73-0 Championship Game (1940)

Lore & Background

Washington had defeated Chicago 7–3 in a regular season game three weeks earlier in Washington. After the contest, Redskins owner George Preston Marshall told reporters that the Bears were crybabies and quitters when the going got tough. As the Bears prepared for the rematch, Chicago head coach George Halas fired up his team by showing them newspaper articles containing Marshall's comments, then said, 'Gentlemen, this is what George Preston Marshall thinks of you. Well, I think you're a GREAT football team! Now, go out there and prove it!' Before the game, Halas's friend Clark Shaughnessy, who was concurrently coaching the undefeated Stanford Indians, helped the Bears' gameplan. Shaughnessy devised several counters for linebacker shifts that he had noted the Redskins using.

In Their Own Story

The air inside Griffith Stadium hung heavy with the damp chill of a Washington December, but the silence that followed the opening kickoff was suffocating. Sid Luckman stood under center, the T-formation snapping into place like a coiled spring. As the motion man streaked across the formation, the Washington defense didn't just hesitate—they froze, their assignments shattered by the sheer kinetic chaos of a system they had never seen. The ball left Luckman's hand, arcing high toward Ray McLean, who adjusted mid-stride and vanished into the end zone untouched. There was no roar from the home crowd, only a collective gasp that signaled the death of the old guard. For the next sixty minutes, the Bears didn't just play football; they executed a surgical dismantling, moving with a terrifying, fluid precision that turned Washington's defenders into statues. By the fourth quarter, the scoreboard stood as a monument to a new era, and the only sound in the stadium was the rhythmic, deafening thud of pads as the Monsters of the Midway marched relentlessly toward history.

Reader's Guide

The Bears controlled the game right from the start, using the T formation as their primary offensive strategy. On their second play from scrimmage, running back Bill Osmanski ran 68 yards for a touchdown. Washington then marched to the Chicago 26-yard line on their ensuing drive, but wide receiver Charlie Malone dropped a sure touchdown pass in the end zone that would have tied the game. The field goal attempt on 4th down was missed as well. Later in the first quarter, Bears quarterback Sid Luckman scored on a 1-yard touchdown run to increase the lead 14–0. On their third drive, Joe Maniaci ran 42 yards for the Bears' third touchdown of the game. The Bears held a 28–0 halftime lead and then continued to crush the Redskins, scoring 45 points during the second half. After Halas took the team's starters out, the backup players continued to pile on the points. The Bears ended up recording 501 total yards on offense, 382 total rushing yards, and 8 interceptions, returning 3 for touchdowns, all in the third quarter. So many footballs were kicked into the stands after touchdowns that officials asked Halas to run or pass for the point after touchdown on the last two touchdowns. This game also marked the last time that an NFL player (Bears end Dick Plasman) played without a helmet. Reportedly, after the final gun went off, a sports writer jokingly yelled, 'Marshall just shot himself!' Marshall's only statement to the press was, 'We needed a 50-man line against their power.' Redskins quarterback Sammy Baugh was interviewed after the game, and a sportswriter asked him whether the game would have been different had Malone not dropped the tying touchdown pass. Baugh reportedly quipped, 'Sure. The final score would have been 73–7.'

Did You Know?

• The 73–0 victory is the most one-sided in NFL history and remains the largest margin of victory in the four major American professional team sports.
• The game was broadcast on radio by Mutual Broadcasting System, the first NFL title game broadcast nationwide.
• The Bears scored 45 points in the second half alone.
• The net gate receipts from the sellout were over $102,000, a record; each Bears player received $874 while each Redskins player saw $606.