Pardee left to coach the Washington Redskins and was replaced by Neill Armstrong, defensive coordinator of the Vikings. He had just watched Payton gain 275 yards against his defense, but the Bears weren’t able to take the next step.
Finks traded for quarterback Mike Phipps, but Armstrong stuck with Avellini. Both handed off very well to Payton, who gained 1,395 yards in the first 16-game season, but the Bears fell from the playoffs to 7-9.
Payton began the year by requesting $513,000 a year, or 70 percent of O.J. Simpson’s league-high salary of $733,000. The Bears offered $391,000 a year. Before settling for an average of $425,000 a year plus incentives for three more years, Payton said: “The thing is, people want me to beat all O.J.’s records. Beat this, beat that. Why don’t they want me to beat his salary? Tell me that. It’s like telling a little kid in baseball, `I want you to catch every ball and when this guy comes up, let him go.’ I can’t do that.”
In the season opener, Payton went over 100 yards for the 20th time in his 42nd game. It tied the Bears’ record held by Sayers.
“Whatever you do, don’t compare me to Sayers,” Payton said.
The Bears won their first three games, stretching their regular-season win streak to nine, then promptly lost eight in a row. Payton reached the 100-yard mark in four of those games, but the Bears seemed stuck in a time warp. The NFL had made rules changes in 1977 and 1978 to encourage the passing game and create more scoring. Rules against holding were liberalized and defenders could no longer head slap or bump receivers beyond five yards.
“Walter was our sole offensive weapon and we simply didn’t adapt to the rules changes,” Plank said. “He was the beginning and the end.”
In a game against Denver, Payton made the longest run of his career, 76 yards, in a 16-7 loss. For the first time, the Bears’ leading receiver was guess who?
Payton’s 1,395 yards and fullback Roland Harper’s 992 gave the Bears the league’s premier running combination, but the result was disappointing.
On Dec. 11, the day after a 14-0 victory over the Packers, Payton’s father, Peter, died suddenly of a subdural hematoma in Jackson, Miss. Payton quietly traveled to the funeral and was back the next week for the season finale, where he scored on a 44-yard touchdown three minutes into a 14-10 win over Pardee’s Redskins in Washington.
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September 3
A day after agreeing to a three-year, $1.3 million contract, Payton opens the season by rushing for 101 yards and a touchdown in a victory over St. Louis.
1978
ATTEMPTS YARDS AVERAGE TD
333 1,395 4.2 11
