1968 Chicago Bears season

1968 Chicago Bears season
OwnerGeorge Halas
General managerGeorge Halas
Head coachJim Dooley
Home stadiumWrigley Field
Results
Record7–7
Division place2nd Central
PlayoffsDid not qualify

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]

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

Main article: 1968 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 Texas at El Paso
      Made roster    *   Made at least one Pro Bowl during career

Roster

1968 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 (ST)

Practice squad

Reserve

Rookies in italics


Regular season

Main article: 1968 NFL 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 234Total
• Bears 14 607 27
Vikings 0 3014 17
Scoring summary
Q1CHISayers 7-yard run (Percival kick)CHI 7–0
Q1CHIGordon 15-yard pass from Concannon (Percival kick)CHI 14–0
Q2CHIPercival 43-yard field goalCHI 17–0
Q2MINCox 45-yard field goalCHI 17–3
Q2CHIPercival 31-yard field goalCHI 20–3
Q4MINWashington 24-yard pass from Cuozzo (Cox kick)CHI 20–10
Q4MINBrown 1-yard run (Cox kick)CHI 20–17
Q4CHIKurek 23-yard run (Percival kick)CHI 27–17

[13]

Week 4

Week 5

Week 6

Team 1 234Total
• Bears 7 6313 29
Eagles 3 1030 16
Scoring summary
Q1PHIBaker 30-yard field goalPHI 3–0
Q1CHITurner 11-yard pass from Carter (Percival kick)CHI 7–3
Q2PHIBaker 27-yard field goalCHI 7–6
Q2PHIDitka 2-yard pass from Snead (Baker kick)PHI 13–7
Q2CHIPercival 39-yard field goalPHI 13–10
Q2CHIPercival 31-yard field goalTie 13–13
Q3CHIPercival 28-yard field goalCHI 16–13
Q3PHIBaker 44-yard field goalTie 16–16
Q4CHIPercival 15-yard field goalCHI 19–16
Q4CHITaylor 96-yard interception return (Percival kick)CHI 26–16
Q4CHIPercival 14-yard field goalCHI 29–16

[14]

Week 7

Team 1 234Total
Vikings 7 7010 24
• Bears 7 676 26
Scoring summary
Q1MINLindsey 1-yard run (Cox kick)MIN 7–0
Q1CHIWallace 12-yard pass from Carter (Percival kick)Tie 7–7
Q2CHIPercival 12-yard field goalCHI 10–7
Q2MINWashington 54-yard pass from Kapp (Cox kick)MIN 14–10
Q2CHIPercival 42-yard field goalMIN 14–13
Q3CHIGordon 50-yard pass from Carter (Percival kick)CHI 20–14
Q4MINCox 38-yard field goalCHI 20–17
Q4CHIPercival 21-yard field goalCHI 23–17
Q4MINWashington 25-yard pass from Kapp (Cox kick)MIN 24–23
Q4CHIPercival 47-yard field goalCHI 26–24

[15]

Week 8

Team 1 234Total
• Bears 0 373 13
Packers 0 073 10
Scoring summary
Q2CHIPercival 10-yard field goalCHI 3–0
Q3CHICarter 2-yard run (Percival kick)CHI 10–0
Q3GBDale 50-yard pass from Starr (Mercin kick)CHI 10–7
Q4GBMercin 19-yard field goalTie 10–10
Q4CHIPercival 43-yard field goalCHI 13–10

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
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.

References

  1. ^ "Pro football standings". Milwaukee Journal. December 16, 1968. p. 13, part 2.
  2. ^ "Bears beat 49ers, 27-19, but lose Sayers for year". Milwaukee Sentinel. UPI. November 11, 1968. p. 1, part 2.
  3. ^ "Bears down 49ers, 27-19, but lose Sayers for season". Milwaukee Journal. press dispatches. November 11, 1968. p. 12, part 2.
  4. ^ a b Bledsoe, Terry (December 15, 1968). "Packers' bad year to end at last". Milwaukee Journal. p. 1, sports.
  5. ^ Bledsoe, Terry (December 16, 1968). "Horn and Packers knock Bears out of title, 28-27". Milwaukee Journal. p. 13, part 2. Archived from the original on March 12, 2016. Retrieved November 11, 2019.
  6. ^ "Horn answers Pack's call, blows Bears out of race". Eugene Register-Guard. (Oregon). Associated Press. December 16, 1968. p. 3B.
  7. ^ Strickler, George (May 28, 1968). "Halas retires as Bears' coach". Chicago Tribune. p. 1, sec. 1.
  8. ^ "George Halas drops reins". Spokesman-Review. (Spokane, Washington). Associated Press. May 28, 1968. p. 15.
  9. ^ McHugh, Roy (May 28, 1968). "Papa Bear recognizes Father Time". Pittsburgh Press. p. 33.
  10. ^ NFL 2001 Record and Fact Book, Workman Publishing Co, New York, NY, ISBN 0-7611-2480-2, p. 283
  11. ^ Hollow, Cooper (May 29, 1968). "Dooley, 38, named head coach of Bears". Chicago Tribune. p. 1, sec. 3.
  12. ^ "Dooley moves up as Bears' coach". Spokesman-Review. (Spokane, Washington). Associated Press. May 29, 1968. p. 16.
  13. ^ Pro-Football-Reference.com. Retrieved 2014-Oct-27.
  14. ^ Pro-Football-Reference.com. Retrieved 2014-Oct-28.
  15. ^ Pro-Football-Reference.com. Retrieved 2014-Oct-29.
  16. ^ Pro-Football-Reference.com. Retrieved 2014-Oct-31.


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