Chicago Bears host Cleveland in frigid temps: Here are the coldest games in Soldier Field history

Bundle up, guys.

When the Chicago Bears host the Cleveland Browns on Sunday at Soldier Field, temperatures are expected to be in single digits and fall into the negatives.

According to FOX 32 meteorologist Emily Wahls, temperatures on Sunday should feel like -5 to -10 around kickoff. They should "warm" to 0 to -5 wind chills during the game. There's a specific term for this.

"It's Bear Weather," Bears head coach Ben Johnson said. "It's coming down. I know our guys are excited about it and we can't wait."

That’s nothing new to the Bears. In fact, players who participated in those frigid Soldier Field air remember those games.

"Coldest game I ever played was actually here," Bears defensive backs coach, and former Packers cornerback, Al Harris said.

These are the coldest games at Soldier Field on record, according to the Chicago Bears.

December 19, 2004 – vs. Houston: 12 degrees, -7 wind chill

Playing in the cold at Soldier Field is often called  "Bears Weather." In this particular instance, a team from deep in the heart of Texas proved that to be folly.

The Bears and Houston Texans were locked into a 7-5 stalemate before Houston scored 17 unanswered points to beat the Bears. Charlie Anderson had the exclamation point, recovering a fumble by Bears quarterback Chad Hutchinson for a touchdown.

The Bears lost 24-5.

December 23, 1990 – vs. Tampa Bay: 11 degrees, -1 wind chill

Back when the Buccaneers were still division rivals with the Bears, Tampa Bay came into Chicago facing the extreme cold.

The Bears overcame three turnovers by forcing three Tampa Bay turnovers enroute to scoring 27 straight points.

Bears quarterback Mike Tomczak accounted for three touchdowns on the day.

December 18, 2016 – vs. Green Bay: 11 degrees, -4 Wind Chill

The three-win Bears rallied furiously against the Packers.

Down 27-10, the Bears tied the game with 1:19 left in the fourth quarter on a Connor Barth field goal after a third-down pass from Matt Barkley to Cam Meredith was broken up by Micah Hyde.

On third and 11, Aaron Rodgers ripped the Bears’ hearts out again with a 60-yard pass to the Bears’ 14-yard line. Jordy Nelson beat Cre’Von LeBlanc, and Mason Crosby beat the Bears with a field goal at the buzzer.

December 11, 1977 – vs. Green Bay: 10 degrees, -3 Wind Chill

The Bears were clinging to a 14-10 lead over the Packers when Walter Payton’s seven-yard touchdown run gave the Bears the breathing room they needed.

Payton rushed for 163 yards and two touchdowns for the Bears that day, as they beat the 3-10 Packers.

December 17, 1989 – vs. Green Bay: 10 degrees, -5 Wind Chill

The Packers started hot, despite the cold temperatures. Green Bay scored 24 first-half points thanks to two touchdowns from Don Majkowski and a 68-yard run from Keith Woodside.

The Bears staged a comeback and trailed 30-28 entering the fourth quarter.

Green Bay scored 10 points in the final frame to pull away and drop the Bears to 6-9 on the 1989 season.

December 24, 2022 – vs. Buffalo: 9 degrees, -12 Wind Chill

Bear Weather was getting the better of the Bills to start on this frigid Christmas Eve.

The Bears led 10-6 at halftime on a touchdown pass from Justin Fields to Dante Pettis and a Cairo Santos field goal.

The Bills responded with 29 second-half points. Josh Allen, Devin Singletary and James Cook all rushed for touchdowns before Allen threw a touchdown to Dawson Knox.

It was a lump of coal for Matt Eberflus’ first season in Chicago.

December 9, 2013 – vs. Dallas: 8 degrees, -9 Wind Chill

It was a cold night at Soldier Field, but the Bears’ offense brought the heat.

The Bears beat down Dallas 45-28 behind five total touchdowns from quarterback Josh McCown. The Bears outscored the Cowboys 28-7 in the second and third quarters.

McCown threw for 348 yards and four passing touchdowns. One was a perfect throw to Alshon Jeffrey at the end of the first half in the back corner of the end zone, which remains one of the best passes in Bears’ history.

January 10, 1988 – vs. Washington: 4 degrees, -12 Wind Chill

A frigid day was also a somber one.

The Bears lost to Washington 21-17 in the NFC Divisional round of the 1988 NFL Playoffs. The Bears took a 14-0 lead, but Washington rallied with a punt returned for a touchdown that tied the game in the third quarter.

The loss ended the Bears’ season. It was also the final game of Walter Payton’s career.

December 18, 1983 – vs. Green Bay: 3 degrees, -15 Wind Chill

The Bears got the last laugh.

In a back-and-forth game with playoff stakes, the Bears intercepted four Lynn Dickey passes and Jim McMahon accounted for all three Bears touchdowns. Dickey’s pass to Paul Coffman took a late lead.

That set up Bob Thomas, who kicked the game-winning field goal and officially eliminated the Packers from the 1983 playoffs.

December 22, 2008 – vs. Green Bay: 2 degrees, -13 Wind Chill

This is the aforementioned coldest game Harris played in.

On Monday Night Football, the Bears hosted the Packers three days before Christmas and delivered an early gift.

On a frigid Chicago night, the Bears tied the game 17-17 on a short Matt Forte touchdown run. Then, Alex Brown blocked a 38-yard game-winning field goal attempt by Mason Crosby. That sent the game to overtime, where the Bears got into Packers’ territory when Greg Olsen’s 17-yard catch had 15 extra yards tacked on by a Green Bay personal foul.

Robbie Gould lined up for his game-winning 38-yard field goal attempt and nailed it. Happy Holidays, indeed.

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