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1940 NFL season
Regular season
DurationSeptember 8 – December 8, 1940
East Champions Washington Redskins
West Champions Chicago Bears
Championship Game
Champions Chicago Bears
1940 NFL season is located in USA Midwest and Northeast
Giants
Giants
Eagles
Eagles
Dodgers
Dodgers
Steelers
Steelers
Redskins
Redskins
Bears
Bears
Cardinals
Cardinals
Packers
Packers
Rams
Rams
Lions
Lions
NFL teams: West, East

The 1940 NFL season was the 21st regular season of the National Football League. The season ended when the Chicago Bears defeated the Washington Redskins in the NFL Championship Game by 73–0; this result still stands as the most one-sided victory (and highest score) in NFL history as of the 2022-2023 season.

The Pittsburgh Pirates were rebranded as the Steelers before the 1940 season.

Draft

The 1940 NFL Draft was held on December 9, 1939 at Milwaukee's Schroeder Hotel. With the first pick, the Chicago Cardinals selected halfback George Cafego from the University of Tennessee.

Major rule changes

  • The penalty for a forward pass not from scrimmage is 5 yards.
  • Penalties for fouls that occur prior to a pass or kick from behind the line of scrimmage are enforced from the previous spot. However, penalties for fouls during a free ball or when the offensive team fouls behind their line are enforced from the spot of the foul.
  • Fouls enforced in the field of play cannot penalize the ball more than half the distance to the offender's goal line.
  • If the offensive team commits pass interference in their opponent's end zone, the defense has the choice of 15 yards from the previous spot and a loss of down, or a touchback.

Final standings

NFL Eastern Division
W L T PCT DIV PF PA STK
Washington Redskins 9 2 0 .818 6–2 245 142 W1
Brooklyn Dodgers 8 3 0 .727 6–2 186 120 W4
New York Giants 6 4 1 .600 5–2–1 131 133 L1
Pittsburgh Steelers 2 7 2 .222 1–6–1 60 178 L1
Philadelphia Eagles 1 10 0 .091 1–7 111 211 L1

Note: Tie games were not officially counted in the standings until 1972.

NFL Western Division
W L T PCT DIV PF PA STK
Chicago Bears 8 3 0 .727 6–2 238 152 W2
Green Bay Packers 6 4 1 .600 4–3–1 238 155 T1
Detroit Lions 5 5 1 .500 4–3–1 138 153 L1
Cleveland Rams 4 6 1 .400 2–5–1 171 191 T1
Chicago Cardinals 2 7 2 .222 2–5–1 139 222 L3

NFL Championship Game

Chi. Bears 73, Washington 0, at Griffith Stadium, Washington, D.C., December 8, 1940

League leaders

Statistic Name Team Yards
Passing Sammy Baugh Washington 1367
Rushing Byron "Whizzer" White Detroit 514
Receiving Don Looney Philadelphia 707

Awards

Joe F. Carr Trophy (Most Valuable Player)   Clarence "Ace" Parker, Quarterback, Brooklyn

1940 All Professional Team [1]

First Team

Second Team

Coaching changes

Stadium changes

References

  1. ^ Team selected by National Professional Football Writers' Association. George Strickler (ed.), Roster and Record Manual, 1941. New York: Commissioner's Office, 1941; p. 68.
  • NFL Record and Fact Book ( ISBN  1-932994-36-X)
  • NFL History 1931–1940 (Last accessed December 4, 2005)
  • Total Football: The Official Encyclopedia of the National Football League ( ISBN  0-06-270174-6)