The Chicago Bears have long been known for their struggles with quarterbacks, as they remain the only NFL team without a 4,000-yard passer in a season. Among the many quarterbacks who have played for the Bears, Rusty Lisch stands out for his particularly poor performance. Lisch’s time with the Bears in 1984 is often remembered as one of the worst quarterback performances in NFL history.
Rusty Lisch played college football at Notre Dame, where he threw more interceptions than touchdowns. Despite this, he was drafted by the St. Louis Cardinals in the fourth round of the 1980 NFL Draft. During his time with the Cardinals, Lisch was primarily a backup and even volunteered to play free safety. He managed to throw just one touchdown pass in his NFL career—a short pass to tight end Doug Marsh.
Lisch joined the Bears in 1984 and struggled significantly. In a game against the Green Bay Packers, he completed only 10 of 23 passes for 99 yards and an interception. His performance led coach Mike Ditka to bench him in favor of running back Walter Payton, who ended up throwing a touchdown pass himself.
Lisch recounted an encounter with Ditka after being benched: “I hope there is something in that book about job opportunities because you’ll need one on Monday,” Ditka reportedly told him while Lisch was reading the Bible on a flight back from a game.
Mike Ditka had an illustrious career as a player before becoming a coach, amassing over 5,800 receiving yards and scoring 43 touchdowns.
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