1984 Chicago Bears season

1984 Chicago Bears season
Head coach	Mike Ditka (3rd season)
General manager	Jerry Vainisi (Since 1983)
Owner	The McCaskey Family (Family control since 1921; Virginia McCaskey since 1983)
Home field	Soldier Field
Results
Record	10–6
Division place	1st NFC Central
Playoff finish	Won Divisional Playoffs (Redskins) 23–19 Lost NFC Championship Playoffs (49ers) 23–0
Pro Bowlers	5[1] RB Walter Payton DT Dan Hampton DE Richard Dent MLB Mike Singletary SS Todd Bell
AP All-Pros	7[2] RB Walter Payton DT Dan Hampton DE Richard Dent LB Otis Wilson MLB Mike Singletary SS Todd Bell FS Gary Fencik

The 1984 Chicago Bears season was their 65th regular season and 15th post-season completed in the National Football League. The club posted a 10–6 record, earning them a spot in the NFL playoffs. The Bears went on to lose in the NFC Championship Game 23–0 to the eventual Super Bowl Champion San Francisco 49ers.

The Bears opened their 1984 training camp in a new location, Platteville, Wisconsin as head coach Mike Ditka needed his team to get away from any distractions they might face at home. The team was on the verge of discovering a group of young leaders for the first time, and began to show the dominating defense that would emerge in full the following season, and pushed much farther than anyone expected them to go.

Chicago opened the season by routing the Tampa Bay Buccaneers, 34–14. In Week Two, they shut out the Denver Broncos 27–0 behind a huge day from star running back Walter Payton. This game featured a famous image from Payton's career: a 50+ yard run down the sideline, led by 2nd-year guard Mark Bortz, an 8th round draft pick that was converted from defensive tackle.

In Week Three, they were without the services of starting quarterback Jim McMahon at Green Bay, reserve quarterback Bob Avellini took the reins. Chicago's offense performed poorly, but still managed a 9–7 victory. This contest marked the first meeting between Mike Ditka and Packers head coach Forrest Gregg. It would be a rivalry that would go down in history as arguably the dirtiest era in Chicago-Green Bay football.

In Week Four, the Bears' lack of offensive power was evident as they lost to the Seattle Seahawks 38–9. After this loss, Ditka cut Avellini. The following week, the Bears lost to the Dallas Cowboys 23–14, bringing their record to 3–2.

On October 7, 1984, Walter Payton reached a major milestone as he surpassed Jim Brown as the game's all-time leading rusher in yards, he did it in the third quarter of a Week Six home game against the New Orleans Saints. The Bears beat the Saints 20–7. Incidentally, the 1984 Bears ran for the second-most rushing attempts in a season, with 674.^[3]

In Week Seven, the Bears lost 38–21 to the Cardinals in St. Louis the following week. Sitting at 4–3, the Bears proceeded to win three in a row. They beat Tampa Bay 44–9, then Minnesota Vikings at home, 16–7. Following the Minnesota win came the biggest challenge for the Bears: a showdown with the defending world champion Los Angeles Raiders. The Bears beat the Raiders 17–6, a game that showcased Richard Dent, who collected three against Raiders QB Marc Wilson. (Dent would finish with 17.5 sacks, third-most for the season behind Mark Gastineau and Andre Tippett.^[4] The Bears would then record 72 sacks, a team record.^[5] The Bears' victory was marred by a kidney laceration suffered by Jim McMahon, ending his season.

Six-year veteran QB Steve Fuller had been acquired from the Los Angeles Rams prior to the 1984 season for insurance in case McMahon was injured. The investment paid off, as Fuller guided the Bears to a 2–1 record over the next 3 games. In the third game at Minnesota's new Hubert H. Humphrey Metrodome in Week Thirteen, the team clinched its first NFC Central Division title.

