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1988 Chicago Bears season

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.

1988 Chicago Bears season
Head coachMike Ditka
Home fieldSoldier Field
Local radioWGN–AM 720
Results
Record12–4
Division place1st NFC Central
Playoff finishWon Divisional Playoffs
(vs. Eagles) 20–12
Lost NFC Championship
(vs. 49ers) 3–28

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.

Offseason

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NFL draft

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Main article: 1988 NFL draft
1988 Chicago Bears draft
Round Pick Player Position College Notes
1 23 Brad Muster  Fullback Stanford
1 27 Wendell Davis  Wide receiver LSU
2 51 Dante Jones  Linebacker Oklahoma
3 78 Ralph Jarvis  Defensive end Temple
4 105 James Thornton  Tight end Cal State-Fullerton
5 133 Troy Johnson  Linebacker Oklahoma
6 161 Lemuel Stinson  Cornerback Texas Tech
7 189 Caesar Rentie  Offensive tackle Oklahoma
8 208 David Tate  Safety Colorado
8 217 Harvey Reed  Running back Howard
9 245 Rogie Magee  Wide receiver LSU
10 273 Joe Porter  Guard Baylor
11 301 Steve Forch  Linebacker Nebraska
12 329 Greg Clark  Linebacker Arizona State
      Made roster  

Undrafted free agents

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1988 Undrafted Free Agents of note
Player Position College
Mike Barnard Tackle San Jose State
Keith Blue Guard Western Illinois
Jeff Burger Quarterback Auburn
Richard Ehmke Kicker Eastern Illinois
Phil Webb Running back Michigan
Dan Young Defensive tackle VMI

Roster

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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

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1988 Chicago Bears roster
Quarterbacks (QB)

Running backs (RB)

Wide receivers (WR)

Tight ends (TE)

Offensive linemen (OL)

Defensive linemen (DL)

Linebackers (LB)

Defensive backs (DB)

Special teams

Reserve

Rookies in italics
47 active, 10 reserve

Regular season

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Schedule

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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

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Week 1

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1 234Total
Dolphins 7 000 7
• Bears 14 1406 34
  • Date: September 4
  • Location: Soldier Field, Chicago, Illinois
  • Game start: 12:00 p.m.
  • Game weather: 66 °F (19 °C) • Wind 16 mph (26 km/h)
  • Referee: Pat Haggerty
  • TV announcers (NBC): Dick Enberg and Merlin Olsen
Scoring summary
1CHINeal Anderson 2-yard run (Kevin Butler kick)Bears 7–0
1CHINeal Anderson 1-yard run (Kevin Butler kick)Bears 14–0
1MIAMark Clayton 28-yard pass from Dan Marino (Fuad Reveiz kick)Bears 14–7
2CHIJim McMahon 1-yard run (Kevin Butler kick)Bears 21–7
2CHIJim McMahon 2-yard run (Kevin Butler kick)Bears 28–7
4CHIThomas Sanders 20-yard run (kick failed)Bears 34–7

[1]

Week 4

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1 234Total
• Bears 0 1707 24
Packers 6 000 6
  • Date: September 25
  • Location: Lambeau Field
  • Game start: 1:00 p.m. EST
  • Game weather: 58 °F (14 °C); wind 10 mph (16 km/h)
  • Referee: Tom Dooley
  • Television network: CBS
Scoring summary
Q1GBFullwood 2 yard run (kick failed)GB 6–0
Q2CHIAnderson 45 yard run (Butler kick)CHI 7–6
Q2CHIAnderson 4 yard run (Butler kick)CHI 14–6
Q2CHIButler 35 yard field goalCHI 17–6
Q4CHISanders 5 yard run (Butler kick)CHI 24–6

[2]

Week 13

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1 234Total
Packers 0 000 0
• Bears 7 072 16
  • Date: November 27
  • Location: Soldier Field
  • Game start: 1:00 p.m. EST
  • Game weather: 43 °F (6 °C); wind 20 mph (32 km/h)
  • Referee: Pat Haggerty
  • TV announcers (CBS): Pat Summerall and John Madden
Scoring summary
Q1CHIAnderson 1 yard run (Butler kick)CHI 7–0
Q3CHIAnderson 80 yard run (Butler kick)CHI 14–0
Q4CHISafety, Majkowski stepped out of end zoneCHI 16–0

[3]

Standings

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NFC Central
W L T PCT DIV CONF PF PA STK
Chicago Bears(1) 12 4 0 .750 6–2 9–3 312 215 L1
Minnesota Vikings(4) 11 5 0 .688 6–2 9–3 406 233 W1
Tampa Bay Buccaneers 5 11 0 .313 4–4 4–8 261 350 W1
Detroit Lions 4 12 0 .250 2–6 3–11 220 315 L2
Green Bay Packers 4 12 0 .250 2–6 3–9 240 313 W2

[4]

Playoffs

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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

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Further information: Fog Bowl (American football)
1 234Total
Eagles 3 630 12
• Bears 7 1003 20
Scoring summary
1CHIDennis McKinnon 64-yard pass from Mike Tomczak (Kevin Butler kick)Bears 7–0
1PHILuis Zendejas 42-yard field goalBears 7–3
2PHILuis Zendejas 29-yard field goalBears 7–6
2CHINeal Anderson 4-yard run (Kevin Butler kick)Bears 14–6
2CHIKevin Butler 46-yard field goalBears 17–6
2PHILuis Zendejas 30-yard field goalBears 17–9
3PHILuis Zendejas 35-yard field goalBears 17–12
4CHIKevin Butler 27-yard field goalBears 20–12

[5]

NFC Championship

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1 234Total
• 49ers 7 777 28
Bears 0 300 3

Awards and records

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Main article: 1988 NFL season § Awards

References

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  1. ^ Pro-Football-Reference.com
  2. ^ Pro-Football-Reference.com. Retrieved 2015-Oct-02.
  3. ^ Pro-Football-Reference.com. Retrieved 2015-Oct-02.
  4. ^ NFL 2001 Record and Fact Book, Workman Publishing Co, New York, NY, ISBN 0-7611-2480-2, p. 293
  5. ^ Pro-Football-Reference.com
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