1975 Chicago Bears season

1975 Chicago Bears season
OwnerGeorge Halas
General managerJim Finks
Head coachJack Pardee
Home fieldSoldier Field
Results
Record4–10
Division place3rd NFC Central
Playoff finishDid not qualify

The 1975 Chicago Bears season was their 56th regular season in the National Football League. The team matched their 4–10 record from 1974, in the first season under head coach Jack Pardee.

The 1975 Bears are the only NFL team to have been outscored by 25 points six different times during a 14-game season, a record for futility that has that has only been matched once under the current 16-game format.[1]

Offseason

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NFL Draft

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Main article: 1975 NFL Draft
1975 Chicago Bears draft
Round Pick Player Position College Notes
1 4 Walter Payton * †  Running back Jackson State
2 31 Mike Hartenstine  Defensive end Penn State
4 83 Virgil Livers  Cornerback Western Kentucky
5 110 Revie Sorey  Guard Illinois
6 135 Bob Avellini  Quarterback Maryland
6 151 Tom Hicks  Linebacker Illinois
7 178 Earl Douthitt  Safety Iowa
8 197 Joe Harris  Linebacker Georgia Tech
9 212 Roger Stillwell  Defensive tackle Stanford
10 254 Mike Julius  Guard St. Thomas
11 264 Mike Dean  Kicker Texas
12 291 Doug Plank  Safety Ohio State
13 316 Charles McDaniel  Running back Louisiana Tech
14 343 Walter Hartfield  Running back Southwest Texas State
15 368 Steve Marcantonio  Wide receiver Miami (FL)
16 395 Witt Beckman  Wide receiver Miami (FL)
17 420 Roland Harper  Running back Louisiana Tech
      Made roster    †   Pro Football Hall of Fame    *   Made at least one Pro Bowl during career

Undrafted free agents

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1975 Undrafted Free Agents of note
Player Position College
Greg Engebos Cornerback Minnesota

Roster

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1975 Chicago Bears roster
Quarterbacks (QB)

Running backs (RB)

Wide receivers (WR)

Tight ends (TE)

Offensive linemen (OL)

Defensive linemen (DL)

Linebackers (LB)

Defensive backs (DB)

Special teams

Reserve

Rookies in italics

Regular season

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Schedule

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Week Date Opponent Result Record Venue Attendance
1 September 21 Baltimore Colts L 7–35 0–1 Soldier Field 54,152
2 September 28 Philadelphia Eagles W 15–13 1–1 Soldier Field 48,071
3 October 5 at Minnesota Vikings L 3–28 1–2 Metropolitan Stadium 47,578
4 October 12 at Detroit Lions L 7–27 1–3 Pontiac Municipal Stadium 74,032
5 October 19 at Pittsburgh Steelers L 3–34 1–4 Three Rivers Stadium 47,579
6 October 27 Minnesota Vikings L 9–13 1–5 Soldier Field 51,259
7 November 2 Miami Dolphins L 13–46 1–6 Soldier Field 57,455
8 November 9 Green Bay Packers W 27–14 2–6 Soldier Field 48,738
9 November 16 at San Francisco 49ers L 3–31 2-7 Candlestick Park 41,726
10 November 23 at Los Angeles Rams L 10–38 2-8 Los Angeles Memorial Coliseum 64,979
11 November 30 at Green Bay Packers L 7–28 2-9 Lambeau Field 56,267
12 December 7 Detroit Lions W 25–21 3–9 Soldier Field 37,772
13 December 14 St. Louis Cardinals L 20–34 3–10 Soldier Field 35,052
14 December 21 at New Orleans Saints W 42–17 4–10 Louisiana Superdome 33,371
Note: Intra-division opponents are in bold text.

Season summary

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Week 2

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1 234Total
Eagles 3 307 13
• Bears 0 906 15
  • Date: September 28
  • Location: Soldier Field • Chicago, Illinois
  • Game start: 1:00 p.m.
  • Game weather: 56 °F (13 °C), wind 6 mph (9.7 km/h)
Scoring summary
1PHIHorst Muhlmann 44-yard field goalEagles 3–0
2CHIBob Thomas 44-yard field goalTie 3–3
2CHICid Edwards 7-yard pass from Gary Huff (kick failed)Bears 9–3
2PHIHorst Muhlmann 43-yard field goalBears 9–6
4CHIBob Thomas 24-yard field goalBears 12–6
44:09PHIHarold Carmichael 14-yard pass from Roman Gabriel (Horst Muhlmann kick)Eagles 13–12
4:08CHIBob Thomas 26-yard field goalBears 15–12

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Week 8

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1 234Total
Packers 0 707 14
• Bears 10 7100 27
  • Date: November 9
  • Location: Soldier Field, Chicago
  • Game start: 1:00 p.m.
  • Game weather: 58 °F (14 °C), wind 12 mph (19 km/h)
Scoring summary
1CHIBob Thomas 34 yard field goalBears 3–0
1CHIBob Parsons 12 yard pass from Gary Huff (Bob Thomas kick)Bears 10–0
2GBSteve Odom 42 yard pass from Don Milan (Joe Danelo kick)Bears 10–7
2CHIWalter Payton 5 yard run (Bob Thomas kick)Bears 17–7
3CHIBob Thomas 48 yard field goalBears 20–7
3CHICraig Clemons 76 yard interception return (Bob Thomas kick)Bears 27–7
4GBBarry Smith 18 yard pass from Carlos Brown (Joe Danelo kick)Bears 27–14

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Standings

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NFC Central
W L T PCT DIV CONF PF PA STK
Minnesota Vikings(1) 12 2 0 .857 5–1 8–2 377 180 W1
Detroit Lions 7 7 0 .500 4–2 6–5 245 262 L1
Chicago Bears 4 10 0 .286 2–4 4–7 191 379 W1
Green Bay Packers 4 10 0 .286 1–5 4–7 226 285 W1

[4]

Awards and records

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References

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  1. ^ Pro-Football-Reference.com: In a single season, from 1940 to 2011, in the NFL, in the regular season, requiring Points Differential <= -25, sorted by most games in season matching criteria.
  2. ^ Pro-Football-Reference.com
  3. ^ Pro-Football-Reference.com
  4. ^ NFL 2001 Record and Fact Book, Workman Publishing Co, New York, NY, ISBN 0-7611-2480-2, p. 296


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