Wondering about a player, a past game or another issue involving the Bears? Senior writer Larry Mayer answers a variety of questions from fans on ChicagoBears.com.
What is the Bears' recent record on Monday Night Football? I know they struggled for a time but believe they have had more success of late.
William P.
Alton, Illinois
The Bears are 32-40 overall on Monday Night Football, 17-15 at home and 15-25 on the road. They lost eight straight from 1991-95 and 14 of 18 from 1991-2003. But beginning with their miraculous comeback win over the Cardinals in 2006, they are 16-8 in Monday night games, including 2-2 since Matt Nagy became coach in 2018. The Bears will make two Monday night appearances this season: next week against the Steelers in Pittsburgh and Dec. 20 versus the Vikings at Soldier Field.
The Bears have appeared on Monday Night Football 72 times heading into Week 9's game against the Steelers. Take a look at photos from each of our wins in the primetime slot since 1996.
Sept. 2, 1996: 22-6 season-opening win over defending Super Bowl champion Cowboys at Soldier Field
Oct. 28, 1996: 15-13 win over Vikings in Minnesota
Oct. 27, 1997: 36-33 OT win over Dolphins in Miami
Oct. 16, 2006: 24-23 comeback win over Cardinals in Arizona
Dec. 11, 2006: Devin Hester returns pair of kicks for TDs in 42-27 win over Rams in St. Louis
Dec. 22, 2008: 20-17 OT win over Packers at Soldier Field
Dec. 28, 2009: 36-30 OT win over Vikings at Soldier Field
Sept. 27, 2010: 20-17 win over Packers at Soldier Field
Dec. 20, 2010: Clinched NFC North with 40-14 win over Vikings in Minnesota
Nov. 7, 2011: 30-24 win over Eagles in Philadelphia
Oct. 1, 2012: Pair of pick-sixes in 34-18 win over Cowboys in Dallas
Oct. 22, 2012: Dominant defensive performance in 13-7 win over Lions at Soldier Field
Nov. 4, 2013: 27-20 win over Packers in Green Bay
Dec. 9, 2013: QB Josh McCown's 5-TD performance in 45-28 win over Cowboys at Soldier Field
Sept. 22, 2014: 27-19 win over Jets in New Jersey
Nov. 9, 2015: 22-19 win over Chargers in San Diego
Oct. 31, 2016: 20-10 Halloween night win over Vikings at Soldier Field
Sept. 17, 2018: Matt Nagy's first win as coach, a 24-17 win over Seahawks at Soldier Field
Sept. 23, 2019: Taylor Gabriel's 3-TD night in 31-15 win at Washington
When was the last time a Bears quarterback passed for more than 150 yards and rushed for more than 100 yards in a game?
Evan B.
Massachusetts
Rookie Justin Fields became the first Bears quarterback to accomplish that feat in Sunday's loss to the 49ers, with 103 yards rushing and 175 yards passing. There have been only three other 100-yard rushing performances by a Bears quarterback, all by Bobby Douglass in 1972-73. In those contests, he passed for 118, 62 and 53 yards. Fields' 103 rushing yards are the third most by a Bears quarterback behind Douglass' 127 on Dec. 17, 1972 against the Raiders and Douglass' 117 yards on Oct. 15, 1972 versus the Browns.
I'm pretty sure the Bears will face their third future Hall of Fame quarterback in four games in the Steelers' Ben Roethlisberger Monday night (after losses to the Packers' Aaron Rodgers and the Buccaneers' Tom Brady). When was the last time they beat a future Hall of Fame quarterback?
Ron P.
Glenview, Illinois
The last time the Bears beat a quarterback destined for the Hall of Fame was last season when they defeated Tom Brady and the Buccaneers 20-19 at Soldier Field. Prior to that, it was in 2018 when they beat Aaron Rodgers and the Packers 24-17 in Chicago to clinch the NFC North championship. Below is a photo gallery from last season in which I ranked the Bears' top 10 wins over future Hall of Fame quarterbacks.
Senior writer Larry Mayer ranks the Bears' top 10 victories over Hall of Fame or future Hall of Fame quarterbacks he's witnessed.
(10) Bears 24, Seahawks 17 (Russell Wilson)
Sept. 17, 2018 in Chicago
The Bears recorded six sacks of Russell Wilson and Prince Amukamara returned a Wilson interception 49 yards for a key touchdown to give Matt Nagy his first win as head coach on Monday Night Football.
(9) Bears 28, Giants 21 (Kurt Warner)
Nov. 7, 2004 in New York
The Bears rallied from a 14-0 deficit, holding Kurt Warner to 195 yards passing while registering two interceptions (by Jerry Azumah and Nathan Vasher) and recording seven sacks, including a career-high four by defensive end Alex Brown.
(8) Bears 22, Cowboys 6 (Troy Aikman)
Sept. 2, 1996 in Chicago
The Bears stunned the defending Super Bowl champions in the 1996 Monday Night Football opener, not allowing a touchdown and limiting Troy Aikman to just 192 yards passing. The defense recorded one interception and two sacks.
(7) Bears 30, Packers 17 (Brett Favre)
Dec. 5, 1993 in Chicago
The Bears returned three Brett Favre turnovers for touchdowns, scoring 30 points without an offensive TD in a wild win at Soldier Field. The defensive TDs came on interception returns of 80 yards by Jeremy Lincoln and 34 yards by Mark Carrier and a 32-yard fumble return by Dante Jones.
(6) Bears 20, Buccaneers 19 (Tom Brady)
Oct. 8, 2020 in Chicago
The Bears defeated Tom Brady for the first time in six all-time meetings, rallying from a 13-0 deficit. The defense allowed only one touchdown, registered three sacks and clinched the win when DeAndre Houston-Carson broke up Brady's fourth-down pass with :33 remaining.
(5) Bears 17, Packers 13 (Aaron Rodgers)
Nov. 26, 2015 in Green Bay
The Packers retired Brett Favre's No. 4 jersey at halftime, but the Bears ruined the celebration on a rainy Thanksgiving night when they forced four straight Aaron Rodgers incompletions from the Chicago 8 in the final minute of the game. Tracy Porter intercepted Rodgers earlier in the fourth quarter.
(4) Bears 20, Chargers 17 (OT) (Dan Fouts)
Oct. 25, 1981 in Chicago
A double-digit underdog at Soldier Field, the Bears limited Dan Fouts to 13-of-43 passing with two interceptions (by Gary Fencik and Reuben Henderson) in a stunning victory over the Chargers and their potent "Air Coryell" offense.
(3) Bears 24, Packers 17 (Aaron Rodgers)
Dec. 16, 2018 in Chicago
The Bears clinched the NFC North title and eliminated the Packers from playoff contention, registering five sacks of Aaron Rodgers and ending his NFL record streak of 402 passes without an interception when he was picked off late in the game by Eddie Jackson.
(2) Bears 26, 49ers 10 (Joe Montana)
Oct. 13, 1985 in San Francisco
After losing to Joe Montana and the 49ers in the 1984 NFC title game, the Bears gained revenge by limiting him to 160 yards passing while registering seven sacks and not allowing San Francisco to score an offensive touchdown.
(1) Bears 24, Packers 17 (Brett Favre)
Dec. 25, 2005 in Green Bay
The Bears clinched the NFC North title by holding Brett Favre without a touchdown pass and registering four interceptions, including two by rookie safety Chris Harris—the second of which preserved the win on Christmas Day at Lambeau Field.
Chalk Talk features fan questions multiple times each week. Email your question to Larry.