After the Minnesota game, Fuller was injured, and Chicago was faced with another quarterback problem. Ineffective Rusty Lisch replaced the injured Fuller and lost the Week Fourteen game at San Diego, then started the following week against Green Bay at home. Lisch was again ineffective, so Ditka inserted none other than Walter Payton behind center in the shotgun formation. Payton, unsurprisingly, was ineffective as well, and the Bears lost to the Packers 20–14.

Fuller was expected to return by the playoffs, but Ditka didn't want to enter the postseason with another loss. The Bears signed 14-year journeyman Greg Landry to start his last NFL game against his previous team, the Detroit Lions, in the season finale. The Bears won 30–13, and were headed to the playoffs for the first time since 1979.

1984 NFL Draft

1984 Chicago Bears draft
Round	Pick	Player	Position	College	Notes
1	11	Wilber Marshall *	Linebacker	Florida
2	44	Ron Rivera	Linebacker	California
3	71	Stefan Humphries	Guard	Michigan
4	98	Tom Andrews	Guard	Louisville
7	179	Nakita Robertson	Running back	Central Arkansas
8	212	Brad Anderson	Wide receiver	Arizona
9	244	Mark Casale	Quarterback	Montclair State
10	266	Kurt Vestman	Tight end	Idaho
10	271	Shaun Gayle *	Safety	Ohio State
11	298	Mark Butkus	Defensive tackle	Illinois
12	330	Donald Jordan	Running back	Houston
Made roster    †   Pro Football Hall of Fame    *   Made at least one Pro Bowl during career

Postseason

See full article, 1984–85 NFL Playoffs

The first-round matchup sent the 10–6 Bears to Washington, a team that had lost to the Los Angeles Raiders in Super Bowl XVIII. Washington was heavily favored, but Chicago came away with a 23–19 victory that featured touchdown passes from Fuller, as well as Payton on a halfback option pass.

With the momentum of defeating the defending NFC champions, the Bears then travelled to San Francisco for their first appearance in a championship game of any sort since their championship year in 1963. The line for the game came down steadily as the week wore on, but the Bears were shut out 23–0. Fuller had performed poorly in games against tough opponents, and the offense sputtered as the 49ers were able to render Walter Payton ineffective. The team had gone farther than many had expected them to go in 1984, and the season set the stage for their Super Bowl winning 1985 season.

Preseason

Week	Date	Opponent	Result	Game site	Record
1	August 4, 1984	St. Louis Cardinals	L 10–19	Soldier Field	0–1
2	August 11, 1984	Green Bay Packers	L 10–17	Lambeau Field	0–2
3	August 18, 1984	Cincinnati Bengals	L 17–25	Soldier Field	0–3
4	August 26, 1984	Buffalo Bills	W 38–7	Hoosier Dome	1–3

Regular season

Schedule

Week	Date	Opponent	Result	Game site	Record	Attendance
1	September 2, 1984	Tampa Bay Buccaneers	W 34–14	Soldier Field	1–0	58,789
2	September 9, 1984	Denver Broncos	W 27–0	Soldier Field	2–0	54,335
3	September 16, 1984	at Green Bay Packers	W 9–7	Lambeau Field	3–0	55,942
4	September 23, 1984	at Seattle Seahawks	L 38–9	Kingdome	3–1	61,520
5	September 30, 1984	Dallas Cowboys	L 23–14	Soldier Field	3–2	63,623
6	October 7, 1984	New Orleans Saints	W 20–7	Soldier Field	4–2	53,752
7	October 14, 1984	at St. Louis Cardinals	L 38–21	Busch Stadium	4–3	49,554
8	October 21, 1984	at Tampa Bay Buccaneers	W 44–9	Tampa Stadium	5–3	60,003
9	October 28, 1984	Minnesota Vikings	W 16–7	Soldier Field	6–3	57,517
10	November 4, 1984	Los Angeles Raiders	W 17–6	Soldier Field	7–3	59,858
11	November 11, 1984	at Los Angeles Rams	L 29–13	Anaheim Stadium	7–4	62,021
12	November 18, 1984	Detroit Lions	W 16–14	Soldier Field	8–4	54,911
13	November 25, 1984	at Minnesota Vikings	W 34–3	Hubert H. Humphrey Metrodome	9–4	56,881
14	December 3, 1984	at San Diego Chargers	L 20–7	Jack Murphy Stadium	9–5	45,470
15	December 9, 1984	Green Bay Packers	L 20–14	Soldier Field	9–6	59,374
16	December 16, 1984	at Detroit Lions	W 30–13	Pontiac Silverdome	10–6	53,252

