Former Bears quarterback Bob Avellini dies at 70

Even as a quarterback, Bob Avellini came to the Bears in the shadow of Walter Payton. He was the Bears’ sixth-round pick out of Maryland in 1975, when Payton was the ballyhooed fourth overall pick by general manager Jim Finks. And as Payton’s legendary career quickly blossomed, there was no way Avellini was ever going to escape that immense Payton shadow.

But Avellini, who died of cancer at 70 on Saturday, still had a moment that will live forever in the hearts of Bears fans of that era, one that left an indelible mark on the team’s history.

With the Bears’ 1977 season on the brink at 3-5 and the Bears 10 seconds away from a loss to the Chiefs that would all but end their playoff hopes, Avellini heaved a 37-yard touchdown pass to inexplicably wide-open tight end Greg Latta at the goal line with three seconds left that gave the Bears a miraculous 28-27 victory at Soldier Field.

In the aftermath of the delirious celebration, the Bears thought they were a team of destiny, and — against the odds — it turned out that they were. Avellini’s game-winning pass to Latta sparked a mad-dash six-game winning streak to send the 9-5 Bears into the playoffs for the first time since 1963.

Even then, Avellini’s part in the victory against the Chiefs was downplayed amid other heroes, including Payton, who rushed for 192 yards that day and had a highlight-reel 18-yard run in which he escaped tackles and bulled over defenders. Until the pass to Latta, Avellini had completed 10 of 22 passes for 156 yards and no touchdowns with two interceptions (for a 31.6 passer rating) and had his play-calling responsibilities take away by the coaching staff at halftime.

That didn’t stop Avellini, however. Not much did. A gritty, gutty overachiever from Queens, New York, who was 23-27 as a starter and threw more interceptions (69) than touchdown passes (33) in his 10-year career, Avellini provided stability at quarterback from 1975 to 1977, when much of his role was staying out of Payton’s way.

But he made plays at key moments, especially in that glorious 1977 season. He threw three touchdown passes against the Rams — including 70 and 72 yards to speedster James Scott — as he outdueled Joe Namath on ‘‘Monday Night Football.’’

And in a climactic moment in the season finale against the Giants on a frozen field at the Meadowlands — with the Bears needing to win to make the playoffs — Avellini provided a much-needed steady hand in a frantic effort in the last 1:22 of overtime. He threw a 19-yard pass to Latta and, in the face of pressure, dumped a pass to Payton for 14 yards to set up Bob Thomas’ 28-yard field goal as time expired for a thrilling 12-9 victory that set off yet another delirious celebration.

At that point, Avellini was as close to an established quarterback as the Bears had had in years. Avellini started 42 consecutive games from 1975 to 1978. He started every game in 1976 and 1977 — no Bears quarterback has started every game of back-to-back seasons since.

Avellini threw for 2,004 yards and 11 touchdowns and had 18 interceptions in 1977 — at the time he was one of seven Bears quarterbacks to throw for even 2,000 yards in a season. He never reached even those modest heights again. He struggled in 1978 — throwing five touchdown passes and 16 interceptions — before losing his starting job to Mike Phipps and then Vince Evans and was a spot starter in six games in his last five seasons with the Bears.

Avellini struggled in retirement. In 2012, he filed for bankruptcy protection. In 2014, he was sentenced to 18 months in prison after pleading guilty to felony DUI — his sixth arrest for DUI since ’02. He claimed that head injuries suffered during his career contributed to depression and drinking problems.