1983 Chicago Bears season

1983 Chicago Bears season
Head coach	Mike Ditka (2nd season)
General manager	Jim Finks
Owner	The McCaskey Family (Family control since 1921; Virginia McCaskey since 1983)
Home field	Soldier Field
Results
Record	8–8
Division place	3rd NFC Central
Playoff finish	did not qualify
Pro Bowlers	2 RB Walter Payton MLB Mike Singletary
AP All-Pros	2 RB Walter Payton MLB Mike Singletary

The 1983 Chicago Bears season was their 64th regular season completed in the National Football League. The club posted an 8–8 record under second year head coach Mike Ditka, but missed postseason play. Jim McMahon was the quarterback, who completed 175 of 295 pass attempts. The Bears 1983 NFL Draft class was ranked #3 in NFL Top 10's greatest draft classes.

1983 NFL Draft

Main article: 1983 NFL Draft

1983 Chicago Bears draft
Round	Pick	Player	Position	College	Notes
1	6	Jim Covert *	Offensive tackle	Pittsburgh
1	18	Willie Gault	Wide receiver	Tennessee
2	33	Mike Richardson	Cornerback	Arizona State
3	64	Dave Duerson *	Safety	Notre Dame
4	91	Tom Thayer	Center	Notre Dame
4	107	Pat Dunsmore	Tight end	Drake
8	203	Richard Dent †	Defensive end	Tennessee State
8	219	Mark Bortz *	Guard	Iowa
9	230	Rob Fada	Guard	Pittsburgh
9	235	Mark Zavagnin	Linebacker	Notre Dame
10	256	Anthony Hutchison	Running back	Texas Tech
11	286	Gary Worthy	Running back	Wilmington (OH)
12	313	Oliver Williams	Wide receiver	Illinois
Made roster    †   Pro Football Hall of Fame    *   Made at least one Pro Bowl during career

Preseason

The Bears were predicted to finish 7–9 and fourth in the division by Paul Zimmerman. Their prized new weapon would be Willie Gault, Dennis McKinnon (signed as an undrafted free agent by the Bears in 1983) and Jimbo Covert would help open bigger holes for Walter Payton but it was felt they were a few offensive lineman and a tight end away from being effective. The defense would be led by All-Pro Dan Hampton and new defensive backs Mike Richardson and Dave Duerson. The Bears started 1983 by losing 7 of their first 10, but won 5 of their last 6 to finish 8-8. The Bears would go 71-18 in regular season games from November 13, 1983 through October 2, 1989.

Week	Date	Opponent	Result	Game site	Record
1	August 6, 1983	Buffalo Bills	W 27–17	Soldier Field	1–0
2	August 13, 1983	St. Louis Cardinals	L 24–27	Busch Stadium	1–1
3	August 20, 1983	Los Angeles Raiders	W 27–21	L.A. Memorial Coliseum	2–1
4	August 27, 1983	Kansas City Chiefs	W 20–17	Soldier Field	3–1

Schedule

Week	Date	Opponent	Result	Attendance
1	September 4, 1983	Atlanta Falcons	L 20–17	60,165
2	September 11, 1983	Tampa Bay Buccaneers	W 17–10	58,186
3	September 18, 1983	at New Orleans Saints	L 34–31	64,692
4	September 25, 1983	at Baltimore Colts	L 22–19	34,350
5	October 2, 1983	Denver Broncos	W 31–14	58,210
6	October 9, 1983	Minnesota Vikings	L 23–14	59,632
7	October 16, 1983	at Detroit Lions	L 31–17	66,709
8	October 23, 1983	at Philadelphia Eagles	W 7–6	45,263
9	October 30, 1983	Detroit Lions	L 38–17	58,764
10	November 6, 1983	at Los Angeles Rams	L 21–14	53,010
11	November 13, 1983	Philadelphia Eagles	W 17–14	47,524
12	November 20, 1983	at Tampa Bay Buccaneers	W 27–0	36,816
13	November 27, 1983	San Francisco 49ers	W 13–3	40,483
14	December 4, 1983	at Green Bay Packers	L 31–28	51,147
15	December 11, 1983	at Minnesota Vikings	W 19–13	57,880
16	December 18, 1983	Green Bay Packers	W 23–21	35,807

Standings

NFC Central
	W	L	T	PCT	DIV	CONF	PF	PA	STK
Detroit Lions(3)	9	7	0	.563	7–1	8–4	347	286	W1
Green Bay Packers	8	8	0	.500	4–4	6–6	429	439	L1
Chicago Bears	8	8	0	.500	4–4	7–7	311	301	W2
Minnesota Vikings	8	8	0	.500	4–4	4–8	316	348	W1
Tampa Bay Buccaneers	2	14	0	.125	1–7	1–11	241	380	L3

Game summaries

Week 1: vs. Atlanta Falcons

	1	2	3	4	Total
Falcons	6	0	7	7	20
Bears	0	10	7	0	17

at Soldier Field, Chicago, Illinois

• Date: Sunday, September 4
• Game time: 12:00 p.m.
• Game weather: 80°F, wind 12 mph
• Referee: Chuck Heberling
• Pro-Football-Reference.com

