# 1974 Chicago Bears season

The 1974 Chicago Bears season was their 55th regular season completed in the National Football League. The team finished with a 4–10 record, which led to the ouster of Abe Gibron as head coach.

## Offseason
### NFL Draft

1974 Chicago Bears draft :
| Round | Pick | Player | Position | College |
| 1 | 4 | Waymond Bryant | Linebacker | Tennessee State |
| 1 | 20 | Dave Gallagher | Defensive tackle | Michigan |
| 3 | 54 | Wayne Wheeler | Wide receiver | Alabama |
| 3 | 56 | Greg Horton | Guard | Colorado |
| 3 | 62 | Cliff Taylor | Running back | Memphis State |
| 7 | 160 | Jack Ettinger | Wide receiver | Arkansas |
| 8 | 186 | Alan Chadwick | Quarterback | East Tennessee State |
| 8 | 190 | Ken Grandberry | Running back | Washington State |
| 11 | 264 | Norm Hodgins | Safety | LSU |
| 12 | 290 | Jeff Sevy | Defensive tackle | California |
| 13 | 316 | Joe Barnes | Quarterback | Texas Tech |
| 14 | 342 | Paul Vellano | Defensive tackle | Maryland |
| 15 | 368 | Oliver Alexander | Tight end | Grambling |
| 16 | 394 | Randy Geist | Defensive back | Colorado |
| 17 | 420 | Craig Holland | Quarterback | Texas–Arlington |
| Made roster ||||||

## Regular season
### Schedule

| Week | Date | Opponent | Result | Record | Venue | Attendance |
| 1 | September 15 | Detroit Lions | W 17–9 | 1–0 | Soldier Field | 48,134 |
| 2 | September 22 | New York Jets | L 21–23 | 1–1 | Soldier Field | 50,213 |
| 3 | September 29 | at Minnesota Vikings | L 7–11 | 1–2 | Metropolitan Stadium | 46,217 |
| 4 | October 6 | New Orleans Saints | W 24–10 | 2–2 | Soldier Field | 45,818 |
| 5 | October 13 | at Atlanta Falcons | L 10–13 | 2–3 | Atlanta Stadium | 47,835 |
| 6 | October 21 | Green Bay Packers | W 10–9 | 3–3 | Soldier Field | 50,623 |
| 7 | October 27 | at Buffalo Bills | L 6–16 | 3–4 | Rich Stadium | 78,084 |
| 8 | November 3 | Minnesota Vikings | L 0–17 | 3–5 | Soldier Field | 33,343 |
| 9 | November 10 | at Green Bay Packers | L 3–20 | 3–6 | Milwaukee County Stadium | 46,567 |
| 10 | November 17 | San Francisco 49ers | L 0–34 | 3–7 | Soldier Field | 42,686 |
| 11 | November 24 | at Detroit Lions | L 17–34 | 3–8 | Tiger Stadium | 40,930 |
| 12 | December 1 | New York Giants | W 16–13 | 4–8 | Soldier Field | 18,802 |
| 13 | December 8 | at San Diego Chargers | L 21–28 | 4–9 | San Diego Stadium | 33,662 |
| 14 | December 15 | at Washington Redskins | L 0–42 | 4–10 | RFK Stadium | 52,085 |
| Note: Intra-division opponents are in bold text. |||||||

### Game summaries
#### Week 1: vs. Detroit Lions

Gary Huff hit Charlie Wade with two long passes, one from 73 yards and another from 43, setting up Chicago touchdowns that beat Detroit. Carl Garrett ran in from one yard for the Bears first touchdown and Huff threw a nine-yard touchdown pass for a 14–0 lead. It would be though the high mark for the Bears that season.

#### Week 6: vs. Green Bay Packers

| | 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | Total |
| Packers | 0 | 0 | 6 | 3 | 9 |
| • Bears | 10 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 10 |

### Standings

NFC Central :
| viewtalkedit | W | L | T | PCT | DIV | CONF | PF | PA | STK |
| Minnesota Vikings | 10 | 4 | 0 | .714 | 4–2 | 8–3 | 310 | 195 | W3 |
| Detroit Lions | 7 | 7 | 0 | .500 | 3–3 | 6–5 | 256 | 270 | L1 |
| Green Bay Packers | 6 | 8 | 0 | .429 | 3–3 | 4–7 | 210 | 206 | L3 |
| Chicago Bears | 4 | 10 | 0 | .286 | 2–4 | 4–7 | 152 | 279 | L2 |