Fog Bowl (American football)

For the 1962 Canadian Football Fog Bowl, see 50th Grey Cup. For the 1970s Sun Bowl (which also carries this nickname), see 1974 Sun Bowl.
1988 NFL Divisional Playoff Game
"The Fog Bowl"

An image taken during the game.
Philadelphia Eagles
(10–6)		 Chicago Bears
(12–4)
12 20
Head coach:
Buddy Ryan		 Head coach:
Mike Ditka
1234 Total
PHI 3630 12
CHI 71003 20
Date December 31, 1988
Stadium Soldier Field
Location Chicago, Illinois
Referee Jim Tunney
Network CBS
Announcers Verne Lundquist and Terry Bradshaw

In American football, the Fog Bowl was the name given to the December 31, 1988 National Football League (NFL) playoff game between the Philadelphia Eagles and Chicago Bears. A dense fog rolled over Chicago's Soldier Field during the 2nd quarter, cutting visibility to about 15–20 yards for the rest of the game. Philadelphia moved the ball effectively all day and Eagles quarterback Randall Cunningham had 407 passing yards despite the low visibility; but they could not get the ball into the end zone. Many players complained that they could not see the sidelines or first-down markers.[1] The Bears ended up winning 20–12. The game eventually was named #3 on NFL Top 10's Weather Games.[2]

The game was also notable in that it involved head coaches who had been previously worked on the same staff of a Super Bowl winning team. Eagles coach Buddy Ryan had been the defense coordinator for Mike Ditka on the Bears when the team won Super Bowl XX.

Game summary

Chicago scored first with quarterback Mike Tomczak's 64-yard touchdown pass to Dennis McKinnon. The Eagles responded by driving to the Chicago 26-yard line, but kicker Luis Zendejas missed a 43-yard field goal. Philadelphia quickly got the ball back after linebacker Seth Joyner intercepted a pass from Tomczak, and this time they managed to score with Zendejas' 42-yard field goal, but only after committing two costly mistakes: twice on the drive Philadelphia had touchdowns nullified by penalties. The Bears then drove to the Eagles 33-yard line on their ensuing drive, but it stalled and kicker Kevin Butler missed a 51-yard field goal attempt, giving the ball back to Philadelphia with great field position. Randall Cunningham then led the Eagles inside Chicago's 5-yard line but on 4th and inches Cunningham was stuffed for no gain and the Eagles turned the ball over. However, on Chicago's ensuing possession, Cap Boso fumbled the ball, and Philadelphia's Wes Hopkins recovered, giving the Eagles excellent field position at Chicago's 15-yard line. But the Eagles' drive stalled and Jackson dropped a perfectly thrown pass by Cunningham in the end zone and thus Philadelphia had to settle for a Luis Zendejas 29-yard field goal to cut the team's deficit to 7–6.

The Bears drove 44 yards on their ensuing possession and scored with Neal Anderson's 4-yard touchdown run to give them a 14–6 lead. Both teams scored another field goal before halftime, and they went into their locker rooms with Chicago leading 17–9.

In the third quarter, Tomczak left the game with a shoulder injury.[3] Each team could only score a short field goal in the second half. The fog was so thick that both teams were forced to use their running game because receivers could not see the long passes thrown to them. TV and radio announcers, and the fans in the stadium had trouble seeing what was happening on the field. CBS color commentator Terry Bradshaw, who was working the game, later said he was more frustrated than at any time when he was a player. Referee Jim Tunney ended up announcing the down and distance for each play on his wireless microphone.

Cunningham finished the game with 407 passing yards,[1] but was unable to lead his team to a single touchdown and was intercepted 3 times. Fullback Keith Byars rushed for 34 yards and caught 9 passes for 103 yards. Tight end Keith Jackson caught 7 passes for 142 yards. Other than his 64-yard touchdown pass, Tomczak was dominated the rest of the game by the Eagles defense, completing only 10 of 20 passes for 174 yard with 1 touchdown and 3 interceptions. McKinnon finished the game with 4 receptions for 108 yards and a touchdown.