Week 2

See also: 1983 Tampa Bay Buccaneers season

	1	2	3	4	Total
Buccaneers	0	3	7	0	10
Bears	0	10	0	7	17

at Soldier Field, Chicago, IL

• Date: September 11
• Game time: 12:00 p.m.
• Game weather: 68°F, wind 11 mph
• Box Score

CHI: Mike Hartenstine 2.0 sacks, Terry Schmidt INT

Scoring summary

Quarter Time Drive Team Scoring information Score Plays Yards TOP Buccaneers Bears 2 Buccaneers 20-yard field goal by Bill Capece 3 0 2 Bears Walter Payton 73-yard touchdown reception from Jim McMahon, Bob Thomas kick good 3 7 2 Bears 50-yard field goal by Bob Thomas 3 10 3 Buccaneers James Owens 1-yard touchdown run, Bob Capece kick good 10 10 4 Bears Terry Schmidt 32-yard interception return, Bob Thomas kick good 10 17 "TOP" = time of possession. For other American football terms, see Glossary of American football. 10 17

Week 3: at New Orleans Saints

	1	2	3	4	OT	Total
Bears	7	3	7	14	0	31
Saints	7	3	14	7	3	34

at Louisiana Superdome, New Orleans, Louisiana

• Date: Sunday, September 18
• Game time: 12:00 p.m.
• Game weather: Indoors, dome
• Referee: Fred Wyant
• Pro-Football-Reference.com

Week 4: at Baltimore Colts

	1	2	3	4	OT	Total
Bears	0	3	3	13	0	19
Colts	0	13	0	6	3	22

at Memorial Stadium, Baltimore, Maryland

• Date: Sunday, September 25
• Game time: 2:00 p.m.
• Game weather: 54°F, wind 7 mph
• Referee: Jerry Seeman
• Pro-Football-Reference.com

Week 5: vs. Denver Broncos

	1	2	3	4	Total
Broncos	0	0	7	7	14
Bears	14	10	0	7	31

at Soldier Field, Chicago, Illinois

• Date: Sunday, October 2
• Game time: 12:00 p.m.
• Game weather: 68°F, wind 13 mph
• Referee: Fred Silva
• Pro-Football-Reference.com

Week 8: at Philadelphia Eagles

	1	2	3	4	Total
Bears	7	0	0	0	7
Eagles	0	0	3	3	6

at Veterans Stadium, Philadelphia, Pennsylvania

• Date: Sunday, October 23
• Game time: 1:00 p.m.
• Game weather: 50°F, wind 9 mph
• Referee: Dick Jorgensen
• Pro-Football-Reference.com

Week 9: vs. Detroit Lions

	1	2	3	4	Total
Lions	14	3	14	7	38
Bears	0	3	0	14	17

at Soldier Field, Chicago, Illinois

• Date: Sunday, October 30
• Game time: 12:00 p.m.
• Game weather: 43°F, wind 10 mph
• Referee: Tom Dooley
• Pro-Football-Reference.com

Week 11: vs. Philadelphia Eagles

	1	2	3	4	Total
Eagles	7	0	7	0	14
Bears	0	14	0	3	17

at Soldier Field, Chicago, Illinois

• Date: Sunday, November 13
• Game time: 1:00 p.m.
• Game weather: 33°F, wind 8 mph
• Referee: Bob McElwee
• Pro-Football-Reference.com

Week 12: at Tampa Bay Buccaneers

	1	2	3	4	Total
Bears	0	14	6	7	27
Buccaneers	0	0	0	0	0

at Tampa Stadium, Tampa, Florida

• Date: Sunday, November 20
• Game time: 1:00 p.m.
• Game weather: 69°F, wind 12 mph
• Referee: Red Cashion
• Pro-Football-Reference.com

Week 13: vs. San Francisco 49ers

	1	2	3	4	Total
49ers	3	0	0	0	3
Bears	3	7	3	0	13

at Soldier Field, Chicago, Illinois

• Date: Sunday, November 27
• Game time: 12:00 p.m.
• Game weather: 39°F, wind 18 mph
• Referee: Pat Haggerty
• Pro-Football-Reference.com

Week 14: at Green Bay Packers

	1	2	3	4	Total
Bears	7	7	0	14	28
Packers	14	7	0	10	31

at Lambeau Field, Green Bay, Wisconsin

• Date: Sunday, December 4
• Game time: 1:00 p.m.
• Game weather: 25°F, wind 6 mph
• Referee: Ben Dreith
• Pro-Football-Reference.com

Week 15

1 2 3 4 Total • Bears 10 6 0 3 19 Vikings 6 0 7 0 13 Date: December 11 Location: Hubert H. Humphrey Metrodome, Minneapolis, Minnesota Game start: 12:00 p.m. Game weather: Indoors (dome)

