Have the Chicago Bears ever had a player winning the MVP?
When doing some research across the internet on the past MVPs, I realize that the Bears did not have a lot of players that were named finalists for the MVP award in history. I think that the biggest reason for that is because the MVP is an offensive player award (63/65 winners were offensive players) and most of the great Bears players are defensive players.
However, we do have one winner in our history, and his name is non-other that Water Payton.
Indeed, Since the NFL began presenting a Most Valuable Player award in 1957, the only Bears player to win it has been running back Walter Payton in 1977. The legendary Hall of Famer rushed for a career-high 1,852 yards and 14 touchdowns in 1977, including a then-NFL record 275 yards in a 10-7 win over the Minnesota Vikings at Soldier Field. In that record-setting game against the Vikings, Payton was suffering from a 101-degree fever and intense flu. His longest run was for 58 yards, and he caught one pass for 6 yards. His record stood for 23 years until Corey Dillon of the Cincinnati Bengals ran for 278 yards on October 22, 2000.
Payton posted those eye-popping numbers in only 14 games; the league expanded its schedule to 16 games in 1978.
Here are a few of his highlights:
