1976 Chicago Bears season

NFL team season

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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

1976 Chicago Bears Draft
Round	Selection	Player	Position	College
1	8	Dennis Lick	OT	Wisconsin
3	66	Brian Baschnagel	WR	Ohio State
4	103	John Sciarra	S	UCLA
4	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
view talk edit	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

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

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

References

^ "Chicago Honey Bears.net". Archived from the original on April 25, 2012. Retrieved May 23, 2012.

v t e Chicago Bears
Founded in 1919 Formerly the Decatur Staleys (1919–1920) 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 Sneakers Game T formation 73–0 ‘85 Bears Super Bowl XX 46 defense Asterisk Game Fog Bowl "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) Wichita Aero Commandos (1942) Akron Bears (AFL, 1946) Bloomfield Cardinals (AFL, 1947) Richmond Rebels (AFL, 1948–1950) Quad City Mohawks (MWPFL, 1970–1972)
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: Kevin Warren General manager: Ryan Poles Head coach: Matt Eberflus
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: WMVP Personnel: Jeff Joniak (play-by-play) Tom Thayer (analyst) Jason McKie (sideline reporter) Television: WFLD (pre-season and most regular season games through Fox, official pre-game and post-game alternate) Marquee Sports Network (official post-game and in-season programming) Personnel: Lou Canellis (gameday television host, pre-season sideline reporter) Adam Amin (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

v t e Chicago Bears seasons
Formerly the Decatur Staleys (1920) and the Chicago Staleys (1921)
1919 1920 1921 1922 1923 1924 1925 1926 1927 1928 1929 1930 1931 1932 1933 1934 1935 1936 1937 1938 1939 1940 1941 1942 1943 1944 1945 1946 1947 1948 1949 1950 1951 1952 1953 1954 1955 1956 1957 1958 1959 1960 1961 1962 1963 1964 1965 1966 1967 1968 1969 1970 1971 1972 1973 1974 1975 1976 1977 1978 1979 1980 1981 1982 1983 1984 1985 1986 1987 1988 1989 1990 1991 1992 1993 1994 1995 1996 1997 1998 1999 2000 2001 2002 2003 2004 2005 2006 2007 2008 2009 2010 2011 2012 2013 2014 2015 2016 2017 2018 2019 2020 2021 2022 2023 2024
Bold indicates NFL Championship (1920–69) or Super Bowl (1966–present) victory Italics indicates NFL Championship (1920–69) or Super Bowl (1966–present) appearance

1976 NFL season

East	Central	West	East	Central	West
Baltimore	Cincinnati	Denver	Dallas	Chicago	Atlanta
Buffalo	Cleveland	Kansas City	NY Giants	Detroit	Los Angeles
Miami	Houston	Oakland	Philadelphia	Green Bay	New Orleans
New England	Pittsburgh	San Diego	St. Louis	Minnesota	San Francisco
NY Jets		Tampa Bay	Washington		Seattle