Playing on Christmas Eve or Christmas Day has been a risk for the Chicago Bears solely for the reason that Eighties.
Why? From the league’s begin in 1920, the NFL season consisted of fewer regular-season video games and its championship often concluded earlier than or prevented altogether the December holidays.
That modified in April 1971, when it was introduced 4 playoff video games would happen on Dec. 25-26. This association — with two video games every day — meant all 4 video games could possibly be broadcast nationally.
As the vacations drew nearer, nevertheless, followers turned vocal.
“I enjoy football, but is it really necessary to play on Christmas Day?” an indignant caller instructed Joe McGuff, then the sports activities editor for the Kansas City Star. “This is a religious day, a family day. But apparently it makes no difference to the people who run professional football.”
When NFL government director Jim Kensil was requested in early December 1971 why the 2 video games scheduled for Christmas Day couldn’t be performed the next week, he cited that a number of school bowl video games have been already deliberate “and we would have been in conflict with those.”
The Dallas Cowboys whipped the Minnesota Vikings 20-12 within the first sport broadcast on Dec. 25, 1971.
“We beat them at their own game,” mentioned Mike Ditka, Cowboys tight finish and former Bear. “We took the ball away from them and stuffed it down their throats.”
The second sport wasn’t determined as simply. The AFC divisional sport took 82 minutes, 40 seconds for the Miami Dolphins to beat the Kansas City Chiefs 27-24.
Garo Yepremian, Miami’s left-footed soccer-style kicker, sailed a 37-yard area purpose with 7:20 left within the second extra time to provide the Dolphins their first playoff victory. It’s nonetheless the longest sport in NFL historical past.
It can be 18 years earlier than the NFL deliberate one other sport for Christmas Day.
The Bears performed on Christmas Eve for the primary time in 1989 and Christmas Day in 2005.
Here’s a glance again on the outcomes for every of the crew’s earlier video games.
How the Bears have fared: Record
How the Bears have fared: Opponents and outcomes
How the Bears have fared: Points scored
How the Bears have fared: Memorable sport moments
Christmas Eve
- Dec. 24, 1989: In a 6-10 season, Richard Dent sacked 49ers quarterback Joe Montana to develop into the franchise’s all-time sacks chief in a sport the Bears misplaced 26-0. Dent’s 124.5 sacks stays a crew document.
- Dec. 24, 1994: Kicker Kevin Butler turned the primary Bear and solely the twenty second NFL participant to attain 1,000 factors along with his 44-yard area purpose through the first quarter of a 13-3 loss to the Patriots. Two different tries, nevertheless, failed. A 38-yard try was blocked within the third quarter and a 36-yard attempt later sailed broad left.
- Dec. 24, 1995: In the final sport of first-round choose Rashaan Salaam’s rookie season, he had 122 yards on 30 carries within the Bears’ 20-14 victory over the Eagles. Yet he sat on the bench throughout the whole fourth quarter. Salaam rushed for 1,074 yards and scored 10 touchdowns through the 1995 season, incomes NFC Rookie of the Year honors. But after a number of accidents and struggles on the sphere, he lasted solely three seasons in Chicago. Salaam died in 2016.
Christmas Day
- Dec. 25, 2005: The Bears’ 24-17 victory over the Packers clinched the crew’s first division title since 2001, guaranteeing a first-round bye and a house playoff sport. The win additionally secured a season sweep of the Packers for the primary time in 14 years and ended Green Bay’s three-year stranglehold on the division title. Making his first begin since Sept. 26, 2004, Bears quarterback Rex Grossman completed 11-for-23 for 166 yards and one landing with one interception.
Sources: Tribune reporting and archives; Pro Football Reference
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Source: www.bostonherald.com