1966 Chicago Bears season

The 1966 season was the Chicago Bears' 47th in the National Football League. The team failed to improve on their 9–5 record from 1965 and finished with a 5–7–2 record under head coach George Halas, earning them a fifth-place finish in the NFL Western Conference. This was the franchise's second losing season in the past three.

1966 Chicago Bears season
Owner	George Halas
General manager	George Halas
Head coach	George Halas
Home field	Wrigley Field
Local radio	WGN
Results
Record	5–7–2
Division place	5th Western
Playoff finish	Did not qualify

Offseason

NFL draft

Main article: 1966 NFL draft

1966 Chicago Bears draft
Round	Pick	Player	Position	College	Notes
1	12	George Rice	Defensive tackle	LSU
Made roster    *   Made at least one Pro Bowl during career

Roster

Chicago Bears 1966 roster
Quarterbacks  10 Rudy Bukich  9 Billy Wade 12 Larry Rakestraw Running backs 21 Jon Arnett 29 Ronnie Bull FB 32 Ralph Kurek 34 Joe Marconi 41 Brian Piccolo FB 40 Gale Sayers 49 Charlie Bivins Wide receivers 45 Dick Gordon 80 Jim Jones 47 Johnny Morris Tight ends 85 Duane Allen 89 Mike Ditka		Offensive linemen 72 Jim Cadile G 70 Herman Lee T 50 Mike Pyle C 64 Mike Rabold G 63 Bob Wetoska T 75 Riley Mattson T 67 George Seals G Defensive linemen 81 Doug Atkins DE 79 Dick Evey DT 76 John Johnson DT 87 Ed O'Bradovich DE 60 Brian Schweda DE 73 Frank Cornish Jr. DT 74 Bob Kilcullen DT		Linebackers 55 Doug Buffone 51 Dick Butkus 31 Joe Fortunato 53 Jim Purnell 83 Roger LeClerc K 62 Mike Reilly Defensive backs 22 Charlie Brown 26 Bennie McRae CB 17 Richie Petitbon S 24 Rosey Taylor S 23 Dave Whitsell CB 46 Curt Gentry Special teams 88 Bobby Joe Green P

Schedule

Week	Date	Opponent	Result	Record	Venue	Attendance
1	September 11	at Detroit Lions	L 3–14	0–1	Tiger Stadium	52,225
2	September 16	at Los Angeles Rams	L 17–31	0–2	Los Angeles Memorial Coliseum	58,916
3	Bye
4	October 2	at Minnesota Vikings	W 13–10	1–2	Metropolitan Stadium	47,426
5	October 9	Baltimore Colts	W 27–17	2–2	Wrigley Field	47,452
6	October 16	Green Bay Packers	L 0–17	2–3	Wrigley Field	48,573
7	October 23	Los Angeles Rams	W 17–10	3–3	Wrigley Field	47,475
8	October 31	at St. Louis Cardinals	L 17–24	3–4	Busch Memorial Stadium	49,516
9	November 6	Detroit Lions	T 10–10	3–4–1	Wrigley Field	47,041
10	November 13	San Francisco 49ers	T 30–30	3–4–2	Wrigley Field	47,078
11	November 20	at Green Bay Packers	L 6–13	3–5–2	Lambeau Field	50,861
12	November 27	Atlanta Falcons	W 23–6	4–5–2	Wrigley Field	44,777
13	December 4	at Baltimore Colts	L 16–21	4–6–2	Memorial Stadium	60,238
14	December 11	at San Francisco 49ers	L 14–41	4–7–2	Kezar Stadium	37,170
15	December 18	Minnesota Vikings	W 41–28	5–7–2	Wrigley Field	45,191
Note: Intra-conference opponents are in bold text.

• A bye week was necessary in 1966, as the league expanded to an odd-number (15) of teams (Atlanta); one team was idle each week.

Standings

NFL Western Conference
	W	L	T	PCT	CONF	PF	PA	STK
Green Bay Packers	12	2	0	.857	10–2	335	163	W5
Baltimore Colts	9	5	0	.643	7–5	314	226	W1
Los Angeles Rams	8	6	0	.571	6–6	289	212	L1
San Francisco 49ers	6	6	2	.500	5–5–2	320	325	L1
Chicago Bears	5	7	2	.417	4–6–2	234	272	W1
Detroit Lions	4	9	1	.308	3–8–1	206	317	L3
Minnesota Vikings	4	9	1	.308	4–7–1	292	304	L1

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

Game summaries

Week 4: vs. Baltimore Colts

Quarter	1	2	3	4	Total
Colts	0	3	7	7	17
Bears	10	0	10	7	27

at Wrigley Field in Chicago, Illinois

• Date: Sunday, October 9, 1966
• Game weather: 67 °F (19 °C), wind 12 mph (19 km/h)
• Pro-Football-Reference.com

Game information

First Quarter CHI – Roger LeClerc 42-yard field goal – Bears 3–0 CHI – Joe Fortunato 24-yard fumble return (Roger LeClerc kick) – Bears 10–0 Second Quarter BAL – Lou Michaels 13-yard field goal – Bears 10–3 Third Quarter CHI – Gale Sayers 30-yard run (Roger LeClerc kick) – Bears 17–3 CHI – Roger LeClerc 27-yard field goal – Bears 20–3 BAL – Bobby Boyd 37-yard interception return (Lou Michaels kick) – Bears 20–10 Fourth Quarter CHI – Gale Sayers 7-yard run (Roger LeClerc kick) – Bears 27–10 BAL – John Mackey 79-yard pass from Johnny Unitas (Lou Michaels kick) – Bears 27–17 Colts Johnny Unitas 18/38, 274 Yds, TD, 2 INT Tom Matte 4 Rush, 57 Yds John Mackey 2 Rec, 89 Yds, TD Bears Rudy Bukich 8/15, 96 Yds, INT Gale Sayers 18 Rush, 106 Yds, 2 TD Jimmy Jones 3 Rec, 64 Yds