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Walter Payton scored his 107th rushing touchdown to break Jim Browns record. Payton reached the milestone in Chicago on September 20, 1987.
Against a weak Tampa Bay Buccaneer defense, Payton lunged into the end zone on a one yard plunge that came at 9:14 of the first quarter. Other than getting to see one football legend break another football legend’s record, the 63,551 fans assembled at Soldier Field that Sunday, did not get to see either a memorable game, or particularly inspiring performance by the Bears’ great running back.
The game was played on the last Sunday before the NFL players strike. Here’s how the Chicago Tribune’s Don Pierson described it.
What looked like a slow down before Tuesday’s strike date turned into another victory on the Bears assembly line Sunday
The victims were Tampa Bay’s local chapter in the brotherhood of football workers. Looking more like accomplices than opponents, the Buccaneers matched the Bears two fumbles for two fumbles [one of which was Payton’s] and two interceptions for two interceptions before dropping a 20-3 decision.
Payton did score two touchdowns in the game. In addition to his record breaking run, he scored on a 9 yard pass from quarterback Mike Tomczak. When the day was done Payton had run the ball 14 times for a total of 24 yards.
The strike-shortened 1987 season was Walter Payton’s 13th and last in the NFL. He rushed for three more touchdowns to bring his career total up to 110. Emmitt Smith currently holds the NFL record for the most rushing touchdowns He ran the ball into the end zone 164 times between 1990 and 2004.