The Chicago Bears hold this NFL record against Washington

While the current-day Chicago Bears aren’t known for the number of points they score against opponents, the 1940 Chicago Bears were a different story.

At least on Dec. 8, 1940.

And who was the opponent that took this historic beat down?

Tonight’s opponent for the Chicago Bears: The Washington Commanders.

The Chicago Bears have a record-setting history with Washington

However, that wasn’t Washington’s name back in 1940, but even if it was, that wasn’t going to stop the Bears from setting the NFL/AFL record for the most lopsided game in history.

The year was 1940, and a gallon of gas was $0.18/gal.

George Halas was the head coach of the Chicago Bears, and the Bears were visiting Washington, D.C. to compete against the then Washington Redskins for the NFL Championship.

The Bears entered the game 8-3, while Washington was 9-2.

While the Bears were slight favorites heading into the game, no one would’ve predicted how the game would end. Even knowing how the game ended, it’s hard to believe.

This game was a pure rout by George Halas and the Chicago Bears, as they forced nine turnovers (scoring on three) and had a total of 505 offensive yards, 382 coming on from the ground game.

This was the time period when the Chicago Bears overpowered their opponents with the infamous “T formation” offense, which had three running backs in the backfield.

The final of the 1940 NFL Championship game between Chicago and Washington ended in an NFL-record-setting score of 73-0, and since then, no NFL team has come close to this big of a blowout.

That said, the Memphis Grizzlies did match the exact feat, as they beat the Oklahoma Thunder by 73 points in 2021.

To put this game into perspective, the 1940 Chicago Bears in that single game scored one fewer touchdown than the Bears have scored in their last seven weeks combined.

In a game people could only listen to on the radio, the Chicago Bears scored a single touchdown fewer than the team has in their last seven weeks of games combined.

That said, maybe the Bears can repeat what they did to Washington in 1940. Probably not, but maybe.

At least if the Bears do it this time, people will be able to watch it on their TV instead of listening to it on their radio.