45 Gary Fencik S 31 24 Virgil Livers CB 46 Doug Plank S Special teams 86 Bob Parsons P 16 Bob Thomas K		Reserve lists Practice squad Rookies in italics , 5 practice squad

Regular season[]

Schedule[]

Week	Date	Opponent	Result	Attendance
1	September 12, 1976	Detroit Lions	W 10–3	54,125
2	September 19, 1976	at San Francisco 49ers	W 19–12	44,158
3	September 26, 1976	Atlanta Falcons	L 10–0	41,029
4	October 3, 1976	Washington Redskins	W 33–7	52,105
5	October 10, 1976	at Minnesota Vikings	L 20–19	47,614
6	October 17, 1976	at Los Angeles Rams	L 20–12	71,751
7	October 24, 1976	at Dallas Cowboys	L 31–21	61,346
8	October 31, 1976	Minnesota Vikings	W 14–13	53,602
9	November 7, 1976	Oakland Raiders	L 28–27	53,585
10	November 14, 1976	Green Bay Packers	W 24–13	52,907
11	November 21, 1976	at Detroit Lions	L 14–10	78,042
12	November 28, 1976	at Green Bay Packers	W 16–10	56,267
13	December 5, 1976	at Seattle Seahawks	W 34–7	60,510
14	December 12, 1976	Denver Broncos	L 28–14	44,459

Standings[]

NFC Central
view talk	W	L	T	PCT	DIV	CONF	PF	PA	STK
Minnesota Vikings⁽¹⁾	11	2	1	.821	5–1	9–2	305	176	W2
Chicago Bears	7	7	0	.500	4–2	7–5	253	216	L1
Detroit Lions	6	8	0	.429	2–4	4–8	262	220	L2
Green Bay Packers	5	9	0	.357	1–5	5–8	218	299	W1

Season summary[]

Week 1 vs Lions[]

Week One: Detroit Lions (0–0) at Chicago Bears (0–0)

	1	2	3	4	Total
Lions	0	3	0	0	3
Bears	0	0	7	3	10

at Soldier Field, Chicago, Illinois

Date: September 12, 1976
Game time: 2:00 p.m.
Game weather: 69 °F (21 °C)
Game attendance: 54,125
Pro-Football-Reference.com

Game information

Second quarter

DET – Errol Mann 27-yard field goal. Lions 3–0. Drive:

Third quarter

CHI – Johnny Musso 3-yard run (Bob Thomas kick). Bears 7–3. Drive:

Fourth quarter

CHI – Bob Thomas 27-yard field goal. Bears 10–3. Drive:

Top passers

DET – Joe Reed – 11/23, 91 yards
CHI – Bob Avellini – 7/16, 120 yards

Top rushers

DET – Horace King – 15 rushes, 57 yards
CHI – Walter Payton – 25 rushes, 70 yards

Top receivers

DET – Ray Jarvis – 4 receptions, 85 yards
CHI – Greg Latta – 2 receptions, 87 yards

Week 9 vs Raiders[]

Week Nine: Oakland Raiders (7–1) at Chicago Bears (4–4)

	1	2	3	4	Total
Raiders	0	14	7	7	28
Bears	7	0	20	0	27

at Soldier Field, Chicago, Illinois

Date: November 7, 1976
Game time: 2:00 p.m. EST
Game weather: Sunny, 36 °F (2 °C)
Game attendance: 53,585
Box Score

Game information

First quarter

CHI – Walter Payton 5-yard run (Bob Thomas kick). Bears 7–0. Drive:

Second quarter

OAK – Dave Casper 17-yard pass from Ken Stabler (Errol Mann kick). Tie 7–7. Drive:
OAK – Cliff Branch 75-yard pass from Ken Stabler (Errol Mann kick). Raiders 14–7. Drive:

Third quarter

OAK – Clarence Davis 2-yard run (Errol Mann kick). Raiders 21–7. Drive:
CHI – James Scott 36-yard pass from Bob Avellini (Bob Thomas kick). Raiders 21–14. Drive:
CHI – Walter Payton 12-yard run (kick failed). Raiders 21–20. Drive:
CHI – Walter Payton 2-yard run (Bob Thomas kick). Bears 27–21. Drive:

