Chicago Bears signed Krieg to back up Erik Kramer. Although Kramer's poor play contributed to the Bears' feeble 1–3 beginning, Coach Dave Wannstedt allowed him to continue starting until an injury sidelined him for the remainder of the season. Krieg – by then 38 years old – came off the bench and helped rally an injury-wracked Bears team to a respectable 6–6 finish. Statistically, Krieg's performance was inconsistent: his passer rating ranged from subpar (4 games below 60) to mediocre (2 games in the 60s) to good (3 games in the 80s and 90s) to outstanding (3 games over 100). Tennessee Oilers (1997–98) Dave Krieg finished his career with the Tennessee Oilers, backing up the seldom-injured Steve McNair in 1997 and 1998. Even when the young starter played poorly, coach Jeff Fisher declined to insert Krieg. On rare occasions, Krieg would mop up in garbage time or take a knee at the end of a game. However, in the 1998 season opener in Cincinnati, McNair exited the game with a bruised elbow. Krieg—by then nearly 40 years old—came off the bench to rally the Oilers to victory, going 7-of-13 for 129 yards. Although McNair recovered from his injury and could have re-entered the game, the team let Krieg finish. "Dave was in the zone", McNair explained. "He was doing a great job moving the team up and down the field. It's a matter of doing what's right (for the team). At that time, what was right was letting Dave stay in." Later that month, the Jacksonville Jaguars knocked McNair out of a game, but Krieg's comeback effort failed. He went 1-of-3 for 10 yards while being sacked twice. He appeared in two other games, going 3-of-3 for 57 yards in relief during a 44-14 blowout of Cincinnati and going 1-of-2 for 3 yards in a loss to the Jets. His final completion was to Mike Archie, done in the final quarter. Krieg was released by the rechristened Tennessee Titans in July 1999 after the team signed Neil O'Donnell to backup McNair. Krieg was not in training camp that season, but intended on playing a 20th NFL season. He wouldn't make his retirement official until 2000 after no takers emerged for his services. He retired as a Seahawk, and held his press conference in Cheney because it was the site of his first camp in 1980. Head coach Mike Holmgren said