Wikipedia

1977 Chicago Bears season

The 1977 Chicago Bears season was their 58th regular season completed in the National Football League. The team finished with a 9–5 record, which was their first winning season since 1967 and earned them a wild card spot against the Dallas Cowboys, who eventually beat the Bears 37–7 en route to a Super Bowl victory. This was their first postseason appearance since winning the 1963 championship. 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.

1977 Chicago Bears season
OwnerGeorge Halas
General managerJim Finks
Head coachJack Pardee
Home fieldSoldier Field
Results
Record9–5
Division place2nd NFC Central
Playoff finishLost Divisional Playoffs
(at Cowboys) 7–37

Sid Gillman was hired to serve as offensive coordinator of the team.[1] Star halfback Walter Payton 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 and he did it despite coming down with the flu on a dark rainy day at Soldier Field.

A week after the Dallas playoff loss, Coach Pardee stunned the team by resigning to take the head coaching position of the Washington Redskins (George Allen 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). When Gillman expressed desire to open up the offense, those ideas were rejected by upper staff, which led to the resignation of Gillman.

Offseason

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NFL Draft

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Main article: 1977 NFL Draft
1977 Chicago Bears draft
Round Pick Player Position College Notes
1 14 Ted Albrecht  Offensive tackle California
2 43 Mike Spivey  Cornerback Colorado
3 61 Robin Earl  Tight end Washington
6 140 Vince Evans  Quarterback USC
7 182 Gerald Butler  Wide receiver Nicholls State
9 238 Nick Buonamici  Defensive tackle Ohio State
10 266 Dennis Breckner  Defensive end Miami (FL)
11 294 Connie Zelencik  Center Purdue
12 322 Terry Irvin  Defensive back Jackson State
      Made roster    *   Made at least one Pro Bowl during career

Undrafted free agents

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1977 Undrafted Free Agents of note
Player Position College
Mike Andrus Safety Richmond
Terry Egerdahl Defensive back Minnesota-Duluth
Bob Gregolunas Linebacker Northern Illinois
Chris Hoskins Running back Missouri Western
Neil Little Defensive back Northwestern
Tony Madau Punter Nevada
Len Walterscheid Safety Southern Utah
Scott Yelvington Wide receiver Northwestern

Roster

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1977 Chicago Bears roster
Quarterbacks (QB)

Running backs (RB)

Wide receivers (WR)

Tight ends (TE)

Offensive linemen (OL)

Defensive linemen (DL)

Linebackers (LB)

Defensive backs (DB)

Special teams

Reserve

Rookies in italics

Regular season

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Schedule

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Week Date Opponent Result Record Venue Attendance
1 September 18 Detroit Lions W 30–20 1–0 Soldier Field 51,530
2 September 25 at St. Louis Cardinals L 13–16 1–1 Busch Memorial Stadium 49,878
3 October 2 New Orleans Saints L 24–42 1–2 Soldier Field 51,488
4 October 10 Los Angeles Rams W 24–23 2–2 Soldier Field 51,412
5 October 16 at Minnesota Vikings L 16–22 2–3 Metropolitan Stadium 47,708
6 October 23 Atlanta Falcons L 10–16 2–4 Soldier Field 49,407
7 October 30 at Green Bay Packers W 26–0 3–4 Lambeau Field 56,002
8 November 6 at Houston Oilers L 0–47 3–5 Houston Astrodome 47,226
9 November 13 Kansas City Chiefs W 28–27 4–5 Soldier Field 49,543
10 November 20 Minnesota Vikings W 10–7 5–5 Soldier Field 49,563
11 November 24 at Detroit Lions W 31–14 6–5 Pontiac Silverdome 71,373
12 December 4 at Tampa Bay Buccaneers W 10–0 7–5 Soldier Field 48,948
13 December 11 Green Bay Packers W 21–10 8–5 Soldier Field 33,557
14 December 18 at New York Giants W 12–9 (OT) 9–5 Giants Stadium 50,152
Note: Intra-division opponents are in bold text.