Standings

NFC Central
	W	L	T	PCT	DIV	CONF	PF	PA	STK
Chicago Bears^(3)	10	6	0	.625	7–1	8–4	325	248	W1
Green Bay Packers	8	8	0	.500	5–3	8–4	390	309	W3
Tampa Bay Buccaneers	6	10	0	.375	3–5	5–9	335	380	W2
Detroit Lions	4	11	1	.281	3–5	4–7–1	283	408	L3
Minnesota Vikings	3	13	0	.188	2–6	3–9	276	484	L6

Game summaries

Week 2: vs. Denver Broncos

The Bears limited the Broncos to 130 total yards as three different Denver quarterbacks (John Elway, Gary Kubiak, and Scott Stankavage) completed just nine passes with two interceptions. Seven different Bears players led by Walter Payton rushed for 302 yards.

Week 3: at Green Bay Packers

	1	2	3	4	Total
Bears	3	3	0	3	9
Packers	0	7	0	0	7

at Lambeau Field, Green Bay, Wisconsin

• Date: Sunday, September 16
• Game time: 12:00 p.m.
• Game weather: 50°F, wind 9 mph
• Pro-Football-Reference.com

Game information

First Quarter CHI – Bob Thomas 19-yard field goal – Bears 3–0 Second Quarter CHI – Bob Thomas 49-yard field goal – Bears 6–0 GB – Jessie Clark 1-yard run (Eddie Garcia kick) – Packers 7–6 Fourth Quarter CHI – Bob Thomas 28-yard field goal – Bears 9–7 Bears Bob Avellini 11/17, 133 Yds, INT Walter Payton 27 Rush, 110 Yds Emery Moorehead 2 Rec, 65 Yds Packers Lynn Dickey 11/23, 142 Yds, INT Gerry Ellis 7 Rush, 18 Yds James Lofton 4 Rec, 89 Yds

Week 4: at Seattle Seahawks

	1	2	3	4	Total
Bears	7	0	0	2	9
Seahawks	7	3	21	7	38

at Kingdome, Seattle, Washington

• Date: Sunday, September 23
• Game time: 1:00 p.m. PDT
• Game weather: indoors (dome)
• Game attendance: 61,250
• Referee: Chuck Heberling
• TV announcers (CBS): Tim Ryan & Johnny Morris
• Pro-Football-Reference.com

Game information

First Quarter CHI – Matt Suhey 3-yard pass from Walter Payton (Bob Thomas kick) – Bears 7–0 SEA – Keith Simpson 39-yard interception return (Norm Johnson kick) – Tied 7–7 Second Quarter SEA – Norm Johnson 27-yard field goal – Seahawks 10–7 Third Quarter SEA – Dave Kreig 3-yard run (Norm Johnson kick) – Seahawks 17–7 SEA – Eric Lane 55-yard pass from Dave Kreig (Norm Johnson kick) – Seahawks 24–7 SEA – Joe Nash recovered fumble in end zone (Norm Johnson kick) – Seahawks 31–7 Fourth Quarter CHI – Safety, holding penalty by Seattle in end zone – Seahawks 31–9 SEA – Terry Jackson 62-yard interception return (Norm Johnson kick) – Seahawks 38–9 Bears Bob Avellini 13/26, 119 Yds, INT Walter Payton 24 Rush, 116 Yds Willie Gault 6 Rec, 73 Yds Seahawks Dave Kreig 6/16, 146 Yds, TD Eric Lane 17 Rush, 50 Yds 1 Rec, 55 Yds, TD

Six Bears turnovers and a 21-0 run by the Seahawks in the 3rd quarter were the key as Chicago's season-opening win streak was blunted, 38-9. The two teams combined for just 504 yards of offense with 22 penalties eating up 181 yards.

