1940 Chicago Bears season

1940 Chicago Bears season
Head coach	George Halas
Home field	Wrigley Field
Results
Record	8–3
Division place	1st NFL Western
Playoff finish	Won NFL Championship (at Redskins) 73–0

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.

Offseason

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

Schedule

Game	Date	Opponent	Result	Record	Venue	Attendance	Recap	Sources
1	September 22	at Green Bay Packers	W 41–10	1–0	City Stadium	22,557	Recap
2	September 25	at Chicago Cardinals	L 7–21	1–1	Comiskey Park	23,181	Recap
—	Bye
3	October 6	at Cleveland Rams	W 21–14	2–1	Cleveland Municipal Stadium	18,998	Recap
4	October 13	Detroit Lions	W 7–0	3–1	Wrigley Field	34,217	Recap
5	October 20	Brooklyn Dodgers	W 16–7	4–1	Wrigley Field	31,101	Recap
6	October 27	at New York Giants	W 37–21	5–1	Polo Grounds	44,219	Recap
7	November 3	Green Bay Packers	W 14–7	6–1	Wrigley Field	45,434	Recap
8	November 10	at Detroit Lions	L 14–17	6–2	Briggs Stadium	21,735	Recap
9	November 17	at Washington Redskins	L 3–7	6–3	Griffith Stadium	35,331	Recap
10	November 24	Cleveland Rams	W 47–25	7–3	Wrigley Field	20,717	Recap
11	December 1	Chicago Cardinals	W 31–23	8–3	Wrigley Field	13,902	Recap
Note: Intra-division opponents are in bold text.

Standings

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 Eastern Division
	W	L	T	PCT	DIV	PF	PA	STK
Washington Redskins	9	2	0	.818	6–2	245	142	W1
Brooklyn Dodgers	8	3	0	.727	6–2	186	120	W4
New York Giants	6	4	1	.600	5–2–1	131	133	L1
Pittsburgh Steelers	2	7	2	.222	1–6–1	60	178	L1
Philadelphia Eagles	1	10	0	.091	1–7	111	211	L1

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

NFL Championship Game

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

Further information: 1940 NFL Championship Game

All-Star Game

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