Background
Washington had defeated Chicago 7-3 in a regular season game three weeks earlier. After the contest, Redskins owner George Preston Marshall told reporters that the Bears were crybabies and quitters when the going got tough. As the Bears prepared for the rematch, Chicago head coach George Halas fired up his team by showing them newspaper articles of Marshall's comments.
Before the game, Halas' friend Clark Shaughnessy, who was concurrently coaching the undefeated Stanford Indians, helped the Bears gameplan. Shaughnessy devised several counters for linebacker shifts that he had noted the Redskins use.
Read more about this topic: 1940 NFL Championship Game
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