1940 NFL Championship Game
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| Date | December 8, 1940 | ||||||||||||||||||
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| Stadium | Griffith Stadium, Washington, D.C. | ||||||||||||||||||
| Referee | William Friesell | ||||||||||||||||||
| Attendance | 36,034 | ||||||||||||||||||
| Radio in the United States | |||||||||||||||||||
| Network | Mutual | ||||||||||||||||||
| Announcers | Red Barber | ||||||||||||||||||
The 1940 National Football League Championship Game was the NFL's eighth title game, played at Griffith Stadium in Washington, D.C. on December 8, with a sellout capacity attendance of 36,034.
The Chicago Bears (8–3) of the Western Division met the Washington Redskins (9–2), champions of the Eastern Division. Neither team had played in the title game since 1937, when the Redskins won a close game at Chicago's Wrigley Field. For this game in Washington, the Bears entered as slight favorites.
The Bears scored eleven touchdowns and won 73–0, the most one-sided victory in NFL history. The game was broadcast on radio by Mutual Broadcasting System, the first NFL title game broadcast nationwide.
Washington had defeated Chicago 7–3 in a regular season game three weeks earlier in Washington. After the contest, Redskins owner George Preston Marshall told reporters that the Bears were crybabies and quitters when the going got tough. As the Bears prepared for the rematch, Chicago head coach George Halas fired up his team by showing them newspaper articles containing Marshall's comments.
Before the game, Halas's friend Clark Shaughnessy, who was concurrently coaching the undefeated Stanford Indians, helped the Bears' gameplan. Shaughnessy devised several counters for linebacker shifts that he had noted the Redskins using.
The Bears controlled the game right from the start, using the T formation as their primary offensive strategy. On their second play from scrimmage, running back Bill Osmanski ran 68 yards for a touchdown. Washington then marched to the Chicago 26-yard line on their ensuing drive, but wide receiver Charlie Malone dropped a sure touchdown pass in the end zone that would have tied the game.
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