1976 Chicago Bears season

1976 Chicago Bears season
Owner	George Halas
General manager	Jim Finks
Head coach	Jack Pardee
Home field	Soldier Field
Results
Record	7–7
Division place	2nd NFC Central
Playoff finish	did not qualify

The 1976 Chicago Bears season was their 57th regular season completed in the National Football League. The club posted 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.

Offseason

NFL Draft

Main article: 1976 NFL Draft

Round	Pick	Player	Position	School/Club Team

Roster

1976 Chicago Bears roster

Quarterbacks (QB) 7 Bob Avellini 19 Gary Huff Running backs (RB) 20 Mike Adamle 35 Roland Harper 22 Johnny Musso 34 Walter Payton 36 Larry Schreiber Wide receivers (WR) 84 Brian Baschnagel 80 Bo Rather 85 Steve Schubert 89 James Scott Tight ends (TE) 88 Greg Latta

Offensive linemen (OL) 79 Lionel Antoine T 65 Noah Jackson G 62 Dan Jiggetts T 70 Dennis Lick T 52 Dan Neal C 75 Jeff Sevy G 69 Revie Sorey G Defensive linemen (DL) 82 Royce Berry DE 60 Wally Chambers DT 73 Mike Hartenstine DE 68 Jim Osborne DT 76 Ron Rydalch DT

Linebackers (LB) 50 Waymond Bryant 59 Ross Brupbacher 55 Doug Buffone 54 Tom Hicks 58 Jerry Muckensturm 57 Don Rives Defensive backs (DB) 45 Craig Clemons FS 48 Allan Ellis CB 45 Gary Fencik SS 31 Bill Knox 24 Virgil Livers CB 46 Doug Plank SS Special teams 86 Bob Parsons P 16 Robert R. Thomas K

Rookies in italics , 5 practice squad

Regular season

Schedule

Week	Date	Opponent	Result	Attendance
1	September 12, 1976	Detroit Lions	W 10–3	54,125
2	September 19, 1976	at San Francisco 49ers	W 19–12	44,158
3	September 26, 1976	Atlanta Falcons	L 10–0	41,029
4	October 3, 1976	Washington Redskins	W 33–7	52,105
5	October 10, 1976	at Minnesota Vikings	L 20–19	47,614
6	October 17, 1976	at Los Angeles Rams	L 20–12	71,751
7	October 24, 1976	at Dallas Cowboys	L 31–21	61,346
8	October 31, 1976	Minnesota Vikings	W 14–13	53,602
9	November 7, 1976	Oakland Raiders	L 28–27	53,585
10	November 14, 1976	Green Bay Packers	W 24–13	52,907
11	November 21, 1976	at Detroit Lions	L 14–10	78,042
12	November 28, 1976	at Green Bay Packers	W 16–10	56,267
13	December 5, 1976	at Seattle Seahawks	W 34–7	60,510
14	December 12, 1976	Denver Broncos	L 28–14	44,459

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

Awards and honors

• UPI Coach of the Year – Jack Pardee