1968 Chicago Bears season
NFL team season
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The 1968 season was the Chicago Bears' 49th in the National Football League. The team failed to improve on their 7–6–1 record from 1967 and finished with a 7–7 record under first-year head coach Jim Dooley and earning them a second-place finish in the Central Division within the NFL's Western Conference, a game behind the Minnesota Vikings.[1]
| 1968 Chicago Bears season | |
|---|---|
| Owner | George Halas |
| General manager | George Halas |
| Head coach | Jim Dooley |
| Home stadium | Wrigley Field |
| Results | |
| Record | 7–7 |
| Division place | 2nd Central |
| Playoffs | Did not qualify |
Star running back Gale Sayers tore the ligaments in his right knee against San Francisco on November 10 and was lost for the season.[2][3]
The Bears had the tiebreaker advantage over Minnesota, after defeating them twice.[4] They needed a win over the Green Bay Packers in the season finale to clinch the division title,[4] but lost by a point at home.[5][6]
The following season, Chicago posted its worst record in franchise history at 1–13. The Bears' next postseason appearance was in 1977, as a wild card team, and the next division title came in 1984.
Offseason
George Halas, age 73, retired as head coach of the Bears for the fourth and final time on May 27.[7][8][9][10] Dooley, 38, was promoted and introduced as head coach the following day.[11][12]
NFL/AFL draft
| 1968 Chicago Bears draft | |||||
| Round | Pick | Player | Position | College | Notes |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | 16 | Mike Hull | Fullback | USC | |
| 2 | 46 | Bob Wallace | Tight end | UTEP | |
| 3 | 57 | Major Hazelton | Defensive back | Florida A&M | |
| 4 | 99 | Wayne Mass | Offensive tackle | Clemson | |
| 4 | 106 | Alan Bush | Guard | Ole Miss | |
| 5 | 127 | Cecil Turner * | Wide receiver | Cal Poly-San Luis Obispo | |
| 6 | 154 | Jim Schmedding | Center | Weber State | |
| 7 | 181 | Willie Holman | Defensive end | South Carolina State | |
| 8 | 208 | Wayne Bell | Running back | Lenoir–Rhyne | |
| 9 | 235 | Sam Moore | Tackle | Mississippi Valley State | |
| 10 | 262 | Fred Davis | Guard | Doane | |
| 11 | 289 | Rich Coady | Tight end | Memphis State | made in 1970 |
| 12 | 316 | Emilio Vallez | Linebacker | New Mexico | |
| 13 | 343 | Willie Dearion | Wide receiver | Prairie View A&M | |
| 14 | 370 | Harold Gargus | Defensive tackle | New Mexico State | |
| 15 | 397 | Rich Jaeger | Center | Gustavus Adolphus | |
| 16 | 424 | Jim Murphy | Kicker | Utah State | |
| 17 | 451 | Gene Layton | Defensive tackle | Colorado State | |
| Made roster | |||||
Undrafted free agents
| Player | Position | College |
|---|---|---|
| Bill Cooper | Running back |
Roster
Regular season
Schedule
| Week | Date | Opponent | Result | Record | Venue | Attendance | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | September 15 | Washington Redskins | L 28–38 | 0–1 | Wrigley Field | 41,321 | |
| 2 | September 22 | at Detroit Lions | L 0–42 | 0–2 | Tiger Stadium | 50,688 | |
| 3 | September 29 | at Minnesota Vikings | W 27–17 | 1–2 | Metropolitan Stadium | 47,644 | |
| 4 | October 6 | at Baltimore Colts | L 7–28 | 1–3 | Memorial Stadium | 60,238 | |
| 5 | October 13 | Detroit Lions | L 10–28 | 1–4 | Wrigley Field | 46,996 | |
| 6 | October 20 | at Philadelphia Eagles | W 29–16 | 2–4 | Franklin Field | 60,858 | |
| 7 | October 27 | Minnesota Vikings | W 26–24 | 3–4 | Wrigley Field | 46,562 | |
| 8 | November 3 | at Green Bay Packers | W 13–10 | 4–4 | Lambeau Field | 50,861 | |
| 9 | November 10 | San Francisco 49ers | W 27–19 | 5–4 | Wrigley Field | 46,978 | |
| 10 | November 17 | Atlanta Falcons | L 13–16 | 5–5 | Wrigley Field | 44,214 | |
| 11 | November 24 | Dallas Cowboys | L 3–34 | 5–6 | Wrigley Field | 46,667 | |
| 12 | December 1 | at New Orleans Saints | W 23–17 | 6–6 | Tulane Stadium | 78,285 | |
| 13 | December 8 | at Los Angeles Rams | W 17–16 | 7–6 | Los Angeles Memorial Coliseum | 66,368 | |
| 14 | December 15 | Green Bay Packers | L 27–28 | 7–7 | Wrigley Field | 46,435 | |
