The 1940 season was the Chicago Bears' 21st in the National Football League. The team matched on their 8–3 record from 1939 under head coach George Halas. Behind NFL great Sid Luckman, the club gained a berth in the NFL Championship. There the club stormed the Washington Redskins under the brand new formation known as the T formation to claim their fourth league title. This was the first of four consecutive NFL Western titles for the Bears.
| 1940 Chicago Bears season | |
|---|---|
| Head coach | George Halas |
| Home field | Wrigley Field |
| Results | |
| Record | 8–3 |
| Division place | 1st NFL Western |
| Playoff finish | Won NFL Championship (at Redskins) 73–0 |
Offseason
editThe Bears selected Clyde "Bulldog" Turner with their first round pick in the 1940 NFL draft. He would be with the Bears for four Championships and be inducted into the Pro Football Hall of Fame in 1966.
Regular season
editSchedule
edit| Week | Date | Opponent | Result | Record | Venue | ||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Bye | ||||||
| 2 | Bye | ||||||
| 3 | September 22 | at Green Bay Packers | W 41–10 | 1–0 | City Stadium | ||
| 3 | September 25 | at Chicago Cardinals | L 7–21 | 1–1 | Comiskey Park | ||
| 4 | Bye | ||||||
| 5 | October 6 | at Cleveland Rams | W 21–14 | 2–1 | Cleveland Municipal Stadium | ||
| 6 | October 13 | Detroit Lions | W 7–0 | 3–1 | Wrigley Field | ||
| 7 | October 20 | Brooklyn Dodgers | W 16–7 | 4–1 | Wrigley Field | ||
| 8 | October 27 | at New York Giants | W 37–21 | 5–1 | Polo Grounds | ||
| 9 | November 3 | Green Bay Packers | W 14–7 | 6–1 | Wrigley Field | ||
| 10 | November 10 | at Detroit Lions | L 14–17 | 6–2 | Briggs Stadium | ||
| 11 | November 17 | at Washington Redskins | L 3–7 | 6–3 | Griffith Stadium | ||
| 12 | November 24 | Cleveland Rams | W 47–25 | 7–3 | Wrigley Field | ||
| 13 | December 1 | Chicago Cardinals | W 31–23 | 8–3 | Wrigley Field | ||
| Note: Intra-division opponents are in bold text. | |||||||
Standings
edit| NFL Western Division | |||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| W | L | T | PCT | DIV | PF | PA | STK | ||
| Chicago Bears | 8 | 3 | 0 | .727 | 6–2 | 238 | 152 | W2 | |
| Green Bay Packers | 6 | 4 | 1 | .600 | 4–3–1 | 238 | 155 | T1 | |
| Detroit Lions | 5 | 5 | 1 | .500 | 4–3–1 | 138 | 153 | L1 | |
| Cleveland Rams | 4 | 6 | 1 | .400 | 2–5–1 | 171 | 191 | T1 | |
| Chicago Cardinals | 2 | 7 | 2 | .222 | 2–5–1 | 139 | 222 | L3 | |
Note: Tie games were not officially counted in the standings until 1972.
NFL Championship Game
editChicago Bears beat the Washington Redskins 73–0 in the NFL's biggest scoring and most lopsided game in NFL history.
All-Star Game
editThe Bears defeated the NFL All-Stars 28–14 on December 29, 1940