Jay Cutler is the Bears’ all-time leader in passing yards and touchdowns. Erik Kramer is the all-time leader in single-season passing yards and touchdowns. Jim McMahon is the only quarterback in Bears history to have won a Super Bowl.
But Sid Luckman remains the standard — even though he last played on Dec. 10, 1950, in a 6-3 victory against the Lions at Wrigley Field.
Luckman’s record of achievement and impact is indisputable. He was the catalyst for four NFL championship teams (1940, 1941, 1943 and 1946). The Bears were 95-30-2 in games he played, including 45-6-1 from the final month of the 1939 season through 1943. Luckman’s mastery of the T-formation can’t be understated.
But he’s a dubious reference point for today’s Bears quarterbacks, having played in a bygone era. In his 12-year career, Luckman averaged 13.6 passes and 114.7 yards per game and completed 51.8% of his passes. In the Bears’ 73-0 rout of Washington in the 1940 NFL Championship Game, he completed 3 of 4 passes for 88 yards and a touchdown.
It’s a different game today, obviously. In 2022, Tom Brady threw more passes for the Buccaneers in back-to-back games against the Saints and 49ers (109) than Luckman threw the entire 1940 season (105).
The Bears have tried every possible route to find a true “franchise” quarterback. Here’s a look at some of the top ones since the NFL-AFL merger in 1970.
First-round draft picks1. Jim McMahon (No. 5 overall in 1982)
He was 41-5 in one stretch from 1983 to 1988. And although he came along at the right time, he also was a difference-maker, coming off the bench to lead wins over the Vikings in 1985 (three touchdowns in his first seven passes) and Buccaneers in 1987.
2. Jim Harbaugh (No. 26 overall in 1987)
A capable, gritty heir to McMahon, Harbaugh was 21-9 as a starter in 1990-91. He was undone by his own inconsistency but also got caught in the undertow of the end of the Ditka era. He led the NFL in passer rating (100.7) with the Colts in 1995.
3. Rex Grossman (No. 22 overall in 2003)
The 2006 season tells the Good Rex/Bad Rex story better than anything: a 111.1 passer rating (18 TDs, two interceptions) in his best eight games and a 34.5 rating (four TDs, 18 interceptions) in his worst eight.
4. Justin Fields (No. 11 overall in 2021)
A scintillating weapon, Fields rushed for 1,143 yards in 2022, second-best for a QB all-time behind Lamar Jackson. But he couldn’t find the run/pass sweet spot and had bad luck. In his five 100-yard rushing games, the defense allowed 31 points a game and the Bears lost each time.
5. Mitch Trubisky (No. 2 overall in 2017)
He had moments as a rusher and passer and made the Pro Bowl as an alternate in 2018. But he did his best work against bad defenses. That he was drafted ahead of Patrick Mahomes and Deshaun Watson didn’t help.
Free agents/trades1. Jay Cutler (2009-16)
The Bears’ all-time leader in passing yards (23,443) and TD passes (154), Cutler was 51-51 as a Bears starter. He faced difficult circumstances, but with a chance to rise above the muck, he also made his share of mistakes.
2. Erik Kramer (1994-98)
In 1995, the one season in which Kramer started all 16 games, he set single-season franchise records for passing yards (3,838) and TDs (29). Injuries and a battle with depression derailed his career.
3. Mike Phipps (1977-79)
Acquired from the Browns in 1977 to challenge Bob Avellini, Phipps beat out Vince Evans and Avellini in ’79 and, after an early-season hiccup, rode Walter Payton’s coattails to go 7-1 down the stretch as the Bears finished 9-7 and made the playoffs.
4. Steve Walsh (1994-95)
Signed to a one-year, $600,000 contract to back up Kramer in 1994, Walsh replaced an injured Kramer in Week 4, then beat him out and went 8-3 (10 TDs, eight interceptions) and defeated the Vikings on the road in the playoffs.
5. Brian Hoyer (2016)
Signed to a one-year deal to back up Cutler, Hoyer started in Week 3 after Cutler hurt his thumb and had four consecutive 300-yard games (317, 302, 397, 302) with a 101.4 passer rating (six TDs, no interceptions) before suffering a season-ending injury against the Packers.
Underdogs1. Josh McCown (2011, 2013)
He was coaching high school quarterbacks when the Bears signed him in 2011 after Cutler had thumb surgery. In five starts in Marc Trestman’s offense in 2013, McCown had a 109.0 passer rating (13 TDs, one interception) that was third-best in the NFL. Cutler was 13th (89.2).
2. Kyle Orton (2005-08)
A fourth-round pick in 2005, Orton was the first rookie to start Week 1 since Zeke Bratkowski in 1954 after Rex Grossman’s preseason injury. He went 11-5 as the Bears won the NFC North and was 21-12 in four seasons.
3. Bob Avellini (1975-84)
A sixth-round pick in 1975, Avellini went 9-5 in 1977, when the Bears made the playoffs for the first time since 1963. He outplayed Joe Namath in a 1977 win over the Rams. His 42 consecutive starts are the most for a quarterback in franchise history.
4. Jim Miller/Shane Matthews (1996-2002)
Two former No. 3 quarterbacks, Miller went 11-2 and Matthews won back-to-back games in overtime as the Bears went 13-3 in 2001. Miller’s 779 passing yards in consecutive games in 1999 (422, 357) are the second-most in franchise history.
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