| Note: Intra-division opponents are in bold text. | |||||||
Game summaries
Week 1
Week 2
Week 3
| Team | 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | Total |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| • Bears | 14 | 6 | 0 | 7 | 27 |
| Vikings | 0 | 3 | 0 | 14 | 17 |
- Date: September 29
- Location: Metropolitan Stadium, Bloomington, MN
- Game weather: 54 °F (12 °C); wind 7 mph
| Q1 | CHI | Sayers 7-yard run (Percival kick) | CHI 7–0 | |
| Q1 | CHI | Gordon 15-yard pass from Concannon (Percival kick) | CHI 14–0 | |
| Q2 | CHI | Percival 43-yard field goal | CHI 17–0 | |
| Q2 | MIN | Cox 45-yard field goal | CHI 17–3 | |
| Q2 | CHI | Percival 31-yard field goal | CHI 20–3 | |
| Q4 | MIN | Washington 24-yard pass from Cuozzo (Cox kick) | CHI 20–10 | |
| Q4 | MIN | Brown 1-yard run (Cox kick) | CHI 20–17 | |
| Q4 | CHI | Kurek 23-yard run (Percival kick) | CHI 27–17 | |
- Gale Sayers 16 Rush, 108 Yds
Week 4
Week 5
Week 6
| Team | 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | Total |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| • Bears | 7 | 6 | 3 | 13 | 29 |
| Eagles | 3 | 10 | 3 | 0 | 16 |
- Date: October 20
- Location: Franklin Field, Philadelphia, PA
- Game weather: 62 °F (17 °C); wind 12 mph
| Q1 | PHI | Baker 30-yard field goal | PHI 3–0 | |
| Q1 | CHI | Turner 11-yard pass from Carter (Percival kick) | CHI 7–3 | |
| Q2 | PHI | Baker 27-yard field goal | CHI 7–6 | |
| Q2 | PHI | Ditka 2-yard pass from Snead (Baker kick) | PHI 13–7 | |
| Q2 | CHI | Percival 39-yard field goal | PHI 13–10 | |
| Q2 | CHI | Percival 31-yard field goal | Tie 13–13 | |
| Q3 | CHI | Percival 28-yard field goal | CHI 16–13 | |
| Q3 | PHI | Baker 44-yard field goal | Tie 16–16 | |
| Q4 | CHI | Percival 15-yard field goal | CHI 19–16 | |
| Q4 | CHI | Taylor 96-yard interception return (Percival kick) | CHI 26–16 | |
| Q4 | CHI | Percival 14-yard field goal | CHI 29–16 | |
Week 7
| Team | 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | Total |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Vikings | 7 | 7 | 0 | 10 | 24 |
| • Bears | 7 | 6 | 7 | 6 | 26 |
- Date: October 27
- Location: Wrigley Field, Chicago, IL
- Game weather: 51 °F (11 °C); wind 17 mph
| Q1 | MIN | Lindsey 1-yard run (Cox kick) | MIN 7–0 | |
| Q1 | CHI | Wallace 12-yard pass from Carter (Percival kick) | Tie 7–7 | |
| Q2 | CHI | Percival 12-yard field goal | CHI 10–7 | |
| Q2 | MIN | Washington 54-yard pass from Kapp (Cox kick) | MIN 14–10 | |
| Q2 | CHI | Percival 42-yard field goal | MIN 14–13 | |
| Q3 | CHI | Gordon 50-yard pass from Carter (Percival kick) | CHI 20–14 | |
| Q4 | MIN | Cox 38-yard field goal | CHI 20–17 | |
| Q4 | CHI | Percival 21-yard field goal | CHI 23–17 | |
| Q4 | MIN | Washington 25-yard pass from Kapp (Cox kick) | MIN 24–23 | |
| Q4 | CHI | Percival 47-yard field goal | CHI 26–24 | |
- Gale Sayers 18 Rush, 143 Yds
Week 8
| Team | 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | Total |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| • Bears | 0 | 3 | 7 | 3 | 13 |
| Packers | 0 | 0 | 7 | 3 | 10 |
- Date: November 3
- Location: Lambeau Field, Green Bay, WI
- Game weather: 36 °F (2 °C); wind 9 mph
- Referee: Pat Haggerty
| Q2 | CHI | Percival 10-yard field goal | CHI 3–0 | |
| Q3 | CHI | Carter 2-yard run (Percival kick) | CHI 10–0 | |
| Q3 | GB | Dale 50-yard pass from Starr (Mercin kick) | CHI 10–7 | |
| Q4 | GB | Mercin 19-yard field goal | Tie 10–10 | |
| Q4 | CHI | Percival 43-yard field goal | CHI 13–10 | |
- Gale Sayers 24 Rush, 205 Yds[16]
Mac Percival booted the game-winning field goal with 16 seconds remaining on a rare free kick following a fair catch.
Standings
| NFL Central | |||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| W | L | T | PCT | DIV | CONF | PF | PA | STK | |
| Minnesota Vikings | 8 | 6 | 0 | .571 | 4–2 | 6–4 | 282 | 242 | W2 |
| Chicago Bears | 7 | 7 | 0 | .500 | 3–3 | 5–5 | 250 | 333 | L1 |
| Green Bay Packers | 6 | 7 | 1 | .462 | 1–4–1 | 2–7–1 | 281 | 227 | W1 |
| Detroit Lions | 4 | 8 | 2 | .333 | 3–2–1 | 4–5–1 | 207 | 241 | L1 |
- Note: Tie games were not officially counted in the standings until 1972.