1988 NFC Divisional Playoffs: Philadelphia Eagles at Chicago Bears
1 2 34Total
Eagles 3 6 3012
Bears 7 10 3020

at Soldier Field, Chicago, Illinois

Statistics

Source:[4] Philadelphia Eagles Chicago Bears
First downs2214
Total yards430341
Passing yards378175
Passing – completions/attempts27/5512/23
Rushing yards52164
Rushing attempts1633
Penalties–yards7–601–5
Sacks against–yards4–291–8
Fumbles–lost0–01–1
Interceptions thrown33

Individual Stats

Eagles Passing
Player C/ATT* Yds TD INT
Randall Cunningham 27/54 407 0 3
Cris Carter 0/1 0 0 0
Eagles Rushing
Player Cara Yds TD LGb
Keith Byars 7 34 0 13
Anthony Toney 5 3 0 3
Randall Cunningham 3 12 0 11
Michael Haddix 1 3 0 3
Eagles Receiving
Player Recc Yds TD LGb
Keith Byars 9 103 0 24
Keith Jackson 7 142 0 65
Mike Quick 5 82 0 23
Michael Haddix 2 23 0 13
Anthony Toney 2 9 0 7
Ron Johnson 1 31 0 31
Cris Carter 1 17 0 17
Eagles Defense
Player Tak/Ast/Totd Int Ffe Sck
Reggie White N/A 0 0 1.0
Terry Hoage N/A 1 0 0.0
Seth Joyner N/A 1 8 0.0
Todd Bell N/A 1 4 0.0
Wes Hopkins N/A 0 1 0.0
Eagles Kicking
Player FGA FGM XP LGf
Luis Zendejas 5 4 0/0 N/A
Bears Passing
C/ATT* Yds TD INT
Mike Tomczak 10/20 172 1 3
Jim McMahon 2/3 13 0 0
Bears Rushing
Player Cara Yds TD LGb
Neal Anderson 14 54 1 23
Thomas Sanders 8 94 0 58
Brad Muster 6 12 0 6
Jim McMahon 2 −2 0 0
Matt Suhey 1 0 0 0
Mike Tomczak 1 0 0 0
Bears Receiving
Player Recc Yds TD LGb
Dennis McKinnon 4 108 1 64
Cap Boso 2 16 0 9
Dennis Gentry 2 9 0 7
Ron Morris 1 27 0 27
Wendell Davis 1 11 0 11
Thomas Sanders 1 8 0 8
Neal Anderson 1 6 0 6
Bears Defense
Player Tak/Ast/Totd Int Ffe Sck
Dan Hampton N/A 0 0 1.0
Al Harris N/A 0 0 1.0
Ron Rivera N/A 0 0 1.0
Sean Smith N/A 0 0 1.0
Vestee Jackson N/A 1 0 0.0
Maurice Douglass N/A 1 0 0.0
Mickey Pruitt N/A 1 0 0.0
Bears Kicking
Player FGA FGM XP LGf
Kevin Butler 4 2 2/2 N/A

*Completions/Attempts aCarries bLongest play cReceptions dTackles eForced Fumbles fLongest field goal

Officials

See also

References

  1. 1 2 Heinz Kluetmeier/SI. "Fog Bowl - Pinnacle Moments in NFL History - Photos - SI.com". Sportsillustrated.cnn.com. Retrieved 2012-08-09.
  2. ↑ "Top 10 weather games in NFL history". NFL.com. Retrieved 2012-08-09.
  3. ↑ "Fog Bowl: 'A supernatural experience' – NFL – ESPN". Sports.espn.go.com. 2008-09-26. Retrieved 2012-08-09.
  4. ↑ "Philadelphia Eagles at Chicago Bears – December 31st, 1988". Pro-Football-Reference.com. 1988-12-31. Retrieved 2012-08-09.
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