1965 Chicago Bears season
NFL team season
From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
The 1965 Chicago Bears season was their 46th regular season in the National Football League. The team improved upon the dismal 5–9 record of the previous season, and finished with a 9–5 record that earned them a third-place finish in the NFL Western Conference.
| 1965 Chicago Bears season | |
|---|---|
| Owner | George Halas |
| General manager | George Halas |
| Head coach | George Halas |
| Home stadium | Wrigley Field |
| Results | |
| Record | 9–5 |
| Division place | 3rd Western |
| Playoffs | Did not qualify |
The Bears started the season 0–3, but thanks to rookies Gale Sayers and Dick Butkus, the team won 9 of the last 11 games. Sayers had a magnificent rookie season, and in one game against the San Francisco 49ers at Chicago's Wrigley Field on December 12, he scored six touchdowns in a 61–20 Bears win, the first time the Bears scored 61 points in a regular-season game.[1] Sayers would set an NFL rookie record with 22 touchdowns in one season.[2] The six-touchdown performance tied an NFL record and set a new Bears record.[3] Quarterback Rudy Bukich completed 176 of 312 passes for 2,641 yards and 20 touchdowns.
The 1965 Bears draft class was named No. 8 on NFL Top 10 draft classes.[4]
Off-season
NFL draft
| 1965 Chicago Bears draft | |||||
| Round | Pick | Player | Position | College | Notes |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | 3 | Dick Butkus * † | Linebacker | Illinois | |
| 1 | 4 | Gale Sayers * † | Running back | Kansas | |
| 4 | 45 | Jim Nance | Fullback | Syracuse | Signed with the AFL |
| 6 | 73 | Tony Carey | Running back | Notre Dame | |
| 7 | 88 | Dick Gordon * | Wide receiver | Michigan State | |
| 7 | 90 | Mickey Sutton | Safety | Auburn | Signed with the AFL |
| 8 | 101 | Brian Schweda | Defensive end | Kansas | |
| Made roster † Pro Football Hall of Fame * Made at least one Pro Bowl during career | |||||
Undrafted free agents
| Player | Position | College |
|---|---|---|
| Doyle Hill | Quarterback | North Alabama |
Roster
Regular season
Schedule
| Week | Date | Opponent | Result | Record | Venue | ||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | September 19 | at San Francisco 49ers | L 24–52 | 0–1 | Kezar Stadium | ||
| 2 | September 26 | at Los Angeles Rams | L 28–30 | 0–2 | Los Angeles Memorial Coliseum | ||
| 3 | October 3 | at Green Bay Packers | L 14–23 | 0–3 | Lambeau Field | ||
| 4 | October 10 | Los Angeles Rams | W 31–6 | 1–3 | Wrigley Field | ||
| 5 | October 17 | at Minnesota Vikings | W 45–37 | 2–3 | Metropolitan Stadium | ||
| 6 | October 24 | Detroit Lions | W 38–10 | 3–3 | Wrigley Field | ||
| 7 | October 31 | Green Bay Packers | W 31–10 | 4–3 | Wrigley Field | ||
| 8 | November 7 | Baltimore Colts | L 21–26 | 4–4 | Wrigley Field | ||
| 9 | November 14 | St. Louis Cardinals | W 34–13 | 5–4 | Wrigley Field | ||
| 10 | November 21 | at Detroit Lions | W 17–10 | 6–4 | Tiger Stadium | ||
| 11 | November 28 | at New York Giants | W 35–14 | 7–4 | Yankee Stadium | ||
| 12 | December 5 | at Baltimore Colts | W 13–0 | 8–4 | Memorial Stadium | ||
| 13 | December 12 | San Francisco 49ers | W 61–20 | 9–4 | Wrigley Field | ||
| 14 | December 19 | Minnesota Vikings | L 17–24 | 9–5 | Wrigley Field | ||
| Note: Intra-conference opponents are in bold text. | |||||||
Game summaries
Week 1
