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]
| 1976 Chicago Bears season | |
|---|---|
| Owner | George Halas |
| General manager | Jim Finks |
| Head coach | Jack Pardee |
| Home stadium | Soldier Field |
| Results | |
| Record | 7–7 |
| Division place | 2nd NFC Central |
| Playoffs | Did not qualify |
Offseason
1976 expansion draft
| Round | Overall | Name | Position | Expansion team |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 0 | 0 | Bubba Broussard | Linebacker | Tampa Bay Buccaneers |
| 0 | 0 | Earl Douthitt | Safety | Tampa Bay Buccaneers |
| 0 | 0 | Larry Ely | Linebacker | Tampa Bay Buccaneers |
NFL draft
| 1976 Chicago Bears draft | |||||
| Round | Pick | Player | Position | College | Notes |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | 8 | Dennis Lick | Offensive tackle | Wisconsin | |
| 3 | 66 | Brian Baschnagel | Wide receiver | Ohio State | |
| 4 | 103 | John Sciarra | Safety | UCLA | |
| 4 | 108 | Wayne Rhodes | Defensive back | Alabama | |
| 6 | 161 | Dan Jiggetts | Offensive tackle | Harvard | |
| 7 | 190 | Jerry Muckensturm | Linebacker | Arkansas State | |
| 11 | 299 | Norman Anderson | Wide receiver | UCLA | |
| 12 | 330 | John O'Leary | Running back | Nebraska | |
| 13 | 357 | Dale Kasowski | Running back | North Dakota | |
| 14 | 384 | Ron Cuie | Running back | Oregon State | |
| 15 | 411 | Jerry Meyers | Defensive tackle | Northern Illinois | |
| 16 | 442 | Ronald Parker | Tight end | TCU | |
| 17 | 469 | Mike Malham | Linebacker | Arkansas State | |
| Made roster | |||||
Undrafted free agents
| Player | Position | College |
|---|---|---|
| Rudy Allen | Wide receiver | Georgia Tech |
| Gary Evans | Defensive back | Northeast Missouri State |
| Bill Marek | Running back | Wisconsin |
| Ivy Moore | Wide receiver | Southern Illinois |
| Mike Morgan | Defensive back | Washburn |
| Vernon Perry | Defensive back | Jackson State |
| Jim Pooler | Running back | Northwestern |
| Steve Studer | Guard/Center | Bowling Green |
| Jeff Tryon | Defensive back | Boise State |
Roster
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
Week One: Detroit Lions (0–0) at Chicago Bears (0–0)
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 | ||
|---|---|---|
|
Week 9 vs Raiders
Week Nine: Oakland Raiders (7–1) at Chicago Bears (4–4)
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 | ||
|---|---|---|
|
Awards and honors
- UPI Coach of the Year – Jack Pardee
