1940 Chicago Bears season

The 1940 season was the Chicago Bears' 21st in the National Football League. The team matched on their 8–3 record from 1939 under head coach George Halas. Behind NFL great Sid Luckman, the club gained a berth in the NFL Championship. There the club stormed the Washington Redskins under the brand new formation known as the T formation to claim their fourth league title. This was the first of four consecutive NFL Western titles for the Bears.

1940 Chicago Bears season
Head coachGeorge Halas
Home fieldWrigley Field
Results
Record8–3
Division place1st NFL Western
Playoff finishWon NFL Championship
(at Redskins) 73–0

Offseason

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The Bears selected Clyde "Bulldog" Turner with their first round pick in the 1940 NFL draft. He would be with the Bears for four Championships and be inducted into the Pro Football Hall of Fame in 1966.

Regular season

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Schedule

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Week Date Opponent Result Record Venue
1 Bye
2 Bye
3 September 22 at Green Bay Packers W 41–10 1–0 City Stadium
3 September 25 at Chicago Cardinals L 7–21 1–1 Comiskey Park
4 Bye
5 October 6 at Cleveland Rams W 21–14 2–1 Cleveland Municipal Stadium
6 October 13 Detroit Lions W 7–0 3–1 Wrigley Field
7 October 20 Brooklyn Dodgers W 16–7 4–1 Wrigley Field
8 October 27 at New York Giants W 37–21 5–1 Polo Grounds
9 November 3 Green Bay Packers W 14–7 6–1 Wrigley Field
10 November 10 at Detroit Lions L 14–17 6–2 Briggs Stadium
11 November 17 at Washington Redskins L 3–7 6–3 Griffith Stadium
12 November 24 Cleveland Rams W 47–25 7–3 Wrigley Field
13 December 1 Chicago Cardinals W 31–23 8–3 Wrigley Field
Note: Intra-division opponents are in bold text.

Standings

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NFL Western Division
W L T PCT DIV PF PA STK
Chicago Bears 8 3 0 .727 6–2 238 152 W2
Green Bay Packers 6 4 1 .600 4–3–1 238 155 T1
Detroit Lions 5 5 1 .500 4–3–1 138 153 L1
Cleveland Rams 4 6 1 .400 2–5–1 171 191 T1
Chicago Cardinals 2 7 2 .222 2–5–1 139 222 L3

Note: Tie games were not officially counted in the standings until 1972.

NFL Championship Game

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Chicago Bears beat the Washington Redskins 73–0 in the NFL's biggest scoring and most lopsided game in NFL history.

All-Star Game

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The Bears defeated the NFL All-Stars 28–14 on December 29, 1940