| Team | 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | Total |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Bears | 3 | 0 | 0 | 21 | 24 |
| • 49ers | 0 | 24 | 21 | 7 | 52 |
- Date: September 19
- Location: Kezar Stadium
Week 2
| Team | 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | Total |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Bears | 0 | 14 | 14 | 0 | 28 |
| • Rams | 0 | 6 | 3 | 21 | 30 |
- Date: September 26
- Location: Los Angeles Memorial Coliseum
Week 3
| Team | 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | Total |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Bears | 0 | 0 | 7 | 7 | 14 |
| • Packers | 14 | 6 | 3 | 0 | 23 |
- Date: October 3
- Location: Lambeau Field
Week 4
| Team | 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | Total |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Rams | 0 | 3 | 3 | 0 | 6 |
| • Bears | 0 | 10 | 7 | 14 | 31 |
- Date: October 10
- Location: Wrigley Field, Chicago, IL
- Game weather: 55 °F (12.8 °C); wind 8 miles per hour (13 km/h; 7.0 kn)
| Q2 | CHI | Livingston 3-yard run (LeClerc kick) | CHI 7–0 | |
| Q2 | CHI | LeClerc 26-yard field goal | CHI 10–0 | |
| Q2 | LA | Gossett 16-yard field goal | CHI 10–3 | |
| Q3 | LA | Gossett 13-yard field goal | CHI 10–6 | |
| Q3 | CHI | Sayers 80-yard pass from Bukich (LeClerc kick) | CHI 17–6 | |
| Q4 | CHI | Bukich 1-yard run (LeClerc kick) | CHI 24–6 | |
| Q4 | CHI | Gordon 26-yard pass from Bukich (LeClerc kick) | CHI 31–6 | |
- Rudy Bukich 16/22, 299 Yds
Week 5
| Team | 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | Total |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| • Bears | 14 | 3 | 7 | 21 | 45 |
| Vikings | 0 | 13 | 10 | 14 | 37 |
- Date: October 17
- Location: Metropolitan Stadium, Bloomington, MN
- Game weather: 65 °F (18.3 °C); wind 12 miles per hour (19 km/h; 10 kn)
| Q1 | CHI | Bull 33-yard run (LeClerc kick) | CHI 7–0 | |
| Q1 | CHI | Morris 14-yard pass from Bukich (LeClerc kick) | CHI 14–0 | |
| Q2 | MIN | Cox 38-yard field goal | CHI 14–3 | |
| Q2 | MIN | Mason 4-yard run (Cox kick) | CHI 14–10 | |
| Q2 | CHI | LeClerc 12-yard field goal | CHI 17–10 | |
| Q2 | MIN | Cox 40-yard field goal | CHI 17–13 | |
| Q3 | MIN | Cox 28-yard field goal | CHI 17–16 | |
| Q3 | MIN | Brown 40-yard run (Cox kick) | MIN 23–17 | |
| Q3 | CHI | Sayers 18-yard pass from Bukich (LeClerc kick) | CHI 24–23 | |
| Q4 | MIN | Tarkenton 2-yard run (Cox kick) | MIN 30–24 | |
| Q4 | CHI | Sayers 25-yard pass from Bukich (LeClerc kick) | CHI 31–30 | |
| Q4 | MIN | Mason 4-yard run (Cox kick) | MIN 37–31 | |
| Q4 | CHI | Sayers 96-yard kickoff return (LeClerc kick) | CHI 38–37 | |
| Q4 | CHI | Sayers 10-yard run (LeClerc kick) | CHI 45–37 | |
- Gale Sayers 297 all-purpose Yds
Week 6
| Team | 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | Total |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Lions | 0 | 3 | 0 | 7 | 10 |
| • Bears | 10 | 14 | 7 | 7 | 38 |
- Date: October 24
- Location: Wrigley Field
Week 7
| Team | 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | Total |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Packers | 7 | 3 | 0 | 0 | 10 |
| • Bears | 0 | 17 | 7 | 7 | 31 |
- Date: October 31
- Location: Wrigley Field, Chicago, Illinois
- Game weather: 57 °F (13.9 °C) • Wind 14 miles per hour (23 km/h; 12 kn)
| 1 | GB | Jim Taylor 1-yard run (Don Chandler kick) | Packers 7–0 | |