Week 5: vs. Dallas Cowboys

	1	2	3	4	Total
Cowboys	10	7	3	3	23
Bears	7	7	0	0	14

at Soldier Field, Chicago, Illinois

• Date: Sunday, September 30
• Game time: 12:00 p.m.
• Game weather: 44°F, wind 7 mph
• Pro-Football-Reference.com

Game information

First Quarter DAL – Rafael Septien 44-yard field goal – Cowboys 3–0 CHI – Jim McMahon 16-yard run (Bob Thomas kick) – Bears 7–3 DAL – Tony Dorsett 68-yard pass from Gary Hogeboom (Rafael Septien kick) – Cowboys 10–7 Second Quarter CHI – Walter Payton 20-yard run (Bob Thomas kick) – Bears 14–10 DAL – Timmy Newsome 2-yard run (Rafael Septien kick) – Cowboys 17–14 Third Quarter DAL – Rafael Septien 32-yard field goal – Cowboys 20–14 Fourth Quarter DAL – Rafael Septien 23-yard field goal – Cowboys 23–14 Cowboys Gary Hogeboom 18/29, 265 Yds, TD Tony Dorsett 18 Rush, 51 Yds 4 Rec, 80 Yds, TD Bears Jim McMahon 6/14, 79 Yds Walter Payton 25 Rush, 155 Yds, TD Dennis McKinnon 4 Rec, 53 Yds

Mike Ditka for the first time as Bears head coach faced Tom Landry, who'd coached Ditka in Super Bowl VI. Landry's Cowboys were outgained in yardage 313 to 400 but forced two Bears turnovers to win 23-14. The Bears rushing attack still managed 283 yards.

Week 9: vs. Minnesota Vikings

	1	2	3	4	Total
Vikings	0	0	0	7	7
Bears	6	10	0	0	16

at Soldier Field, Chicago, Illinois

• Date: Sunday, October 28
• Game time: 12:00 p.m.
• Game weather: 55°F, wind 12 mph
• Referee: Tom Dooley
• Pro-Football-Reference.com

Game information

First Quarter CHI – Matt Suhey 2-yard run (Bob Thomas missed extra point) – Bears 6–0 Second Quarter CHI – Dennis McKinnon 18-yard pass from Jim McMahon (Bob Thomas kick) – Bears 13–0 CHI – Bob Thomas 19-yard field goal – Bears 16–0 Fourth Quarter MIN – Leo Lewis 22-yard pass from Wade Wilson (Jan Stenerud kick) – Bears 16–7 Vikings Archie Manning 14/24, 138 Yds, 1 INT Archie Manning 4 Rush, 20 Yds Leo Lewis 3 Rec, 71 Yds, 1 TD Bears Jim McMahon 16/26, 180 Yds, 1 TD Walter Payton 22 Rush, 54 Yds Emery Moorehead 3 Rec, 64 Yds

Week 10: vs. Los Angeles Raiders

	1	2	3	4	Total
Raiders	0	3	3	0	6
Bears	7	7	0	3	17

at Soldier Field, Chicago, Illinois

• Date: Sunday, November 4
• Game time: 12:00 p.m.
• Game weather: 51°F, wind 18 mph
• Referee: Pat Haggerty
• Pro-Football-Reference.com

