Coldest games at Soldier Field

It was 9 degrees at kickoff, so today’s Chicago Bears game against the Buffalo Bills is the fifth-coldest home game at Soldier Field.

The Bears are barely above .500 in their 10 coldest games at Soldier Field since they began playing their home games there in 1971 — including 3 wins and 2 losses against the Green Bay Packers.

The Packers also played against the Dallas Cowboys in the NFL’s coldest game — 13 degrees below zero on Dec. 31, 1967 — known as “The Ice Bowl”.

Temperature is recorded at kickoff in NFL games, which doesn’t take into consideration any fluctuations that happen after the game starts. USA Today has reported late-in-the-season games are likely to end at a lower temperature.

Dec. 19, 2004: Texans win — 24-5

Kickoff: 12:02 p.m.

“Sunday’s temperature was announced as 12 degrees at kickoff, with a minus-8 windchill. On days like this, the Bears are supposed to have the advantage over a team from a place that might confuse snow with cotton. But the Texans prevailed handily.” — Lew Freedman

Dec. 18, 2005: Bears beat Falcons — 16-3

Kickoff: 7:37 p.m.

“The improbable play that ruined the Atlanta Falcons on Sunday night was challenged, reviewed, dissected — and didn’t even involve points going up on the scoreboard. It happened in the fourth quarter when the Falcons trailed the Bears by the same 16-3 margin as the final score. Atlanta quarterback Michael Vick completed a pass to receiver Michael Jenkins for what should have been a gain to the 10-yard line. Instead, Bears safety Mike Green creamed Jenkins, flipping the ball into the air and into the arms of teammate Nathan Vasher. Falcons coach Jim Mora tossed the red replay flag onto the field. The officials ruled against him, and Mora gave them enough what-for to earn a 15-yard unsportsmanlike-conduct penalty. More than 12 minutes remained, but the Falcons never got within the same ZIP code of the end zone again. Asked about the officials’ decision, Mora said only, ‘I think they do a wonderful job.’ The Bears spent the frigid evening smothering the Atlanta offense. Yet the Falcons, most of whom wore long sleeves and spend much of their football lives in a climate-controlled dome, refused to admit being bothered.” — Lew Freedman

Dec. 23, 1990: Bears beat Buccaneers — 27-14

Kickoff: 12:01 p.m.

“The cold, hard realities of football and life were at once addressed Sunday afternoon on the frozen tundra of Soldier Field. The Bears resurrected the momentum of their remarkable season with a 27-14 defeat of the Tampa Bay Buccaneers in front of 46,456 hearty fans. … ‘That’s life. It is a tough thing,’ said linebacker Mike Singletary, ‘The injuries, the (death of) Fred Washington in the car wreck. It is the harsh reality of life. What are you going to do when that happens?’ … With the thermometer reading 11 degrees and a wind-chill factor of minus-3, the Bears overcame the slippery field conditions to run up 368 total yards.” — Fred Mitchell

Dec. 18, 2016: Packers win — 30-27

Kickoff: 12:02 p.m.

“It was cold. It was blustery. It was another Bears loss. The Bears fell short with a rally against their archrivals when they fell to the Green Bay Packers 30-27 on Sunday at frigid Soldier Field. With the game-time temperature of 11 and a wind chill of 4 degrees below zero, the Bears fell behind the Packers 27-10 after three quarters before roaring back behind the arm of quarterback Matt Barkley. The Packers won it as time expired on Mason Crosby’s 32-yard field goal.” — Chris Kuc

Dec. 11, 1977: Bears beat Packers — 21-10

Kickoff: 2 p.m.

“The Bears failed to lose for the fifth game in a row Sunday, and it is still hard to tell whether they are getting easier or harder to believe. But get ready to believe. By Sunday’s 21-10 victory over Green Bay in frigid Soldier Field, they are one more victory from the playoffs unless the unbelievable happens again in an unbelievable season.” — Don Pierson

Dec. 17, 1989: Packers win — 40-28

Kickoff: 12:02 p.m.

“Without having to loft nary a punt, the Packers dispatched the Bears 40-28 in front of 44,781 hearty souls, who braved a minus-7 degree wind chill factor and five Bear turnovers. In losing their fifth straight for the first time since 1978, the Bears (6-9) assured themselves a losing record for the first time since 1981.” — Fred Mitchell

Quarterback Justin Fields scrambles in the first quarter of the Bears’ 35-13 loss to the Bills on Saturday at Soldier Field. (E. Jason Wambsgans / Chicago Tribune)

Dec. 24, 2022

Kickoff: 12:02 p.m.

Read the story here.

Dec. 9, 2013: Bears beat Cowboys — 45-28

Kickoff: 7:40 p.m.

“Mike Ditka didn’t bring the 1985 Bears defense with him down the red carpet to midfield at halftime Monday night. Because of the 2013 offense, he didn’t have to. Backup quarterback Josh McCown accounted for five touchdowns, three before the Bears retired their iconic coach’s jersey No. 89 at intermission, and their beleaguered defense benefited from playing with the lead in a 45-28 victory over the Cowboys at frigid Soldier Field.” — Rich Campbell

Jan. 10, 1988: Redskins win — 21-17

Kickoff: 11:32 a.m.

“A whole bunch of eras ended for the Bears Sunday in Solder Field, where the Washington Redskins knocked them out of the NFC divisional playoffs for the second year in a row, 21-17. It was a cold thing coach Joe Gibbs and the Redskins did, pulling the magic carpet out from under Jim McMahon just when everything appeared warmed up for a National Conference title game next week against the Minnesota Vikings.” — Don Pierson

Dec. 18, 1983: Bears beat Packers, 23-21

Kickoff: 12:02 p.m.

“Jim McMahon and the Bears put on their gloves Sunday for more than warmth. When they just as easily could have gone stiff in the zero-degree cold of Soldier Field, the Bears proved that they, too, can be 8-8. Scoring twice in the final four minutes — three times in the last 22 minutes — they overcame the Packers 23-21 on a 22-yard field goal by Bob Thomas with 10 seconds left. McMahon threw two touchdown passes, ran for another score and set up a kick by Thomas with a masterful two-minute drive that warmed what was left of the crowd of 35,807 (29,986 no-shows). The Bears knocked Green Bay out of the playoffs and joined the clamor for anonymity in the National Five Hundred League, where it matters not whether you win or lose because everybody does.” — Don Pierson

Dec. 22, 2008: Bears beat Packers — 20-17 (OT)

Kickoff: 7:40 p.m.

“With a chance to earn a spot in the postseason, the Bears looked early on like they had their minds on the off-season. If revenge is a dish best served cold, the Bears didn’t put it on the menu against the team that had beaten them by 34 points a month ago until the final course. But it tasted sweet as ever after Robbie Gould nailed a 38-yard field goal through the uprights in the south end zone to keep the Bears’ playoff hopes alive.” — David Haugh

Sources: National Weather Service, Chicago Bears, NFL, Tribune reporting and archives