The Chicago Bears had topped the National Football League's Western Division for
a fourth straight season as they hosted the Washington Redskins, defending
league champions, to determine the NFL Championship on December 26, 1943. With
George Halas, the owner and head coach, on active duty in the Navy due to World
War II, the team was co-coached by assistants Hunk Anderson and Luke Johnsos.
The wartime manpower depletion brought all-time great FB Bronko Nagurski out of
retirement at age 34 after six years way from the game (he turned 35 during the
season). But there was still plenty of talent available, starting with QB Sid
Luckman (pictured above), who had a record-setting year in which he passed for 2194 yards and 28
touchdowns. Chicago compiled an 8-1-1 tally to once more play for the league
title.
The Bears had been champions in 1940 and ’41, but were
upset by Washington in 1942. The Redskins were coached by Dutch Bergman and had
a 6-0-1 record after beating the Bears a month earlier. However, they lost
their remaining three games to finish at 6-3-1 and tied with the Giants, who
had beaten them in the last two regular season contests, for first in the
Eastern Division. They defeated New York soundly by a 28-0 score in the
tie-breaking playoff for the opportunity to defend their title against the
powerful Bears. Washington had a great passer of its own in tailback Sammy
Baugh, who placed second to Luckman in passing yards (1754) and TD passes (23)
while also leading the league with 11 interceptions as a safety on defense.
There were 34,320 fans in attendance at Wrigley Field for
the NFL title clash. In the first quarter, the Bears drove to the Washington 29
but got no further after four straight passes were incomplete. The Redskins in
turn advanced to the Chicago 24 but also came away empty due to an
interception. However, he Redskins ran into a major problem early when Baugh
was kicked in the head and sat out the remainder of the first half.
Still, Washington put together a seven-play scoring drive
following a 10-yard punt return by tailback George Cafego to the Redskins’ 40. Wingback
Wilbur Moore made a sensational leaping grab of a pass from Cafego for a
35-yard gain and another throw intended for end Joe Aguirre drew an
interference penalty that put the ball on the Chicago one. FB Andy Farkas hit
the line and came up short on the last play of the opening period, but started
off the second quarter by making it through the line standing up for a
touchdown. Bob Masterson kicked the extra point for a 7-0 lead.
The Bears came right back in four plays from their 33
yard line. Sid Luckman threw to HB Ray “Scooter” McLean for 29 yards and a
screen pass to HB Harry Clarke was good for a 31-yard TD. Bob Snyder added the
extra point to even the score.
Following a short possession by the Redskins that resulted
in a punt, Chicago advanced 69 yards for another score. With a mix of runs and
passes, the Bears gained four first downs along the way before Bronko Nagurski
plowed over tackle for a touchdown. Snyder again kicked the extra point and the
score was 14-7 at the half.
In a bizarre development, Washington owner George Preston
Marshall, angry at the rough play on Chicago’s part, wandered over to the
Bears’ bench before the half and was confronted by members of the Chicago staff,
who accused him of attempting to spy on the Bears, before being escorted away.
In the third quarter, Luckman made a big play on defense
by intercepting a Cafego pass and returning it 25 yards to the Washington 36. Luckman
immediately threw to HB Dante Magnani (pictured below) for a 36-yard TD. Shortly thereafter, Luckman
intercepted another pass to give the Bears the ball at their own 37. Once
again, the Bears capitalized immediately on the turnover with Luckman tossing a
screen pass to Magnani who again went the distance for a 66-yard touchdown.
Snyder missed the extra point this time, but the Bears had a twenty-point lead
thanks to the quick scores following the turnovers.
Still in the third quarter, but behind by 27-7, Baugh
returned but appeared to be dazed and was not in top form. Nevertheless, he
passed the Redskins into position for a score and Farkas had a catch for a
17-yard TD. With Masterson’s extra point, Chicago’s margin was narrowed to
27-14.
It didn’t remain narrowed for long, and any glimmers of
hope for the visitors were extinguished when the Bears took the ensuing short
kickoff that gave them good field position at their own 44 and drove to another
score in eight plays. Nagurski twice ran for first downs and Luckman completed
the series with a lob into the end zone to end Jim Benton for a 29-yard TD.
Another Chicago series culminated in Clarke making an
outstanding catch and falling into the end zone for another touchdown on a play
that covered 10 yards after Luckman, rolling out far to his right, threw across
the field to him. The game was a route now, with the Bears comfortably leading
by 41-14.
In the closing minutes, Baugh threw to Aguirre for a
20-yard TD, but it hardly mattered. The Bears were NFL Champions for the third
time in four seasons by a convincing score of 41-21.
Chicago dominated in total yards (455 to 249) and
compiled more first downs (14 to 11). The Bears accumulated 169 yards on the
ground, to just 50 in 27 tries for Washington, and gained 286 net yards through
the air against 199 for the Redskins. Most critically, Washington turned the
ball over six times to devastating effect, while the Bears suffered no
turnovers.
Sid Luckman had a brilliant all-around performance,
completing 15 of 26 passes for 286 yards and five touchdowns with none
intercepted, running for 64 yards on 8 carries, and intercepting two passes on
defense that led to critical scores. Dante Magnani had four catches for 122
yards and two TDs and Bronko Nagurski (pictured below), in his last game, rushed for 34 yards
and a touchdown on 11 carries.
For the Redskins, Sammy Baugh was successful on 8 of 12
throws in limited play for 123 yards and two TDs while tossing one
interception. George Cafego completed just three of his 12 passes for 76 yards
and no TDs while giving up three interceptions. Wilbur Moore had 5 catches for
108 yards and Andy Farkas paced the ground attack with 36 yards on 11 attempts
that included a TD.
The Bears, who had compiled a 37-5-1 regular season
record over four years, finally slipped to second place in 1944. They would
next return to the Championship game in 1946. Washington dropped to third while
transitioning from the single-wing to T-formation, but came back to top the
division in 1945.
