1983 Chicago Bears season
OwnerGeorge Halas (until October 31)
The McCaskey Family
(Family control since 1921; Virginia McCaskey since 1983)
General managerJim Finks
Head coachMike Ditka
(2nd season)
Home fieldSoldier Field
Results
Record8–8
Division place3rd NFC Central
Playoff finishDid not qualify
Pro Bowlers
AP All-Pros

The 1983 season was the Chicago Bears' 64th in the National Football League, and their second under head coach Mike Ditka. The team improved from their 3–6 record from 1982 to finish at 8–8, but to failed to make the playoffs for the fourth consecutive season. 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.[3]

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) would also play a key role in the receiving corps 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.[4] 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.

WeekDateOpponentResultGame siteRecord
1August 6, 1983Buffalo BillsW 27–17Soldier Field1–0
2August 13, 1983St. Louis CardinalsL 24–27Busch Stadium1–1
3August 20, 1983Los Angeles RaidersW 27–21L.A. Memorial Coliseum2–1
4August 27, 1983Kansas City ChiefsW 20–17Soldier Field3–1

Regular season

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

Game summaries

Week 1: vs. Atlanta Falcons

Period 1 2 34Total
Falcons 6 0 7720
Bears 0 10 7017

at Soldier Field, Chicago

Week 2 vs Tampa Bay Buccaneers

Period 1 2 34Total
Buccaneers 0 3 7010
Bears 0 10 0717

at Soldier Field, Chicago, Illinois

CHI: Mike Hartenstine 2.0 sacks, Terry Schmidt INT

Week 3: at New Orleans Saints

Period 1 2 34OTTotal
Bears 7 3 714031
Saints 7 3 147334

at Louisiana Superdome, New Orleans, Louisiana

Week 4: at Baltimore Colts

Period 1 2 34OTTotal
Bears 0 3 313019
Colts 0 13 06322

at Memorial Stadium, Baltimore, Maryland

  • Date: Sunday, September 25
  • Game time: 2:00 p.m.
  • Game weather: 54 °F (12 °C), wind 7 mph (11 km/h)
  • Referee: Jerry Seeman
  • TV announcers (CBS): Tim Ryan and Johnny Morris
  • Pro-Football-Reference.com

Week 5: vs. Denver Broncos

Period 1 2 34Total
Broncos 0 0 7714
Bears 14 10 0731

at Soldier Field, Chicago, Illinois

  • Date: Sunday, October 2
  • Game time: 12:00 p.m.
  • Game weather: 68 °F (20 °C), wind 13 mph (21 km/h)
  • Referee: Fred Silva
  • TV announcers (NBC): Charlie Jones and Bob Griese
  • Pro-Football-Reference.com

Week 6: vs. Minnesota Vikings

Week 8: at Philadelphia Eagles

Period 1 2 34Total
Bears 7 0 007
Eagles 0 0 336

at Veterans Stadium, Philadelphia

Week 9: vs. Detroit Lions

Period 1 2 34Total
Lions 14 3 14738
Bears 0 3 01417

at Soldier Field, Chicago, Illinois

Week 11: vs. Philadelphia Eagles

Period 1 2 34Total
Eagles 7 0 7014
Bears 0 14 0317

at Soldier Field, Chicago, Illinois

  • Date: Sunday, November 13
  • Game time: 1:00 p.m.
  • Game weather: 33 °F (1 °C), wind 8 mph (13 km/h)
  • Referee: Bob McElwee
  • TV announcers (CBS): Tim Ryan and Johnny Morris
  • Pro-Football-Reference.com

Week 12: at Tampa Bay Buccaneers

Period 1 2 34Total
Bears 0 14 6727
Buccaneers 0 0 000

at Tampa Stadium, Tampa, Florida

Week 13: vs. San Francisco 49ers

Period 1 2 34Total
49ers 3 0 003
Bears 3 7 3013

at Soldier Field, Chicago, Illinois

Week 14: at Green Bay Packers

Period 1 2 34Total
Bears 7 7 01428
Packers 14 7 01031

at Lambeau Field, Green Bay, Wisconsin

Week 15: at Minnesota Vikings

1 234Total
• Bears 10 603 19
Vikings 6 070 13
Scoring summary
Q1MINBenny Ricardo 30-yard field goalMIN 3–0
Q1MINBenny Ricardo 29-yard field goalMIN 6–0
Q1CHIWalter Payton 74-yard pass from Matt Suhey (Bob Thomas kick)CHI 7–6
Q1CHIBob Thomas 42-yard field goalCHI 10–6
Q2CHIEmery Moorehead 2-yard pass from Jim McMahon (kick failed)CHI 17–6
Q3MINTed Brown 1 yard run (Benny Ricardo kick)CHI 19–13
Q4CHIBob Thomas 22-yard field goalCHI 19–13

[5]

Week 16 vs. Packers

Week 16: Green Bay Packers (8–7) at Chicago Bears (7–8)
Period 1 2 34Total
Packers 7 7 0721
Bears 7 0 7923

at Soldier Field, Chicago, Illinois

Game information

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

Roster and staff

Staff

Coaching Staff of 1983 season

Front office

Coaches

  

Position coaches

Trainers

  • Brian McCaskey – Assistant trainer
  • Clyde Emrich – Weightlifting/Strength
  

Scouts

Roster

Complete Roster of 1983 season

Quarterbacks

Offensive backs

Receivers

Tight ends

  

Kickers

Offensive line

Defensive line

  

Linebackers

Cornerbacks

Defensive backs

Safeties

  

Reserve Lists

Rookies in italics

References

  1. ↑ "1983 NFL Pro Bowlers". Pro-Football-Reference.com.
  2. ↑ "1983 NFL All-Pros". Pro-Football-Reference.com.
  3. ↑ "NFLs top 10 draft classes in league history". National Football League. Archived from the original on November 2, 2012. Retrieved July 9, 2012.
  4. ↑ Sports Illustrated. 1 Sept 1983
  5. ↑ Pro-Football-Reference.com. Retrieved 2014-Mar-02.
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