Game information

First Quarter CHI – Walter Payton 18-yard run (Bob Thomas kick) – Bears 7–0 Second Quarter CHI – Walter Payton 8-yard run (Bob Thomas kick) – Bears 14–0 LA – Chris Bahr 44-yard field goal – Bears 14–3 Third Quarter LA – Chris Bahr 40-yard field goal – Bears 14–6 Fourth Quarter CHI – Bob Thomas 29-yard field goal – Bears 17–6 Raiders Marc Wilson 7/19, 70 Yds, 2 INT Marcus Allen 15 Rush, 42 Yds Todd Christensen 5 Rec, 61 Yds Bears Jim McMahon 3/11, 68 Yds, INT Walter Payton 27 Rush, 111 Yds, 2 TD Willie Gault 1 Rec, 50 Yds

Week 15: vs. Green Bay Packers

	1	2	3	4	Total
Packers	0	7	6	7	20
Bears	0	0	7	7	14

at Soldier Field, Chicago, Illinois

• Date: Sunday, December 9
• Game time: 12:00 p.m.
• Game weather: 31°F, wind 7 mph
• Referee: Jim Tunney
• Pro-Football-Reference.com

Game information

Second Quarter GB – Ed West 3-yard pass from Rich Campbell (Al Del Greco kick) – Packers 7–0 Third Quarter CHI – Matt Suhey 2-yard pass from Walter Payton (Bob Thomas kick) – Tied 7–7 GB – Del Rodgers 97-yard kickoff return (pass failed) – Packers 13–7 Fourth Quarter CHI – Walter Payton 7-yard run (Bob Thomas kick) – Bears 14–13 GB – Phil Epps 43-yard pass from Rich Campbell (Al Del Greco kick) – Packers 20–14 Packers Rich Campbell 9/19, 125 Yds, 2 TD, 2 INT Eddie Lee Ivery 12 Rush, 50 Yds Phil Epps 3 Rec, 65 Yds, TD Bears Rusty Lisch 10/23, 99 Yds, INT Walter Payton 35 Rush, 175 Yds, TD Emery Moorehead 4 Rec, 53 Yds

Roster and staff

Staff

Coaching Staff of 1984 season
Front office Virginia Halas McCaskey – Owner Michael McCaskey – Team president Jerry Vainisi – General manager Rod Graves – Director of player personnel Ray Earley – Equipment manager Gary Haeger – Assistant equipment manager Coaches Mike Ditka – Head coach Steve Kazor – Assistant head coach^[a] 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 1984 season
Quarterbacks 9 Jim McMahon 4 Steve Fuller 7 Bob Avellini 12 Rusty Lisch 11 Greg Landry Offensive backs 34 Walter Payton RB 26 Matt Suhey FB 29 Dennis Gentry RB 33 Calvin Thomas RB 32 Anthony Hutchison RB 49 Donald Jordan FB Receivers 83 Willie Gault 85 Dennis McKinnon 84 Brian Baschnagel 86 Brad Anderson Tight ends 87 Emery Moorehead 81 Jay Saldi 88 Pat Dunsmore 89 Mitch Krenk		Kickers 16 Bob Thomas K 15 Dave Finzer P Offensive line 74 Jim Covert T 62 Mark Bortz G 63 Jay Hilgenberg C 78 Keith Van Horne T 60 Tom Andrews OL 71 Andy Frederick OL 75 Stefan Humphries OL 79 Kurt Becker G 64 Rob Fada G Defensive line 99 Dan Hampton DT 95 Richard Dent DE 76 Steve McMichael DT 73 Mike Hartenstine DE 68 Jim Osborne DT 98 Tyrone Keys DE 70 Henry Waechter DE		Linebackers 50 Mike Singletary MLB 55 Otis Wilson SLB 90 Al Harris WLB 58 Wilber Marshall LB 53 Dan Rains LB 54 Brian Cabral LB 59 Ron Rivera LB Cornerbacks 27 Mike Richardson 21 Leslie Frazier Defensive backs 22 Dave Duerson 44 Terry Schmidt 24 Jeff Fisher 23 Shaun Gayle 20 Kevin Potter 30 Jack Cameron Safeties 25 Todd Bell SS 45 Gary Fencik FS		Reserve Lists 82 Ken Margerum WR (IR) Rookies in italics

