NFL game summary for 09/12/1976:
Chicago's Johnny Musso bulled over from the 3-yard Iine following a 58-yard catch by Greg Latta and Bill Knox's recovery of a fumble on a blocked punt to give the Bears a 7-3 lead in the third quarter. The Bears' Mike Adamle recovered Detroit's James Hunter's fumble of another Chicago punt on the Lions' 33 which led to a Bob Thomas field goal in the fourth quarter. Herman Weaver booted the NFC's longest 1976 punt in the game, a 69-yarder.
Line: Lions by 1
| Team | 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | F |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
 Detroit Lions (0-1-0) | 0 | 3 | 0 | 0 | 3 |
 Chicago Bears (1-0-0) | 0 | 0 | 7 | 3 | 10 |
( 3- 0) DET Errol Mann 27 yard field goal
( 3- 7) CHI Johnny Musso 3 yard rush (Bob Thomas kick)
( 3-10) CHI Bob Thomas 27 yard field goal
DET CHI
First Downs: 15 12
Rushes-yards: 27-109 43-114
Yards/rush: 4.0 2.7
Comp-Att-Yd-INT: 15-35-166-0 8-17-143-0
Sacked-yards: 6-32 2-17
Net pass yards: 134 126
Net yards/pass: 3.3 6.6
Total net yards: 243 240
Total plays: 68 (39% run) 62 (69% run)
Yards/play: 3.6 3.9
Fumbles-lost: 3-3 0-0
Turnovers: 3 0
Penalties-yards: 7-43 8-65
Attendance: 54,125
Passing:
DET: Joe Reed, 11 of 23 for 91 yards; Greg Landry, 4 of 12 for 75 yards CHI: Bob Avellini, 7 of 16 for 120 yards; Bob Parsons, 1 of 1 for 23 yards
Rushing:
DET: Horace King, 15 for 57 yards; Dexter Bussey, 8 for 24 yards; Joe Reed, 3 for 23 yards; Larry Walton, 1 for 5 yards CHI: Walter Payton, 25 for 70 yards; Roland Harper, 7 for 21 yards; Johnny Musso, 6 for 19 yards and 1 TD; Mike Adamle, 2 for 3 yards; Bob Avellini, 2 for -3 yards; Bo Rather, 1 for 4 yards
Receiving:
DET: Horace King, 5 for 42 yards; Ray Jarvis, 4 for 85 yards; Larry Walton, 2 for 17 yards; Dennis Franklin, 1 for 16 yards; David Hill, 1 for 11 yards; J.D. Hill, 1 for 2 yards; Bobby Thompson, 1 for -7 yards CHI: Greg Latta, 2 for 87 yards; Steve Schubert, 1 for 23 yards; Walter Payton, 1 for 17 yards; Bob Parsons, 1 for 9 yards; Bo Rather, 1 for 7 yards; Roland Harper, 1 for 3 yards; Ron Shanklin, 1 for -3 yards
Kick returns:
DET: James Hunter, 2 for 49 yards; Horace King, 1 for 13 yards CHI: Brian Baschnagel, 2 for 57 yards
Punt returns:
DET: James Hunter, 3 for 7 yards; Lem Barney, 1 for 6 yards; Garth Ten Napel, 1 for 0 yards CHI: Virgil Livers, 3 for 2 yards
Interceptions:
Punting:
DET: Herman Weaver, 7 for 320 yards CHI: Bob Parsons, 9 for 331 yards
Field Goals:
DET: Errol Mann, 1/2 CHI: Bob Thomas, 1/2
DET: Joe Reed, 11 of 23 for 91 yards; Greg Landry, 4 of 12 for 75 yards CHI: Bob Avellini, 7 of 16 for 120 yards; Bob Parsons, 1 of 1 for 23 yards
Rushing:
DET: Horace King, 15 for 57 yards; Dexter Bussey, 8 for 24 yards; Joe Reed, 3 for 23 yards; Larry Walton, 1 for 5 yards CHI: Walter Payton, 25 for 70 yards; Roland Harper, 7 for 21 yards; Johnny Musso, 6 for 19 yards and 1 TD; Mike Adamle, 2 for 3 yards; Bob Avellini, 2 for -3 yards; Bo Rather, 1 for 4 yards
Receiving:
DET: Horace King, 5 for 42 yards; Ray Jarvis, 4 for 85 yards; Larry Walton, 2 for 17 yards; Dennis Franklin, 1 for 16 yards; David Hill, 1 for 11 yards; J.D. Hill, 1 for 2 yards; Bobby Thompson, 1 for -7 yards CHI: Greg Latta, 2 for 87 yards; Steve Schubert, 1 for 23 yards; Walter Payton, 1 for 17 yards; Bob Parsons, 1 for 9 yards; Bo Rather, 1 for 7 yards; Roland Harper, 1 for 3 yards; Ron Shanklin, 1 for -3 yards
Kick returns:
DET: James Hunter, 2 for 49 yards; Horace King, 1 for 13 yards CHI: Brian Baschnagel, 2 for 57 yards
Punt returns:
DET: James Hunter, 3 for 7 yards; Lem Barney, 1 for 6 yards; Garth Ten Napel, 1 for 0 yards CHI: Virgil Livers, 3 for 2 yards
Interceptions:
Punting:
DET: Herman Weaver, 7 for 320 yards CHI: Bob Parsons, 9 for 331 yards
Field Goals:
DET: Errol Mann, 1/2 CHI: Bob Thomas, 1/2