NFL team season
The Bears playing against the Philadelphia Eagles in the famous Fog Bowl divisional playoff game. The 1988 Chicago Bears season was their 69th regular season and 19th postseason completed in the National Football League. This season marked the first time since 1974 that Walter Payton was not on the Bears' opening day roster. The Bears looked to improve on an 11–4 finish that won them the NFC Central Division but ended abruptly when they were eliminated for the second consecutive year by the Washington Redskins.
The Bears won 12 games and lost 4, tying for the best record in the league with the Buffalo Bills and the AFC Champion Cincinnati Bengals. They earned home field advantage in the NFC. However, the Bears failed to advance to the Super Bowl XXIII as one of the top two seeds for a third straight season, falling to the eventual Super Bowl champion San Francisco 49ers 28–3, in the NFC Championship Game at Soldier Field. This was the second time that the 49ers and Bears had met for a trip to the Super Bowl during the decade, with the 49ers previously defeating the Bears in the 1984 NFC Championship Game on their way to Super Bowl XIX.
Coach Mike Ditka suffered a heart attack during the season, but was back on the sidelines 11 days later. Ditka was named coach of the year for the second time in his career. 1988 also marked Jim McMahon's last season as starter for the Bears, as he was traded during the following offseason to the San Diego Chargers.
1988 Chicago Bears draft choices Undrafted free agents Roster 1988 Team Starters
Offense
9 Jim McMahon QB 35 Neal Anderson RB 26 Matt Suhey FB 85 Dennis McKinnon WR/PR 29 Dennis Gentry WR/KR 80 James Thornton TE 73 John Wojciechowski LT 62 Mark Bortz LG 63 Jay Hilgenberg C 57 Tom Thayer RG 78 Keith Van Horne RT Defense
90 Al Harris LDE 76 Steve McMichael LDT 99 Dan Hampton RDT 95 Richard Dent RDE 59 Ron Rivera LB 50 Mike Singletary LB 51 Jim Morrissey LB 27 Mike Richardson LCB 24 Vestee Jackson RCB 22 Dave Duerson SS 37 Maurice Douglass FS 6 Kevin Butler K 15 Bryan Wagner P Final roster 1988 Chicago Bears final roster Quarterbacks Running backs
Wide receivers
Tight ends
Offensive linemen Defensive linemen
Linebackers Defensive backs
Special teams
6 Kevin Butler K 15 Bryan Wagner P Reserve lists 21 William Bell S (IR Tooltip Injured reserve ) 68 Paul Blair T (IR Tooltip Injured reserve ) 95 Richard Dent DE (IR Tooltip Injured reserve ) 23 Shaun Gayle S (IR Tooltip Injured reserve ) 9 Jim McMahon QB (IR Tooltip Injured reserve ) 72 William Perry DT (IR Tooltip Injured reserve ) 30 Eric Starr RB (IR Tooltip Injured reserve ) 39 Curtis Stewart RB (IR Tooltip Injured reserve ) 55 Otis Wilson LB (IR Tooltip Injured reserve ) -- Darrin Woody CB (IR Tooltip Injured reserve )
Rookies in italics 47 active, 10 inactive
Regular season Schedule Week Date Opponent Result Attendance 1 September 4, 1988 Miami Dolphins W 34–7 63,330 2 September 11, 1988 at Indianapolis Colts W 17–13 60,503 3 September 18, 1988 Minnesota Vikings L 31–7 63,990 4 September 25, 1988 at Green Bay Packers W 24–6 56,492 5 October 2, 1988 Buffalo Bills W 24–3 62,793 6 October 9, 1988 at Detroit Lions W 24–7 64,526 7 October 16, 1988 Dallas Cowboys W 17–7 64,759 8 October 24, 1988 San Francisco 49ers W 10–9 65,293 9 October 30, 1988 at New England Patriots L 30–7 60,821 10 November 6, 1988 Tampa Bay Buccaneers W 28–10 56,892 11 November 13, 1988 at Washington Redskins W 34–14 52,418 12 November 20, 1988 at Tampa Bay Buccaneers W 27–15 67,070 13 November 27, 1988 Green Bay Packers W 16–0 62,026 14 December 5, 1988 at Los Angeles Rams L 23–3 65,579 15 December 11, 1988 Detroit Lions W 13–12 55,010 16 December 19, 1988 at Minnesota Vikings L 28–27 62,067
Game summaries Week 1 1 2 3 4 Total Dolphins 7 0 0 0 7 • Bears 14 14 0 6 34
