| 1978 Chicago Bears season | |
|---|---|
| Owner | George Halas |
| General manager | Jim Finks |
| Head coach | Neill Armstrong |
| Home stadium | Soldier Field |
| Results | |
| Record | 7–9 |
| Division place | 4th NFC Central |
| Playoffs | Did not qualify |
The 1978 season was the Chicago Bears' 59th in the National Football League, and their first under head coach Neill Armstrong. The team failed to improve on their 9–5 record from 1977 to finish at 7–9, and failed to make the playoffs for the 14th time in the past 15 seasons.
| 1978 Chicago Bears draft | |||||
| Round | Pick | Player | Position | College | Notes |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 3 | 74 | Brad Shearer | Defensive tackle | Texas | |
| 6 | 139 | John Skibinski | Running back | Purdue | |
| 6 | 158 | Mekeli Ieremia | Defensive end | BYU | |
| 7 | 185 | Herman Jones | Wide receiver | Ohio State | |
| 8 | 212 | George Freitas | Tight end | California | |
| 9 | 244 | Mike Martin | Linebacker | Kentucky | |
| 10 | 271 | Ben Zambiasi | Linebacker | Georgia | |
| 11 | 298 | Walt Underwood | Defensive end | USC | |
| 12 | 325 | Lew Sibley | Linebacker | LSU | |
| Made roster | |||||
| Player | Position | College |
|---|---|---|
| Mike Morgan | Running back | Wisconsin |
| Week | Date | Opponent | Result | Record | Venue | Attendance | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | September 3 | St. Louis Cardinals | W 17–10 | 1–0 | Soldier Field | 52,791 | |
| 2 | September 10 | at San Francisco 49ers | W 16–13 | 2–0 | Candlestick Park | 49,502 | |
| 3 | September 17 | at Detroit Lions | W 19–0 | 3–0 | Pontiac Silverdome | 65,982 | |
| 4 | September 25 | Minnesota Vikings | L 20–24 | 3–1 | Soldier Field | 53,551 | |
| 5 | October 1 | Oakland Raiders | L 19–25 | 3–2 | Soldier Field | 52,848 | |
| 6 | October 8 | at Green Bay Packers | L 14–24 | 3–3 | Lambeau Field | 56,267 | |
| 7 | October 16 | at Denver Broncos | L 7–16 | 3–4 | Mile High Stadium | 75,008 | |
| 8 | October 22 | at Tampa Bay Buccaneers | L 19–33 | 3–5 | Tampa Stadium | 68,146 | |
| 9 | October 29 | Detroit Lions | L 17–21 | 3–6 | Soldier Field | 53,378 | |
| 10 | November 5 | Seattle Seahawks | L 29–31 | 3–7 | Soldier Field | 50,697 | |
| 11 | November 12 | at Minnesota Vikings | L 14–17 | 3–8 | Metropolitan Stadium | 43,286 | |
| 12 | November 19 | Atlanta Falcons | W 13–7 | 4–8 | Soldier Field | 46,022 | |
| 13 | November 26 | Tampa Bay Buccaneers | W 14–3 | 5–8 | Soldier Field | 42,373 | |
| 14 | December 4 | at San Diego Chargers | L 7–40 | 5–9 | San Diego Stadium | 48,492 | |
| 15 | December 10 | Green Bay Packers | W 14–0 | 6–9 | Soldier Field | 34,306 | |
| 16 | December 16 | at Washington Redskins | W 14–10 | 7–9 | RFK Stadium | 49,774 | |
| Note: Intra-division opponents are in bold text. | |||||||
"The 100 yards was nice, but it doesn't mean a thing since we lost." O. J. Simpson said after winning his first confrontation with Walter Payton. Simpson had 108 yards to Payton's 62. - But Simpson's fumble proved to be a pivotal one. He recovered the ball but lost 6 yards on the play, and the 49ers, leading by four points in the fourth quarter, had to go to the air to try to maintain possession. Doug Buffone then intercepts and Chicago wound up with the winning touchdown.
| Team | 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | Total |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| • Bears | 3 | 3 | 3 | 7 | 16 |
| 49ers | 7 | 3 | 0 | 3 | 13 |
| 1 | CHI | Bob Thomas 32 yard field goal | Bears 3–0 | |
| 1 | SF | O. J. Simpson 8 yard pass from Steve DeBerg (Ray Wersching kick) | 49ers 7–3 | |
| 2 | CHI | Bob Thomas 44 yard field goal | 49ers 7–6 | |
| 2 | SF | Ray Wersching 44 yard field goal | 49ers 10–6 | |
| 3 | CHI | Bob Thomas 38 yard field goal | 49ers 10–9 | |
| 4 | SF | Ray Wersching 27 yard field goal | 49ers 13–9 | |
| 4 | CHI | Roland Harper 1 yard run (Bob Thomas kick) | Bears 16–13 | |
Chicago scored three times in about four minutes in the third quarter, including a 40-yard touchdown pass from Bob Avellini to James Scott as the Bears go 3-0 to stay in first place and extend their regular season winning streak to 9. The third quarter scoring barrage began with a 28-yard field goal by Bob Thomas at 10:41. Less than Three minutes later Tommy Hart tackled quarterback Greg Landry in the end zone for a safety. Then the Bears wrapped up the scoring with Avellini's 40-yard bomb to wide receiver James Scott over the head of cornerback James Hunter.
| Quarter | 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | Total |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Bears | 0 | 0 | 0 | 14 | 14 |
| Packers | 0 | 3 | 14 | 7 | 24 |
at Lambeau Field, Green Bay, Wisconsin
| Game information | ||
|---|---|---|
|
| Team | 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | Total |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| •Bears | 7 | 0 | 7 | 0 | 14 |
| Redskins | 0 | 3 | 0 | 7 | 10 |
| 1 | CHI | Walter Payton 44-yard run (Bob Thomas kick) | Bears 7–0 | |
| 2 | WSH | Mark Moseley 33-yard field goal | Bears 7–3 | |
| 3 | CHI | Steve Schubert 73-yard punt return (Bob Thomas kick) | Bears 14–3 | |
| 4 | WSH | Jean Fugett 17-yard pass from Billy Kilmer (Mark Moseley kick) | Bears 14–10 | |
| NFC Central | |||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| W | L | T | PCT | DIV | CONF | PF | PA | STK | |
| Minnesota Vikings (3) | 8 | 7 | 1 | .531 | 5–2–1 | 7–4–1 | 294 | 306 | L2 |
| Green Bay Packers | 8 | 7 | 1 | .531 | 5–2–1 | 6–5–1 | 249 | 269 | L2 |
| Detroit Lions | 7 | 9 | 0 | .438 | 4–4 | 5–7 | 290 | 300 | W2 |
| Chicago Bears | 7 | 9 | 0 | .438 | 3–5 | 7–5 | 253 | 274 | W2 |
| Tampa Bay Buccaneers | 5 | 11 | 0 | .313 | 2–6 | 3–11 | 241 | 259 | L4 |
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| Franchise | |
| Records | |
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| Culture |
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| Lore | |
| Rivalries | |
| Minor league affiliates |
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| Retired numbers | |
| Key personnel |
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| Division championships (21) | |
| Conference championships (4) | |
| League championships (9) | |
| Media |
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| Current league affiliations |
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