1976 Chicago Bears season

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

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.

Offseason

NFL Draft

Main article: 1976 NFL Draft

1976 Chicago Bears Draft

Round	Selection	Player	Position	College	Notes
1	8	Dennis Lick	OT	Wisconsin
3	66	Brian Baschnagel	WR	Ohio State
4	103	John Sciarra	S	UCLA
	108	Wayne Rhodes	DB	Alabama
6	161	Dan Jiggetts	OT	Harvard
7	190	Jerry Muckensturm	LB	Arkansas State
11	299	Norman Anderson	WR	UCLA
12	330	John O'Leary	RB	Nebraska
13	357	Dale Kasowski	RB	North Dakota
14	384	Ron Cuie	RB	Oregon State
15	411	Jerry Meyers	DT	Northern Illinois
16	442	Ronald Parker	TE	Texas Christian
17	469	Mike Malham	LB	Arkansas State

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 74 Jerry Meyers DT 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 Bill Knox 24 Virgil Livers CB 46 Doug Plank S Special teams 86 Bob Parsons P 16 Robert R. Thomas K		Reserve lists 72 Gary Hrivnak DE (IRTooltip Injured reserve) Rookies in italics , 5 practice squad

Regular season

Schedule

Week	Date	Opponent	Result	Record	Venue	Attendance
1	September 12	Detroit Lions	W 10–3	1–0	Soldier Field	54,125
2	September 19	at San Francisco 49ers	W 19–12	2–0	Candlestick Park	44,158
3	September 26	Atlanta Falcons	L 0–10	2–1	Soldier Field	41,029
4	October 3	Washington Redskins	W 33–7	3–1	Soldier Field	52,105
5	October 10	at Minnesota Vikings	L 19–20	3–2	Metropolitan Stadium	47,614
6	October 17	at Los Angeles Rams	L 12–20	3–3	Los Angeles Memorial Coliseum	71,751
7	October 24	at Dallas Cowboys	L 21–31	3–4	Texas Stadium	61,346
8	October 31	Minnesota Vikings	W 14–13	4–4	Soldier Field	53,602
9	November 7	Oakland Raiders	L 27–28	4–5	Soldier Field	53,585
10	November 14	Green Bay Packers	W 24–13	5–5	Soldier Field	52,907
11	November 21	at Detroit Lions	L 10–14	5–6	Pontiac Municipal Stadium	78,042
12	November 28	at Green Bay Packers	W 16–10	6–6	Lambeau Field	56,267
13	December 5	at Seattle Seahawks	W 34–7	7–6	Kingdome	60,510
14	December 12	Denver Broncos	L 14–28	7–7	Soldier Field	44,459
Note: Intra-division opponents are in bold text.

Standings

NFC Central
	W	L	T	PCT	DIV	CONF	PF	PA	STK
Minnesota Vikings(1)	11	2	1	.821	5–1	9–2–1	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

See also: 1976 Detroit Lions season and Bears–Lions rivalry

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

Period	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

See also: 1976 Oakland Raiders season

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

Period	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
• Referee: Chuck Heberling
• 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