Depth chart

Defense FS Gary Fencik ⋅ WLB MLB SLB Al Harris Mike Singletary Otis Wilson ⋅ ⋅ ⋅ SS Todd Bell ⋅ CB Mike Richardson ⋅ DE DT DT DE Richard Dent Dan Hampton Steve McMichael Mike Hartenstine ⋅ ⋅ ⋅ ⋅ CB Leslie Frazier ⋅ Offense WR Willie Gault ⋅ LT LG C RG RT Jimbo Covert Mark Bortz Jay Hilgenberg Kurt Becker Keith Van Horne ⋅ ⋅ ⋅ ⋅ ⋅ TE Emery Moorehead Jay Saldi WR Dennis McKinnon ⋅ QB Jim McMahon Steve Fuller RB Walter Payton ⋅ FB Matt Suhey ⋅ Special Teams PK Bob Thomas P Dave Finzer KR Jack Cameron PR Jeff Fisher LS Jay Hilgenberg H Steve Fuller

Playoffs

Round	Date	Opponent	Result	Game site	TV	Attendance
Divisional Round	December 30, 1984	at Washington Redskins	W 23–19	R.F.K. Stadium	CBS	55,431
NFC Championship	January 6, 1985	at San Francisco 49ers	L 23–0	Candlestick Park	CBS	61,040

December 30, 1984

NFC: Chicago Bears 23, Washington Redskins 19

Game summary

	1	2	3	4	Total
Bears	0	10	13	0	23
Redskins	3	0	14	2	19

at Robert F. Kennedy Memorial Stadium, Washington, D.C.

• Game time: 12:30 p.m. EST
• Game weather: 57 °F (14 °C), overcast
• Game attendance: 55,431
• Referee: Fred Silva
• TV announcers (CBS): Frank Glieber and Dick Vermeil

Game information
Scoring WAS – field goal Moseley 35 WAS 3–0 CHI – field goal Thomas 34 3–3 CHI – Dunsmore 19 pass from Payton (Thomas kick) CHI 10–3 CHI – Gault 75 pass from Fuller (kick failed) CHI 16–3 WAS – Riggins 1 run (Moseley kick) CHI 16–10 CHI – McKinnon 16 pass from Fuller (Thomas kick) CHI 23–10 WAS – Riggins 1 run (Moseley kick) CHI 23–17 WAS – Safety, Finzer ran out of end zone CHI 23–19

January 6, 1985

NFC Championship: San Francisco 49ers 23, Chicago Bears 0

Game summary

	1	2	3	4	Total
Bears	0	0	0	0	0
49ers	3	3	7	10	23

at Candlestick Park, San Francisco

• Game time: 4:00 p.m. EST/1:00 p.m. PST
• Game weather: 52 °F (11 °C), drizzle
• Game attendance: 61,336
• Referee: Jerry Seeman
• TV announcers (CBS): Pat Summerall and John Madden

Game information
Scoring SF – field goal Wersching 21 SF 3–0 SF – field goal Wersching 22 SF 6–0 SF – Tyler 9 run (Wersching kick) SF 13–0 SF – Solomon 10 pass from Montana (Wersching kick) SF 20–0 SF – field goal Wersching 34 SF 23–0

References

1. "1984 NFL Pro Bowlers". Pro-Football-Reference.com.
2. "1984 NFL All-Pros". Pro-Football-Reference.com.
3. "Pro-Football-Reference.com: In a single season, from 1978 to 2011, in the regular season, sorted by descending Rushing Att". Pfref.com. Retrieved 2012-09-28.
4. "Pro-Football-Reference: For single seasons, in 1984, sorted by descending Sacks". Pfref.com. Retrieved 2012-09-28.
5. "Does Cutler play better in day games?". Chicagobears.com. Retrieved 2012-09-28.

External links

• 1984 Chicago Bears Season at www.bearshistory.com