Scoring summary Q1 MIN Benny Ricardo 30 yard field goal MIN 3–0 Q1 MIN Benny Ricardo 29 yard field goal MIN 6–0 Q1 CHI Walter Payton 74 yard pass from Matt Suhey (Bob Thomas kick) CHI 7–6 Q1 CHI Bob Thomas 42 yard field goal CHI 10–6 Q2 CHI Emery Moorehead 2 yard pass from Jim McMahon (kick failed) CHI 17–6 Q3 MIN Ted Brown 1 yard run (Benny Ricardo kick) CHI 19–13 Q4 CHI Bob Thomas 22 yard field goal CHI 19–13

Week 16

1 2 3 4 Total Packers 7 7 0 7 21 • Bears 7 0 7 9 23 Date: December 18 Location: Soldier Field, Chicago, Illinois Game start: 12:00 p.m. CST Game weather: 0°F, wind 13 mph Referee: Red Cashion Source: Pro-Football-Reference.com

Scoring summary 1 Bears Willie Gault 35-yard pass from Jim McMahon (Bob Thomas kick) Bears 7–0 1 Packers Lynn Dickey 1-yard run (Jan Stenerud kick) Tie 7–7 2 Packers James Lofton 31-yard pass from Lynn Dickey (Jan Stenerud kick) Packers 14–7 3 Bears Dennis McKinnon 22-yard pass from Jim McMahon (Bob Thomas kick) Tie 14–14 4 Bears Jim McMahon 6-yard run (run failed) Bears 20–14 4 Packers Paul Coffman 5-yard pass from Lynn Dickey (Jan Stenerud kick) Packers 21–20 4 Bears Bob Thomas 22-yard field goal Bears 23–21

Roster and staff

Staff

Coaching Staff of 1983 season
Front office Virginia Halas McCaskey – Owner Michael McCaskey – Team president Jerry Vainisi – General manager Ray Earley – Equipment manager Coaches Mike Ditka – Head coach Steve Kazor – Assistant head coach Ed Hughes – Offensive coordinator Buddy Ryan – Defensive coordinator		Position coaches Ted Plumb – Offensive specialist Johnny Roland – Running backs Dick Stanfel – Offensive line Dale Haupt – Defensive line Jim LaRue – Secondary Trainers Brian McCaskey – Assistant trainer Clyde Emrich – Weightlifting/Strength		Scouts Jim Dooley Pete McGrane – Video team

Roster

Complete Roster of 1983 season
Quarterbacks 9 Jim McMahon 8 Vince Evans 7 Bob Avellini Offensive backs 34 Walter Payton RB 26 Matt Suhey FB 29 Dennis Gentry RB 33 Calvin Thomas RB 32 Anthony Hutchison RB Receivers 83 Willie Gault 82 Ken Margerum 85 Dennis McKinnon 80 Rickey Watts 84 Brian Baschnagel 89 James Scott Tight ends 87 Emery Moorehead 81 Jay Saldi 88 Pat Dunsmore		Kickers 16 Bob Thomas K 86 Bob Parsons P 19 Ray Stachowicz P Offensive line 74 Jim Covert T 79 Kurt Becker G 52 Dan Neal C 65 Noah Jackson G 78 Keith Van Horne T 63 Jay Hilgenberg C 62 Mark Bortz G 71 Andy Frederick OL 67 Tim Norman T 67 Perry Hartnett G 69 Revie Sorey G 72 John Janata T 64 Rob Fada G Defensive line 99 Dan Hampton DE 73 Mike Hartenstine DE 68 Jim Osborne DT 76 Steve McMichael DT 95 Richard Dent DE 98 Tyrone Keys DE		Linebackers 50 Mike Singletary MLB 55 Otis Wilson SLB 90 Al Harris WLB 53 Dan Rains LB 54 Brian Cabral LB 51 Kelvin Atkins LB 57 Dave Simmons LB 58 Jerry Muckensturm LB 59 Gary Campbell LB Cornerbacks 21 Leslie Frazier 27 Mike Richardson Defensive backs 44 Terry Schmidt 24 Jeff Fisher 20 Kevin Potter 43 Walt Williams Safeties 25 Todd Bell SS 45 Gary Fencik FS 22 Dave Duerson FS		Reserve Lists Rookies in italics

Depth chart

Defense FS Gary Fencik Dave Duerson WLB MLB SLB Al Harris Mike Singletary Otis Wilson ⋅ ⋅ ⋅ SS Todd Bell ⋅ CB Mike Richardson ⋅ DE DT DT DE Dan Hampton Steve McMichael Jim Osborne Mike Hartenstine ⋅ ⋅ ⋅ ⋅ CB Leslie Frazier ⋅ Offense WR Willie Gault ⋅ LT LG C RG RT Jimbo Covert Noah Jackson Dan Neal Kurt Becker Keith Van Horne ⋅ ⋅ Jay Hilgenberg ⋅ ⋅ TE Emery Moorehead ⋅ WR Ken Margerum ⋅ QB Jim McMahon Vince Evans RB Walter Payton ⋅ FB Matt Suhey ⋅ Special Teams PK Bob Thomas P Bob Parsons KR Anthony Hutchison PR Dennis McKinnon

External links

• 1983 Chicago Bears Season at www.bearshistory.com