# 1961 Chicago Bears season

The 1961 Chicago Bears season was their 42nd regular season completed in the National Football League. The team finished with an 8–6 record under George Halas, which was an improvement over the 5–6–1 record of the previous season.

## Offseason

On January 14, Chicago Bears End Willard Dewveall played out his option and joined the Houston Oilers of the American Football League. He became the first player to move deliberately from one league to another.
The Bears were notable for taking part in an exhibition game in their first ever game outside of the United States, taking on the CFL's Montreal Alouettes (the original team), winning 34–16.

## Schedule

| Game | Date | Opponent | Result | Record | Venue | Attendance | Recap |
| 1 | September 17 | at Minnesota Vikings | L 13–37 | 0–1 | Metropolitan Stadium | 32,236 | Recap |
| 2 | September 23 | at Los Angeles Rams | W 21–17 | 1–1 | L.A. Memorial Coliseum | 53,315 | Recap |
| 3 | October 1 | at Green Bay Packers | L 0–24 | 1–2 | City Stadium | 38,669 | Recap |
| 4 | October 8 | at Detroit Lions | W 31–17 | 2–2 | Briggs Stadium | 53,854 | Recap |
| 5 | October 15 | Baltimore Colts | W 24–10 | 3–2 | Wrigley Field | 48,719 | Recap |
| 6 | October 22 | San Francisco 49ers | W 31–0 | 4–2 | Wrigley Field | 49,070 | Recap |
| 7 | October 29 | at Baltimore Colts | W 21–20 | 5–2 | Memorial Stadium | 57,641 | Recap |
| 8 | November 5 | at Philadelphia Eagles | L 14–16 | 5–3 | Franklin Field | 60,671 | Recap |
| 9 | November 12 | Green Bay Packers | L 28–31 | 5–4 | Wrigley Field | 49,711 | Recap |
| 10 | November 19 | at San Francisco 49ers | L 31–41 | 5–5 | Kezar Stadium | 52,972 | Recap |
| 11 | November 26 | Los Angeles Rams | W 28–24 | 6–5 | Wrigley Field | 45,965 | Recap |
| 12 | December 3 | Detroit Lions | L 15–16 | 6–6 | Wrigley Field | 51,017 | Recap |
| 13 | December 10 | Cleveland Browns | W 17–14 | 7–6 | Wrigley Field | 38,717 | Recap |
| 14 | December 17 | Minnesota Vikings | W 52–35 | 8–6 | Wrigley Field | 34,539 | Recap |
| Note: Intra-conference opponents in bold. |||||||||

## Standings

NFL Western Conference :
| viewtalkedit | W | L | T | PCT | CONF | PF | PA | STK |
| Green Bay Packers | 11 | 3 | 0 | .786 | 9–3 | 391 | 223 | W1 |
| Detroit Lions | 8 | 5 | 1 | .615 | 7–4–1 | 270 | 258 | L1 |
| Chicago Bears | 8 | 6 | 0 | .571 | 7–5 | 326 | 302 | W2 |
| Baltimore Colts | 8 | 6 | 0 | .571 | 6–6 | 302 | 307 | W1 |
| San Francisco 49ers | 7 | 6 | 1 | .538 | 6–5–1 | 346 | 272 | L1 |
| Los Angeles Rams | 4 | 10 | 0 | .286 | 3–9 | 263 | 333 | L1 |
| Minnesota Vikings | 3 | 11 | 0 | .214 | 3–9 | 285 | 407 | L2 |
       Note: Tie games were not officially counted in the standings until 1972.
NFL Eastern Conference :
| viewtalkedit | W | L | T | PCT | CONF | PF | PA | STK |
| New York Giants | 10 | 3 | 1 | .769 | 9–2–1 | 368 | 220 | T1 |
| Philadelphia Eagles | 10 | 4 | 0 | .714 | 8–4 | 361 | 297 | W1 |
| Cleveland Browns | 8 | 5 | 1 | .615 | 8–3–1 | 319 | 270 | T1 |
| St. Louis Cardinals | 7 | 7 | 0 | .500 | 7–5 | 279 | 267 | W3 |
| Pittsburgh Steelers | 6 | 8 | 0 | .429 | 5–7 | 295 | 287 | L1 |
| Dallas Cowboys | 4 | 9 | 1 | .308 | 2–9–1 | 236 | 380 | L4 |
| Washington Redskins | 1 | 12 | 1 | .077 | 1–10–1 | 174 | 392 | W1 |
       Note: Tie games were not officially counted in the standings until 1972.

### Game summaries
#### Week 1

| | 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | Total |
| Bears | 0 | 6 | 0 | 7 | 13 |
| • Vikings | 3 | 7 | 14 | 13 | 37 |

#### Week 2

| | 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | Total |
| • Bears | 7 | 0 | 7 | 7 | 21 |
| Rams | 3 | 7 | 0 | 7 | 17 |

#### Week 3

| | 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | Total |
| Bears | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| • Packers | 7 | 3 | 7 | 7 | 24 |

#### Week 4

| | 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | Total |
| • Bears | 0 | 7 | 3 | 21 | 31 |
| Lions | 10 | 0 | 7 | 0 | 17 |

#### Week 5

| | 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | Total |
| Colts | 0 | 7 | 0 | 3 | 10 |
| • Bears | 3 | 7 | 0 | 14 | 24 |

#### Week 6

| | 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | Total |
| 49ers | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| • Bears | 0 | 14 | 7 | 10 | 31 |

#### Week 7

| | 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | Total |
| • Bears | 0 | 7 | 7 | 7 | 21 |
| Colts | 7 | 7 | 6 | 0 | 20 |

#### Week 8

| | 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | Total |
| Bears | 7 | 7 | 0 | 0 | 14 |
| • Eagles | 3 | 7 | 6 | 0 | 16 |

#### Week 9

| | 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | Total |
| • Packers | 7 | 21 | 3 | 0 | 31 |
| Bears | 7 | 0 | 7 | 14 | 28 |

#### Week 10

| | 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | Total |
| Bears | 7 | 3 | 7 | 14 | 31 |
| • 49ers | 17 | 3 | 21 | 0 | 41 |

#### Week 11

| | 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | Total |
| Rams | 7 | 0 | 3 | 14 | 24 |
| • Bears | 7 | 14 | 0 | 7 | 28 |

#### Week 12

| | 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | Total |
| • Lions | 0 | 9 | 0 | 7 | 16 |
| Bears | 3 | 3 | 6 | 3 | 15 |

#### Week 13

| | 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | Total |
| Browns | 14 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 14 |
| • Bears | 0 | 0 | 0 | 17 | 17 |

#### Week 14

| | 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | Total |
| Vikings | 14 | 7 | 7 | 7 | 35 |
| • Bears | 7 | 14 | 24 | 7 | 52 |