Fourth quarter

OAK – Cliff Branch 49-yard pass from Ken Stabler (Errol Mann kick). Raiders 28–27. Drive:

Top passers

OAK – Ken Stabler – 11/17, 234 yards, 3 TD
CHI – Bob Avellini – 10/18, 204 yards, TD, INT

Top rushers

OAK – Mark van Eeghen – 12 rushes, 62 yards
CHI – Walter Payton – 36 rushes, 97 yards, 3 TD

Top receivers

OAK – Cliff Branch – 5 receptions, 163 yards, 2 TD
CHI – James Scott – 3 receptions, 76 yards, TD

Awards and honors[]

UPI Coach of the Year – Jack Pardee

References[]

^ "Archived copy". Archived from the original on 2012-04-25. Retrieved 2012-05-23.CS1 maint: archived copy as title (link)

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[1] "Archived copy". Archived from the original on 2012-04-25. Retrieved 2012-05-23.CS1 maint: archived copy as title (link)

[1]

v t Chicago Bears
Founded in 1920 Formerly the Decatur Staleys (1920) and the Chicago Staleys (1921) Based in Chicago, Illinois Headquartered in Lake Forest, Illinois
Franchise	History Coaches Seasons Current season
Records	Franchise records All-time record versus NFL Team awards and honors Players Head coaches Pro Football Hall of Famers First-round draft picks Starting quarterbacks
Stadiums	Staley Field Wrigley Field Memorial Stadium Soldier Field
Culture	Brian's Song 1971 2001 Brian Piccolo Award "Bear Down, Chicago Bears" "The Super Bowl Shuffle" Monsters of the Midway "Sweet Home Chicago" Bill Swerski's Superfans Chuck Swirsky Chicago Honey Bears Staley Da Bear Logos and uniforms Halas Hall A. E. Staley Jack Brickhouse George Halas Mike Ditka Roosevelt/Wabash 85386 Payton Jim Cornelison Club Dub ("Swag Surfin")
Lore	Staley Swindle 1932 Playoff Game First NFL Championship Game "The Sneakers Game" T formation 73–0 15–1 Super Bowl XX 46 defense Fog Bowl Cardiac Kids “They are who we thought they were“ "Double Doink"
Rivalries	Arizona Cardinals Detroit Lions Green Bay Packers Minnesota Vikings New York Giants
Minor league affiliates	Newark Bears (AA, 1939–1941) Akron Bears (AFL, 1946) Bloomfield Cardinals (AFL, 1947) Richmond Rebels (AFL, 1948–1950)
Retired numbers	3 5 7 28 34 40 41 42 51 56 61 66 77 89
Key personnel	Principal owner: Virginia Halas McCaskey Chairman: George McCaskey President/CEO: Ted Phillips General Manager: Ryan Pace Head Coach: Matt Nagy
Division championships (21)	1933 1934 1937 1940 1941 1942 1943 1946 1956 1963 1984 1985 1986 1987 1988 1990 2001 2005 2006 2010 2018
Conference championships (4)	1956 1963 1985 2006
League championships (9)	1921 1932 1933 1940 1941 1943 1946 1963 1985 (XX)
Media	Broadcasters Radio: WBBM (AM) WCFS-FM (FM simulcast of WBBM) Personnel: Jeff Joniak (play-by-play) Tom Thayer (analyst) Zach Zaidman (sideline reporter and radio coach's show host) Television: WFLD (pre-season and most regular season games through Fox, official pre-game and post-game alternate) WPWR (official post-game) NBC Sports Chicago (in-season team programming) Personnel: Lou Canellis (gameday television host, pre-season sideline reporter) Sam Rosen (pre-season play-by-play) Jim Miller (pre-season analyst)
Current league affiliations	League: National Football League Conference: National Football Conference Division: North Division
:Category:Chicago Bears WikiProject Chicago Bears

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