1941 Chicago Bears

NFL Champions

The Bears began 1941 with a 25-17 victory over the Green Bay Packers. Five games later, the Packers came to Chicago and returned the favor, giving the Bears their first loss, 16-14. At season's end, both teams had lost only one game in all, and so a tiebreaker was held to determine the Western Conference champion. The Bears hosted the playoff game and bested the Packers 33-14. This first non-championship playoff game is still the only time that the two sides of football's oldest rivalry have ever met in the post-season.

Thus, Chicago hosted the Eastern Conference champs, the New York Giants, in the Bears' fourth championship game in ten years, and the third between the representatives of America's two biggest cities.

This game began much the way the 1933 championship game had, as 3 Bob Snyder field goals gave the Bears a modest halftime lead over the Giants' 7 points on a first-quarter touchdown pass from George Fanck to Tuffy Leemans. Early in the third quarter, the Giants would tie things on a Ward Cuff field goal, but things went all Chicago's way after that.

Bears' Fullback Norm Standlee capped off two long drives with touchdown runs, and George McAfee did the same in the fourth. As the Giants' tried to manage a face-saving score in the final seconds, a forced fumble took the ball from the hands of Giant Andy Marefos, and Bear Ken Kavanaugh ran 42 yards, crossing the goalline with 9 seconds left in the game. A dropkick converted the extra point, and the Bears repeated as champions, beating the Giants 37-9.


Chi 47 New 12
Chi 25 GB 17
Chi 48 Cle 21
Car 7 Chi 53
Det 0 Chi 49
Pit 7 Chi 34
GB 16 Chi 14
Cle 13 Chi 31
Was 21 Chi 35
Chi 24 Det 7
Chi 49 Phi 14
Chi 34 Car 24

GB 14 Chi 33 (Tie-breaker playoff)
NYG 9 Chi 37 (Championship)
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