1975 Chicago Bears season

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.

1975 Chicago Bears season
Owner	George Halas
Head coach	Jack Pardee
General manager	Jim Finks
Home field	Soldier Field
Results
Record	4–10
Division place	3rd NFC Central
Playoff finish	Did not qualify

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

NFL Draft

Round	Pick	Player	Position	School/Club team
1	4	Walter Payton	Running back	Jackson State University
2	31	Mike Hartenstine	Defensive end	Penn State
4	83	Virgil Livers	Defensive back	Western Kentucky
5	110	Revie Sorey	Guard	Illinois
6	135	Bob Avellini	Quarterback	Maryland
6	151	Tom Hicks	Linebacker	Illinois
7	178	Earl Douthitt	Defensive back	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	Defensive back	Ohio State

Roster

1975 Chicago Bears final roster

	Quarterbacks 7 Bob Avellini 11 Virgil Carter 19 Gary Huff Running backs 20 Mike Adamle 36 Tom Donchez 37 Cid Edwards FB 35 Roland Harper 34 Walter Payton Wide receivers 27 Bob Grim 80 Bo Rather 85 Steve Schubert Tight ends 81 Gary Butler 88 Greg Latta		Offensive linemen 79 Lionel Antoine T 74 Bob Asher T 65 Noah Jackson G 65 Randy Jackson T 51 Dan Neal C 78 Bob Newton G 63 Mark Nordquist G 53 Dan Peiffer C 75 Jeff Sevy G 69 Revie Sorey G Defensive linemen 60 Wally Chambers DT 84 Richard Harris DE 73 Mike Hartenstine DE 72 Gary Hrivnak DE 68 Jim Osborne DT 71 Roger Stillwell DE 89 Mel Tom DE		Linebackers 52 John Babinecz 50 Waymond Bryant 55 Doug Buffone 54 Larry Ely 59 Carl Gersbach 58 Bob Pifferini 57 Don Rives Defensive backs 45 Craig Clemons FS 43 Earl Douthitt 48 Allan Ellis CB 31 Bill Knox 24 Virgil Livers CB 46 Doug Plank SS 21 Nemiah Wilson CB Special teams 86 Bob Parsons P 16 Robert R. Thomas K		Reserve lists Practice squad Rookies in italics

Regular season

Schedule

Week	Date	Opponent	Result	Attendance
1	September 21, 1975	Baltimore Colts	L 35–7	54,152
2	September 28, 1975	Philadelphia Eagles	W 15–13	48,071
3	October 5, 1975	at Minnesota Vikings	L 28–3	47,578
4	October 12, 1975	at Detroit Lions	L 27–7	74,032
5	October 19, 1975	at Pittsburgh Steelers	L 34–3	47,579
6	October 27, 1975	Minnesota Vikings	L 13–9	51,259
7	November 2, 1975	Miami Dolphins	L 46–13	57,455
8	November 9, 1975	Green Bay Packers	W 27–14	48,738
9	November 16, 1975	at San Francisco 49ers	L 31–3	41,726
10	November 23, 1975	at Los Angeles Rams	L 38–10	64,979
11	November 30, 1975	at Green Bay Packers	L 28–7	56,267
12	December 7, 1975	Detroit Lions	W 25–21	37,772
13	December 14, 1975	St. Louis Cardinals	L 34–20	35,052
14	December 21, 1975	at New Orleans Saints	W 42–17	33,371

Week 2

1 2 3 4 Total Eagles 3 3 0 7 13 • Bears 0 9 0 6 15 Date: September 28 Location: Soldier Field • Chicago, Illinois Game start: 1:00 p.m. Game weather: 56°F, wind 6 mph

Scoring summary 1 PHI Horst Muhlmann 44-yard field goal Eagles 3–0 2 CHI Bob Thomas 44-yard field goal Tie 3–3 2 CHI Cid Edwards 7-yard pass from Gary Huff (kick failed) Bears 9–3 2 PHI Horst Muhlmann 43-yard field goal Bears 9–6 4 CHI Bob Thomas 24-yard field goal Bears 12–6 4 4:09 PHI Harold Carmichael 14-yard pass from Roman Gabriel (Horst Muhlmann kick) Eagles 13–12 4 :08 CHI Bob Thomas 26-yard field goal Bears 15–12

[2]

Week 8

1 2 3 4 Total Packers 0 7 0 7 14 • Bears 10 7 10 0 27 Date: November 9 Location: Soldier Field, Chicago Game start: 1:00 p.m. Game weather: 58°F, wind 12 mph

Scoring summary 1 CHI Bob Thomas 34 yard field goal Bears 3–0 1 CHI Bob Parsons 12 yard pass from Gary Huff (Bob Thomas kick) Bears 10–0 2 GB Steve Odom 42 yard pass from Don Milan (Joe Danelo kick) Bears 10–7 2 CHI Walter Payton 5 yard run (Bob Thomas kick) Bears 17–7 3 CHI Bob Thomas 48 yard field goal Bears 20–7 3 CHI Craig Clemons 76 yard interception return (Bob Thomas kick) Bears 27–7 4 GB Barry Smith 18 yard pass from Carlos Brown (Joe Danelo kick) Bears 27–14

[3]

Standings

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

References

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