NFL Championship Game, 1940
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The 1940 National Football League Championship Game, was the 8th annual NFL championship game. The game was played at Griffith Stadium in Washington, D.C. on December 8, 1940. The Chicago Bears defeated the Washington Redskins, 73-0, in what currently stands as the most one-sided victory in NFL history.
Three weeks earlier, Washington defeated Chicago, 7-3, in a regular season game. After the contest, Redskins owner George Preston Marshall told reporters that the Bears were crybabies and quitters when the going got tough. So when preparing for the rematch, Chicago head coach George Halas fired up his team by showing them newspaper articles of Marshall's comments.
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.
Later in the first period, Sid Luckman scored on a 1-yard touchdown run to increase the lead 14-0. Then on their third drive, Joe Maniaci ran 42-yards for the Bears' third touchdown of the game.
Although the Bears held a 28-0 halftime lead, they continued to crush the Redskins, scoring 45 points during the second half. Even 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.
[edit] Scoring summary
| 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | Total | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Bears | 21 | 7 | 26 | 19 | 73 |
| Redskins | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
- CHI - Osmanski 68 run (Manders kick)
- CHI - Luckman 1 run (Snyder kick)
- CHI - Maniaci 42 run (Martinovich kick)
- CHI - Kavanaugh 30 pass from Luckman (Snyder kick)
- CHI - Pool 15 interception return (Plasman kick)
- CHI - Nolting 23 run (kick failed)
- CHI - McAfee 35 interception return (Stydahar kick)
- CHI - Turner 20 interception return (kick failed)
- CHI - Clark 44 run (kick failed)
- CHI - Famiglietti 2 run (Maniaci pass from Sherman)
- CHI - Clark 1 run (pass failed)
[edit] References
- Nash, Bruce, and Allen Zullo (1986). The Football Hall of Shame, 80-82, Pocket Books. ISBN 0-671-74551-4.
- The Sporting News Complete Super Bowl Book 1995, 391, The Sporting News Publishing Co. ISBN 0-89204-523-X.
| Pre-Super Bowl Championships |
| NFL Championship Game |
|---|
|
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| AFL Championship Game |
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| NFL | NFL Champions | AFL Champions | 1932 NFL Playoff Game | Super Bowl Champions |