Playoffs

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Round Date Opponent Result Record Venue Attendance
Divisional December 26 at Dallas Cowboys L 7–37 0–1 Texas Stadium 62,920

Game summaries

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Week 1

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1 234Total
Lions 7 337 20
• Bears 7 2003 30
Scoring summary
1DETDexter Bussey 1-yard run (Steve Mike-Mayer kick)Lions 7–0
1CHIJohnny Musso 2-yard run (Bob Thomas kick)Tie 7–7
2CHISteve Schubert 70-yard punt return (Bob Thomas kick)Bears 14–7
2CHIWalter Payton 3-yard run (kick failed)Bears 20–7
2CHIWalter Payton 2-yard run (Bob Thomas kick)Bears 27–7
2DETSteve Mike-Mayer 35-yard field goalBears 27–10
3DETSteve Mike-Mayer 38-yard field goalBears 27–13
4DETDexter Bussey 5-yard run (Steve Mike-Mayer kick)Bears 27–20
4CHIBob Thomas 35-yard field goalBears 30–20

[2]

Week 2

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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

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Archie Manning 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 and a 57-yard interception return by Jim Merlo.

Week 4

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1 234Total
Rams 13 307 23
• Bears 7 7010 24
Scoring summary
1LARafael Septien 22 yard field goalRams 3–0
1LARafael Septien 29 yard field goalRams 6–0
1LALawrence McCutcheon 2 yard run (Rafael Septien kick)Rams 13–0
1CHIJames Scott 70 yard pass from Bob Avellini (Bob Thomas kick)Rams 13–7
2CHIJames Scott 72 yard pass from Bob Avellini (Bob Thomas kick)Bears 14–13
2LARafael Septien 24 yard field goalRams 16–14
4CHIBob Thomas 33 yard field goalBears 17–16
4CHIGreg Latta 29 yard pass from Bob Avellini (Bob Thomas kick)Bears 24–16
4LADwight Scales 26 yard pass from Pat Haden (Rafael Septien kick)Bears 24–23

[3]

Week 6

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With about two minutes to go, Chicago appeared to have a one-point victory over Atlanta. 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

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Walter Payton's 205 tied Gale Sayers 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's 3-yard touchdown run in a rout over the Packers.

Week 8

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  • The Astrodome in Houston, Texas
  • TV Station: CBS
  • Announcers: Frank Glieber 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

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Quarter 1 2 34Total
Vikings 0 0 707
Bears 0 10 0010

at Soldier Field, Chicago, Illinois

  • Date: Sunday, November 20
  • Game time: 12:00 p.m.
  • Game weather: 48 °F (9 °C), wind 21 mph (34 km/h)
  • Game attendance: 49,563
  • Pro-Football-Reference.com
Game information

Week 11

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1 234Total
• Bears 0 01714 31
Lions 0 707 14
Scoring summary
Q2DETHill 16 yard pass from Landry (Mike-Mayer kick)DET 7–0
Q3CHIRather 42 yard pass from Avellini (Thomas kick)Tie 7–7
Q3CHIPayton 75 yard pass from Avellini (Thomas kick)CHI 14–7
Q3CHIThomas 29 yard field goalCHI 17–7
Q4CHIAvellini 1 yard run (Thomas kick)CHI 24–7
Q4DETO'Neil 52 yard fumble return (Mike-Mayer kick)CHI 24–14
Q4CHIPayton 8 yard run (Thomas kick)CHI 31–14

[4]

Standings

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NFC Central
W L T PCT DIV CONF PF PA STK
Minnesota Vikings(3) 9 5 0 .643 6–1 8–4 231 227 W1
Chicago Bears(4) 9 5 0 .643 6–1 8–4 255 253 W6
Detroit Lions 6 8 0 .429 2–5 4–8 183 252 L1
Green Bay Packers 4 10 0 .286 2–5 4–7 134 219 W1
Tampa Bay Buccaneers 2 12 0 .143 0–4 2–11 103 223 W2

Postseason

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NFC Divisional Playoff

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Dallas Cowboys 37, Chicago Bears 7
Quarter 1 2 34Total
Bears 0 0 077
Cowboys 7 10 17337

at Texas Stadium, Irving, Texas

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’s 2-yard touchdown run and quarterback Roger Staubach’s 28-yard scoring pass to tight end Billy Joe Dupree. In the second half, running back Tony Dorsett 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

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  • Walter Payton, NFL MVP
  • Walter Payton, led NFL in rushing (1,852 yards)
  • Walter Payton, Pro Bowl Most Valuable Player
  • Walter Payton, Led NFL in Total Yards, (2,216)

References

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  1. ^ "Best of Dr. Z: 1991 Sid Gillman feature". July 2016.
  2. ^ Pro-Football-Reference.com
  3. ^ Pro-Football-Reference.com
  4. ^ Pro-Football-Reference.com. Retrieved 2014-Nov-27.
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