The Chicago Bears are infamous for their poor quarterback play throughout their history, as they remain the only franchise without a 4,000-yard passer. However, there have been degrees to just how much the multitude of quarterbacks who have underperformed for Chicago have stunk.
One player who suited up for the Bears has become infamous in NFL circles not only for poor statistical performances, but for being so bad that a Super Bowl-winning coach decided that putting a running back in as the quarterback was a much better way to run the offense.
Meet Rusty Lisch, who played with the Bears as a backup in the 1984 season. There's a very good chance Lisch is the worst quarterback to ever play for the Bears.
Rusty Lisch may have been the worst Bears QB ever
Lisch was not even particularly good in college, throwing more interceptions (18) than touchdowns 912) at Notre Dame. Still, Lisch was at one point highly regarded enough as a quarterback to hold off a young Joe Montana from seizing full control of the Irish starting quarterback job.
Lisch somehow showed enough to convince the then-St. Louis Cardinals to take a chance on him, selecting him early in the fourth round of the 1980 NFL Draft. In the first few years of his career, Lisch was a seldom-used backup at the tail end of Cardinals legend Jim Hart's career.
Lisch, who was such a non-factor in St. Louis that he volunteered to play free safety for a bit, threw just one touchdown and five interceptions. Let's dissect that one touchdown for a bit, as it would be the only touchdown Lisch would ever throw in the NFL.
Lisch's touchdown was a one-yard flip to tight end Doug Marsh that could have been completed with NFL talent. The score was 31-7 at the time, showing that Lisch's score wasn't even particularly memorable. He moved to the Bears in 1984, and that is when things got infamous.
Lisch threw six interceptions and no touchdowns for the Bears, starting just one game against the hated rival Green Bay Packers. Lisch completed 10 of his 23 passes for 99 yards with an interception, getting berated by Mike Ditka mercilessly for poor play. What Ditka, out of quarterbacks due to injuries, did next was truly stunning.
He benched Lisch for Walter Payton. The running back. That is not a mistake. Ditka apparently preferred running the single wing to watching Lisch for one more snap. The all-time great running back went 1-4 in the game, getting intercepted while also throwing a touchdown pass to Matt Suhey.
Per Lisch, who claimed that he chose not to return to the game after being yelled at for his struggles, Ditka approached him while the quarterback was reading the Bible on the flight back. Ditka reportedly said, "I hope there is something in that book about job opportunities, because you'll need one on Monday."
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Lisch, whom Jeff Pearlman once called the worst player in NFL history, is as bad a player as the quarterback-barren Bears have ever played host to.