Date: September 4Location: Soldier Field , Chicago, Illinois Game start: 12:00 p.m. Game weather: 66 °F (19 °C) • Wind 16 mph (26 km/h)Referee: Pat HaggertyTV announcers (NBC): Dick Enberg and Merlin Olsen Scoring summary 1 CHI Neal Anderson 2-yard run (Kevin Butler kick)Bears 7–0 1 CHI Neal Anderson 1-yard run (Kevin Butler kick) Bears 14–0 1 MIA Mark Clayton 28-yard pass from Dan Marino (Fuad Reveiz kick) Bears 14–7 2 CHI Jim McMahon 1-yard run (Kevin Butler kick)Bears 21–7 2 CHI Jim McMahon 2-yard run (Kevin Butler kick) Bears 28–7 4 CHI Thomas Sanders 20-yard run (kick failed) Bears 34–7
[1]
Week 4 1 2 3 4 Total • Bears 0 17 0 7 24 Packers 6 0 0 0 6
Date: September 25Location: Lambeau Field Game start: 1:00 p.m. ESTGame weather: 58 °F (14 °C); wind 10 mph (16 km/h)Referee: Tom DooleyTelevision network: CBS Scoring summary Q1 GB Fullwood 2 yard run (kick failed)GB 6–0 Q2 CHI Anderson 45 yard run (Butler kick)CHI 7–6 Q2 CHI Anderson 4 yard run (Butler kick) CHI 14–6 Q2 CHI Butler 35 yard field goal CHI 17–6 Q4 CHI Sanders 5 yard run (Butler kick) CHI 24–6
[2]
Week 13 1 2 3 4 Total Packers 0 0 0 0 0 • Bears 7 0 7 2 16
Date: November 27Location: Soldier Field Game start: 1:00 p.m. ESTGame weather: 43 °F (6 °C); wind 20 mph (32 km/h)Referee: Pat HaggertyTV announcers (CBS): Pat Summerall and John Madden Scoring summary Q1 CHI Anderson 1 yard run (Butler kick)CHI 7–0 Q3 CHI Anderson 80 yard run (Butler kick) CHI 14–0 Q4 CHI Safety, Majkowski stepped out of end zone CHI 16–0
[3]
Standings [4]
Playoffs In the divisional playoffs, the Bears defeated the Philadelphia Eagles in the Fog Bowl, earning their first postseason victory since Super Bowl XX . A week later, Chicago was routed 28–3 by the San Francisco 49ers . This was the Bears' last appearance in the NFC Championship Game until 2006 .
Divisional 1 2 3 4 Total Eagles 3 6 3 0 12 • Bears 7 10 0 3 20
Scoring summary 1 CHI Dennis McKinnon 64-yard pass from Mike Tomczak (Kevin Butler kick)Bears 7–0 1 PHI Luis Zendejas 42-yard field goalBears 7–3 2 PHI Luis Zendejas 29-yard field goal Bears 7–6 2 CHI Neal Anderson 4-yard run (Kevin Butler kick)Bears 14–6 2 CHI Kevin Butler 46-yard field goal Bears 17–6 2 PHI Luis Zendejas 30-yard field goal Bears 17–9 3 PHI Luis Zendejas 35-yard field goal Bears 17–12 4 CHI Kevin Butler 27-yard field goal Bears 20–12
[5]
NFC Championship 1 2 3 4 Total • 49ers 7 7 7 7 28 Bears 0 3 0 0 3
Awards and records References ^ Pro-Football-Reference.com ^ Pro-Football-Reference.com. Retrieved 2015-Oct-02. ^ Pro-Football-Reference.com. Retrieved 2015-Oct-02. ^ NFL 2001 Record and Fact Book, Workman Publishing Co, New York,NY, ISBN 0-7611-2480-2, p. 293 ^ Pro-Football-Reference.com Chicago Bears on Pro Football Reference Chicago Bears on jt-sw.com 1988 Bears at Bearshistory.com
Chicago Bears
Founded in 1919 Formerly the Decatur Staleys (1919–1920) and the Chicago Staleys (1921) Based in Chicago, Illinois Headquartered in Lake Forest, Illinois Franchise Records Stadiums Culture Lore Rivalries Minor league affiliates Retired numbers Key personnel Division championships (21) Conference championships (4) League championships (9) Media Broadcasters Radio: Personnel: Television: WFLD (pre-season and most regular season games through Fox , official pre-game and post-game alternate) Marquee Sports Network (official post-game and in-season programming) Personnel: Lou Canellis (gameday television host, pre-season sideline reporter) Adam Amin (pre-season play-by-play) Jim Miller (pre-season analyst) Current league affiliations Category:Chicago Bears WikiProject Chicago Bears
Chicago Bears seasons
Formerly the Decatur Staleys (1920) and the Chicago Staleys (1921)
Bold indicates NFL Championship (1920–69) or
Super Bowl (1966–present) victory
Italics indicates NFL Championship (1920–69) or
Super Bowl (1966–present) appearance
External links Wikiquote has quotations related to 1988 Chicago Bears season .