| 2 | CHI | Roger LeClerc 24-yard field goal | Packers 7–3 | |
| 2 | CHI | Jimmy Jones 13-yard pass from Rudy Bukich (Roger LeClerc kick) | Bears 10–7 | |
| 2 | CHI | Gale Sayers 10-yard run (Roger LeClerc kick) | Bears 17–7 | |
| 2 | GB | Don Chandler 43-yard field goal | Bears 17–10 | |
| 3 | CHI | Jon Arnett 2-yard run (Roger LeClerc kick) | Bears 24–10 | |
| 4 | CHI | Ronnie Bull 4-yard run (Roger LeClerc kick) | Bears 31–10 | |
Week 8
| Team | 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | Total |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| • Colts | 0 | 10 | 14 | 2 | 26 |
| Bears | 0 | 0 | 7 | 14 | 21 |
- Date: November 7
- Location: Wrigley Field
Week 9
| Team | 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | Total |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Cardinals | 7 | 6 | 0 | 0 | 13 |
| • Bears | 10 | 0 | 7 | 17 | 34 |
- Date: November 14
- Location: Wrigley Field
Week 10
| Team | 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | Total |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| • Bears | 0 | 10 | 7 | 0 | 17 |
| Lions | 7 | 3 | 0 | 0 | 10 |
- Date: November 21
- Location: Tiger Stadium
Week 11
| Team | 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | Total |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| • Bears | 7 | 14 | 0 | 14 | 35 |
| Giants | 0 | 0 | 7 | 7 | 14 |
- Date: November 28
- Location: Yankee Stadium
Week 12
| Team | 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | Total |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| • Bears | 7 | 3 | 3 | 0 | 13 |
| Colts | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
- Date: December 5
- Location: Memorial Stadium
Week 13
Week Thirteen: San Francisco 49ers (7–5) at Chicago Bears (8–4)
| Quarter | 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | Total |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 49ers | 0 | 13 | 0 | 7 | 20 |
| Bears | 13 | 14 | 13 | 21 | 61 |
at Wrigley Field • Chicago, Illinois
- Date: December 12
- Game weather: 54 °F (12.2 °C) • Wind 11 miles per hour (18 km/h; 9.6 kn)
- [17]
| Game information | ||
|---|---|---|
|
Gale Sayers' Six Touchdown Game. His last touchdown came on a 85-yard punt return.
| Scoring summary | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
Week 14
| Team | 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | Total |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| • Vikings | 0 | 0 | 3 | 21 | 24 |
| Bears | 0 | 0 | 7 | 10 | 17 |
- Date: December 19
- Location: Wrigley Field
Standings
| NFL Western Conference | |||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| W | L | T | PCT | CONF | PF | PA | STK | ||
| Green Bay Packers | 10 | 3 | 1 | .769 | 8–3–1 | 316 | 224 | T1 | |
| Baltimore Colts | 10 | 3 | 1 | .769 | 8–3–1 | 389 | 284 | W1 | |
| Chicago Bears | 9 | 5 | 0 | .643 | 7–5 | 409 | 275 | L1 | |
| San Francisco 49ers | 7 | 6 | 1 | .538 | 6–5–1 | 421 | 402 | T1 | |
| Minnesota Vikings | 7 | 7 | 0 | .500 | 5–7 | 383 | 403 | W2 | |
| Detroit Lions | 6 | 7 | 1 | .462 | 4–7–1 | 257 | 295 | W1 | |
| Los Angeles Rams | 4 | 10 | 0 | .286 | 2–10 | 269 | 328 | L1 | |
- Note: Tie games were not officially counted in the standings until 1972.
Awards and records
- Gale Sayers, NFL rookie record, most touchdowns in one season (22)
- Gale Sayers, NFL record (tied), most touchdowns in one game (6)
- Gale Sayers, club record, most touchdowns in one game (6)