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1988 Chicago Bears season

NFL team season

Field	Value
team	Chicago Bears
year	1988
record	12–4
division_place	1st NFC Central
coach	Mike Ditka
stadium	Soldier Field
playoffs	Won [Divisional Playoffs](1988-89-nfl-playoffs)
(vs. [Eagles](1988-philadelphia-eagles-season)) 20–12
Lost [NFC Championship](1988-89-nfl-playoffs)
(vs. [49ers](1988-san-francisco-49ers-season)) 3–28
shortnavlink	Bears seasons

(vs. Eagles) 20–12 Lost NFC Championship (vs. 49ers) 3–28 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. The Bears defeated the Philadelphia Eagles 20–12 in the "Fog Bowl" game during the Divisional Round of the playoffs. However, the Bears failed to advance to the Super Bowl as one of the NFC's 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

NFL draft

Main article: 1988 NFL draft

Undrafted free agents

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

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

Regular season

Schedule

Week	Date	Opponent	Result
September 4	[Miami Dolphins](1988-miami-dolphins-season)	W 34–7	63,330
September 11	at [Indianapolis Colts](1988-indianapolis-colts-season)	W 17–13	60,503
September 18	[Minnesota Vikings](1988-minnesota-vikings-season)	L 7–31	63,990
September 25	at [Green Bay Packers](1988-green-bay-packers-season)	W 24–6	56,492
October 2	[Buffalo Bills](1988-buffalo-bills-season)	W 24–3	62,793
October 9	at [Detroit Lions](1988-detroit-lions-season)	W 24–7	64,526
October 16	[Dallas Cowboys](1988-dallas-cowboys-season)	W 17–7	64,759
October 24	[San Francisco 49ers](1988-san-francisco-49ers-season)	W 10–9	65,293
October 30	at [New England Patriots](1988-new-england-patriots-season)	L 7–30	60,821
November 6	[Tampa Bay Buccaneers](1988-tampa-bay-buccaneers-season)	W 28–10	56,892
November 13	at [Washington Redskins](1988-washington-redskins-season)	W 34–14	52,418
November 20	at [Tampa Bay Buccaneers](1988-tampa-bay-buccaneers-season)	W 27–15	67,070
November 27	[Green Bay Packers](1988-green-bay-packers-season)	W 16–0	62,026
December 5	at [Los Angeles Rams](1988-los-angeles-rams-season)	L 3–23	65,579
December 11	[Detroit Lions](1988-detroit-lions-season)	W 13–12	55,010
December 19	at [Minnesota Vikings](1988-minnesota-vikings-season)	L 27–28	62,067

Game summaries

Week 1

Week 4

Week 13

Standings

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

NFC Championship

Awards and records

Main article: 1988 NFL season #Awards

References

1988 Chicago Bears Season at www.bearshistory.com

References

[https://www.pro-football-reference.com/boxscores/198809040chi.htm Pro-Football-Reference.com]
[https://www.pro-football-reference.com/boxscores/198809250gnb.htm Pro-Football-Reference.com]. Retrieved 2015-Oct-02.
[https://www.pro-football-reference.com/boxscores/198811270chi.htm 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
[https://www.pro-football-reference.com/boxscores/198812310chi.htm Pro-Football-Reference.com]

Info: Wikipedia Source

This article was imported from Wikipedia and is available under the Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike 4.0 License. Content has been adapted to SurfDoc format. Original contributors can be found on the article history page.

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