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Health & Fitness

The 10 Worst Bear Quarterback Performances in My Lifetime

Being truly inspired by a month of Hanie-ball, I decided to put up a list of the worst I've seen. Please let me know if I forgot any.

Watching Caleb Hanie flush the Bears playoff hopes down the drain in December got me thinking—as a Bear fan, I have seen a lot of bad quarterback play from the Monsters of the Midway.

But if I had to rank them, what were the worst Bears quarterback performances that I have ever seen? To qualify for this prestigious award, you had to play within my lifetime as a Bear fan (since 1982). I wanted to say that I thought it would only be fair if I actually saw the game, but my memory before can sometimes be a bit fuzzy.

But I haven’t missed a whole lot of Bears games in my lifetime and the bad ones stick with me like gum on a shoe.

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I took into consideration the importance of the game, investment put into the quarterback, abysmal statistics and, of course, the eye test.

So without further ado, here are the worst Bears quarterback performances of all-time:

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Dishonorable mention: Caleb Hanie; Dec. 4, 201; Chiefs 10, Bears 3 

Many Bears fans were tricked into thinking Hanie was a pro quarterback because of the anomaly that he led two scoring drives in the NFC title game last year. However he wasn’t. It was apparent that he wasn’t going to win any games when the hapless Chiefs marches into Soldier Field and Hail Mary-ed a victory away from the Bears. Hanie was 11-for-24 for 133 yards and three interceptions. Most Bears fans knew the season was over at that point.

10. Rex Grossman; Oct. 16, 2006; Bears 24, Cardinals 23

 Sadly this isn’t the only performance on this list where the Bears actually won the game. But I assure you that Grossman did everything in his power to help the Bears lose. 14-for-37 for 144 yards with four interceptions, one fumble lost. And yes, it was as bad as it sounds.

9. Jay Cutler; Nov. 12, 2009; 49ers 10, Bears 6

Before Cutler established himself as the best quarterback not named Luckman in franchise history (if you need more proof of that just look at this season), he had a rough first season in 2009. San Francisco was not a good team and Cutler served up five interceptions. He was over confident this day and the 49ers took advantage. Ron Turner did have him throwing 52 times, which doesn’t help, but that doesn’t excuse the poor decision-making. At least, for the moment, it seems Cutler has gotten this under control and won over most of Chicago.

8. Cade McNown; Dec. 17, 2000; 49ers 17, Bears 0

This game essentially ended McNown’s tenure in Chicago and ultimately the NFL. McNown completed 9-for-19 passes for 73 yards and one interception. If that doesn’t sound so bad, get this: the Bears never crossed the 50-yard line. So much hope was put in McNown after he was drafted so high in 1999 while the Bears passed up Donovan McNabb.

7. Peter Tom Willis; Dec. 18, 1993; Broncos 13, Bears 3 

Heading into the game the Bears were 7-6 and in line to fight for a playoff spot.  The Bears defense held Elway in check most of the day, but Willis was 14-for-29 for only 120 yards and also threw three picks. His longest pass was 16 yards and the offense looked inept. Losing this game sealed the Bears playoff fate for 1993 and the “Wanny” era had officially begun.

6. Henry Burris; Dec. 29, 2002; Buccaneers 15, Bears 0

Although the Bears were playing against the eventual Super Bowl champions, I have a feeling Burris would have stunk against any team. He only completed 7-of-19 passes for 78 yards and threw four interceptions. I remember sitting in the stands at Champaign at the end of this game wondering how this guy had even made the roster. He was pulled for a guy named Cory Sauter who fared a little better, but Burris was a reminder why you don’t go to Canada to get QBs.

5. Kordell Stewert; Sept. 7, 2003; 49ers 49, Bears 7

The Kordell Stewert era was thankfully short in the NFL. In Pittsburgh, he had shown some flashes of good and in Chicago he showed a lot of bad. Against San Fran in the opener, he completed just 14-for-34 for 95 yards and he never completed more than 15 yards on one play. Three picks ended the day for Stewert who was cut at the end of the season ending his “slash”-full NFL career. At least the Bears would have their revenge over San Fran in 2005 and 2006.

4. Jonathon Quinn; Oct. 17, 2004; Redskins 13, Bears 10

The numbers weren’t great here: 10-for-22 for 65 yards and a pick, but it looked much worse than that. If you watched this game it was dreadful. Quinn looked like a deer in the headlights the entire game and cemented himself as the worst QB that I had ever seen in a Bears uniform. He flat out could not play. The Bears only scored that day on an interception return and a long field goal after Quinn had been pulled for Krenzel. The season had already been lost or else this would be much higher on the list.

3. Todd Collins; Oct. 10, 2010; Bears 23, Panther 6

Collins was 6-for-16 for 32 yards and four interceptions. The Bears WRs only caught two more passes than the Panthers did. Matt Forte and the defense had to win this game for the Bears while Cutler was out with his concussion from his beat down in the Meadowlands. Sadly, this didn’t end Collins' tenure with the Bears—he stuck around long enough to help screw up the NFC title game as well. He was purely putrid as a QB.

2. Rex Grossman; Feb. 4, 2007 - Super Bowl XLI; Colts 29, Bears 17

I feel bad putting two Grossman games up here because had Grossman been Cutler’s back-up, the Bears would be in the playoffs right now. Grossman was no doubt talented, but he was way too streaky to be the Bears' permanent QB. The Bears were outmatched in the Super Bowl, however, they led most of the first half and had a chance to win the game in the fourth quarter. Down by five, Grossman threw his patented pick-six to a seemingly uncatchable Kelvin Hayden. His stats weren’t terrible (20-for-28, 165 yards, one TD, two interceptions) but a Super Bowl is a once in a lifetime opportunity and Grossman blew it. He also had three fumbles.

1. Doug Flutie; Jan. 3, 1987; NFC divisional playoff game; Redskins 27, Bears 13

The stat line was pathetic, 11-for-31, 134 yards with two interceptions. But it was worse when you realize 50 yards of that came on the legs of a Gault touchdown. It didn’t help that the Bears also fumbled three times. McMahon was hurt and Ditka decided to go with a rookie over Steve Fuller who had capably filled in for McMahon over the past few seasons. Flutie was a pet project for Ditka and he wasn’t ready to be an NFL quarterback. If Ditka could have fast forwarded Flutie’s career 14 years, maybe the Bears would have won. For a team filled with so much promise in 1986, to lose this way was heart breaking.

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