The Bears may be enjoying their bye week, but the Gridiron Time Machine doesn’t need the week off.
Instead of our usual three games, we’re digging a little deeper this week with five memorable Week 10 performances, spanning nearly 60 years of Bears history.
1. 1967, Bears vs. Cardinals: Concannon goes deep, over and over again
November 19, 1967 | Bears win 30-3
The 1967 Bears were sitting at 4-5 when the St. Louis Cardinals came to Wrigley Field for Week 10.
What followed was one of the more explosive passing performances of the era.
Jack Concannon completed only 11 passes,
but those completions went for an incredible 336 yards and three touchdowns. Dick Gordon was responsible for most of the damage, catching four passes for 179 yards and two scores.
The touchdowns were not exactly short ones either.
Concannon connected with Gordon for a 93-yard touchdown early in the second quarter, then found Bob Jones for another 51-yard score. Before halftime arrived, Gordon struck again from 67 yards out.
Three touchdown passes. All three from more than 50 yards away.
Meanwhile, the Bears defense made sure St. Louis never had much of an opportunity to respond.
Chicago intercepted Cardinals quarterbacks seven times, including five picks from Jim Hart alone, while forcing nine turnovers overall. The Cardinals finished with only 230 total yards and never reached the end zone.
Chicago cruised to a 30-3 victory behind 461 yards of offense.
For a franchise that has not exactly been known for explosive passing attacks, Concannon throwing three touchdown passes of 51 yards or longer feels almost out of place in Bears history.
Almost.
2. 1979, Bears vs. Lions: Everybody gets involved
November 4, 1979 | Bears win 35-7
The Bears entered Week 10 of the 1979 season sitting at 4-5 and desperately trying to remain in the playoff picture.
Detroit turned out to be a pretty good opponent for getting things moving in the right direction.
Walter Payton once again carried the offense, rushing for 113 yards and two touchdowns on 22 carries while adding another 53 yards as a receiver. Mike Phipps threw for just 136 yards, but Chicago didn’t need much through the air.
The fun really started in the third quarter.
With Chicago leading 14-7, Steve Schubert returned a punt 77 yards for a touchdown. Not long afterward, Terry Schmidt intercepted Lions quarterback Jeff Komlo and returned it 20 yards for another score.
Suddenly, a seven-point game had become a 28-7 Bears lead.
Payton added his second touchdown in the fourth quarter to finish off a 35-7 victory.
Chicago did not commit a turnover while forcing five from Detroit, and Payton finished with 166 yards from scrimmage. The win moved the Bears back to .500 at 5-5 and became part of a late-season push that eventually carried Chicago into the playoffs.
The recipe probably sounds familiar.
Give the ball to Walter Payton, let the defense create mistakes, and sneak in a special teams touchdown while you’re at it.
Very Bears.
3. 1984, Bears vs. Raiders: Richard Dent wrecks the defending champs
November 4, 1984 | Bears win 17-6
One year before the 1985 Bears defense became immortal, Chicago was already showing the rest of the NFL what was coming.
The defending Super Bowl champion Los Angeles Raiders arrived at Soldier Field in Week 10 with a 7-2 record.
They left having scored zero touchdowns.
Walter Payton handled the offensive workload, rushing 27 times for 111 yards and scoring twice in the first half. His touchdown runs of 18 and eight yards gave Chicago a 14-0 advantage before the defense took care of everything else.
And Richard Dent was everywhere.
Dent recorded 4.5 sacks, which remains the Bears’ single-game franchise record. Chicago sacked Raiders quarterbacks nine times overall, forced five turnovers and held Los Angeles to just 181 total yards.
The Raiders managed only two field goals in a 17-6 Bears victory. It was the first time the defending champions had been held without a touchdown in more than three years.
The win moved Chicago to 7-3 and gave the Bears another indication that Buddy Ryan’s defense was developing into something special.
We know what happened one year later.
But before the Super Bowl Shuffle, the playoff shutouts and the legend of the 1985 defense, Richard Dent and company were already making Sundays miserable for opposing quarterbacks.
The defending Super Bowl champions just happened to get an early preview.
4. 1990, Bears vs. Falcons: Vestee Jackson shuts the door
November 11, 1990 | Bears win 30-24
The Bears entered Week 10 of the 1990 season as one of the hottest teams in football.
Atlanta came to Soldier Field and nearly spoiled the afternoon.
After falling behind 3-0, Chicago scored 24 unanswered points behind touchdowns from Neal Anderson, Wendell Davis and Brad Muster. Jim Harbaugh connected with Davis for an eight-yard touchdown in the second quarter, and the Bears carried a 24-3 advantage into the second half.
Then things got uncomfortable.
Atlanta scored two unanswered touchdowns to cut the lead to 24-17, and what had looked like a comfortable afternoon suddenly became a one-score game.
Fortunately, Chris Miller threw one pass too many.
Vestee Jackson jumped the route and returned the interception 45 yards for a touchdown, pushing the lead back to 30-17 with just over a minute remaining. Atlanta scored once more, but Chicago held on for a 30-24 victory.
Miller threw for 239 yards and two touchdowns, but the Bears intercepted him four times. Wendell Davis led Chicago offensively with five catches for 105 yards and a score, while Harbaugh added 195 passing yards and another 47 on the ground.
The victory improved Chicago to 8-1 and extended its winning streak to five games.
Sometimes the defense dominates from start to finish.
Other times it waits until things get interesting before reminding everyone who is in charge.
5. 2005, Bears vs. 49ers: Nathan Vasher goes 108 yards
November 13, 2005 | Bears win 17-9
If you remember anything about the Bears’ 2005 Week 10 win over San Francisco, it probably isn’t the offense.
That’s because there wasn’t much of one.
Chicago quarterback Kyle Orton threw for only 67 yards. San Francisco quarterback Cody Pickett somehow managed just one completion for 28 yards.
The real star was the wind.
With gusts approaching 50 miles per hour at Soldier Field, 49ers kicker Joe Nedney attempted a 52-yard field goal on the final play of the first half.
The kick fell short.
Nathan Vasher was waiting.
Vasher caught the ball deep in the end zone, briefly hesitated, then took off. He reversed field, found a convoy of blockers and raced all the way to the opposite end zone for a 108-yard touchdown.
At the time, it was the longest play in NFL history.
The return gave Chicago a 7-3 halftime lead in a game where points were extremely difficult to find. Adrian Peterson later rushed for a seven-yard touchdown and finished with 120 yards on 24 carries, while Robbie Gould added a fourth-quarter field goal.
The Bears held on for a 17-9 victory, their fifth straight win, improving to 6-3 while maintaining control of the NFC North.
One year later, Devin Hester would return another missed field goal exactly 108 yards against the Giants.
Apparently 108-yard missed field goal returns were just something Bears defensive backs did for a while.
Gary Baugher Jr. is a second year contributor to WCG, bringing football insight backed by over 16 years of experience in organized football and more than 30 years as a passionate fan of the game. You can follow him on Twitter at @iamcogs.
