1974 Chicago Bears season

The 1974 Chicago Bears season was their 55th regular season completed in the National Football League. The team finished with a 4–10 record, which led to the ouster of Abe Gibron as head coach.

1974 Chicago Bears season
Owner	George Halas
General manager	Jim Finks
Head coach	Abe Gibron
Home field	Soldier Field
Results
Record	4–10
Division place	4th NFC Central
Playoff finish	Did not qualify

Offseason

NFL Draft

Main article: 1974 NFL draft

1974 Chicago Bears draft
Round	Pick	Player	Position	College	Notes
1	4	Waymond Bryant	Linebacker	Tennessee State
1	20	Dave Gallagher	Defensive tackle	Michigan
3	54	Wayne Wheeler	Wide receiver	Alabama
3	56	Greg Horton	Guard	Colorado
3	62	Cliff Taylor	Running back	Memphis State
7	160	Jack Ettinger	Wide receiver	Arkansas
8	186	Alan Chadwick	Quarterback	East Tennessee State
8	190	Ken Grandberry	Running back	Washington State
11	264	Norm Hodgins	Safety	LSU
12	290	Jeff Sevy	Defensive tackle	California
13	316	Joe Barnes	Quarterback	Texas Tech
14	342	Paul Vellano	Defensive tackle	Maryland
15	368	Oliver Alexander	Tight end	Grambling
16	394	Randy Geist	Defensive back	Colorado
17	420	Craig Holland	Quarterback	Texas–Arlington
Made roster

Roster

1974 Chicago Bears roster

Quarterbacks (QB) 18 Joe Barnes 10 Bobby Douglass 19 Gary Huff Running backs (RB) 29 Dave Gagnon 47 Ken Grandberry 33 Gary Kosins 22 Cliff Taylor 36 Perry Williams FB 46 Pete Van Valkenburg Wide receivers (WR) 43 George Farmer 17 Ike Hill 80 Bo Rather 83 Charlie Wade 85 Wayne Wheeler Tight ends (TE) 88 Jim Kelly 82 Fred Pagac

Offensive linemen (OL) 79 Lionel Antoine T 74 Bob Asher T 52 Rich Coady C 62 Tom Forrest G 65 Randy Jackson T 64 Ernie Janet G 63 Steve Kinney T 78 Bob Newton G Defensive linemen (DL) 60 Wally Chambers DT 76 Dave Gallagher DE 84 Richard Harris DE 72 Gary Hrivnak DE 71 Tony McGee DE 68 Jim Osborne DT 89 Mel Tom DE

Linebackers (LB) 50 Waymond Bryant 55 Doug Buffone 30 Jimmy Gunn 58 Bob Pifferini 57 Don Rives Defensive backs (DB) 45 Craig Clemons FS 48 Allan Ellis CB 34 Norm Hodgins S 31 Bill Knox CB 44 Garry Lyle FS 27 Randy Montgomery CB 38 Hurles Scales CB 20 Joe Taylor CB Special teams 86 Bob Parsons P 15 Mirro Roder K

Reserve 26 Carl Garrett RB (IR) 35 Jim Harrison FB (IR) 69 Mike Hoban G (IR) 87 Tom Reynolds WR (IR) Rookies in italics

Regular season

Schedule

Week	Date	Opponent	Result	Record	Venue	Attendance
1	September 15	Detroit Lions	W 17–9	1–0	Soldier Field	48,134
2	September 22	New York Jets	L 21–23	1–1	Soldier Field	50,213
3	September 29	at Minnesota Vikings	L 7–11	1–2	Metropolitan Stadium	46,217
4	October 6	New Orleans Saints	W 24–10	2–2	Soldier Field	45,818
5	October 13	at Atlanta Falcons	L 10–13	2–3	Atlanta Stadium	47,835
6	October 21	Green Bay Packers	W 10–9	3–3	Soldier Field	50,623
7	October 27	at Buffalo Bills	L 6–16	3–4	Rich Stadium	78,084
8	November 3	Minnesota Vikings	L 0–17	3–5	Soldier Field	33,343
9	November 10	at Green Bay Packers	L 3–20	3–6	Milwaukee County Stadium	46,567
10	November 17	San Francisco 49ers	L 0–34	3–7	Soldier Field	42,686
11	November 24	at Detroit Lions	L 17–34	3–8	Tiger Stadium	40,930
12	December 1	New York Giants	W 16–13	4–8	Soldier Field	18,802
13	December 8	at San Diego Chargers	L 21–28	4–9	San Diego Stadium	33,662
14	December 15	at Washington Redskins	L 0–42	4–10	RFK Stadium	52,085
Note: Intra-division opponents are in bold text.

Game summaries

Week 1: vs. Detroit Lions

Gary Huff hit Charlie Wade with two long passes, one from 73 yards and another from 43, setting up Chicago touchdowns that beat Detroit. Carl Garrett ran in from one yard for the Bears first touchdown and Huff threw a nine-yard touchdown pass for a 14–0 lead. It would be though the high mark for the Bears that season.

Week 6: vs. Green Bay Packers

1 2 3 4 Total Packers 0 0 6 3 9 • Bears 10 0 0 0 10 Date: October 21 Location: Soldier Field, Chicago, Illinois Game start: 8:00 p.m. CST Game weather: 39 °F (4 °C), wind 13 mph (21 km/h) Television network: ABC Source: Pro-Football-Reference.com

Scoring summary 1 Bears Mirro Roder 23-yard field goal Bears 3–0 1 Bears Charlie Wade 57-yard pass from Gary Huff (Mirro Roder kick) Bears 10–0 3 Packers Chester Marcol 34-yard field goal Bears 10–3 3 Packers Chester Marcol 33-yard field goal Bears 10–6 4 Packers Chester Marcol 36-yard field goal Bears 10–9

Standings

NFC Central
	W	L	T	PCT	DIV	CONF	PF	PA	STK
Minnesota Vikings	10	4	0	.714	4–2	8–3	310	195	W3
Detroit Lions	7	7	0	.500	3–3	6–5	256	270	L1
Green Bay Packers	6	8	0	.429	3–3	4–7	210	206	L3
Chicago Bears	4	10	0	.286	2–4	4–7	152	279	L2