| 1984 Chicago Bears season | |
|---|---|
| Owner | The McCaskey Family |
| General manager | Jerry Vainisi |
| Head coach | Mike Ditka |
| Offensive coordinator | Ed Hughes |
| Defensive coordinator | Buddy Ryan |
| Home stadium | Soldier Field |
| Results | |
| Record | 10–6 |
| Division place | 1st NFC Central |
| Playoffs | Won Divisional Playoffs (at Redskins) 23–19 Lost NFC Championship (at 49ers) 0–23 |
| All-Pros | 7 [1]
|
| Pro Bowlers | 5 [2]
|
The 1984 season was the Chicago Bears' 65th in the National Football League and their third under head coach Mike Ditka. The team improved from their 8–8 record from 1983, to a 10–6 record, earning them a spot in the NFL playoffs for the first time since 1979.
This was the first of five consecutive NFC Central titles for the Bears. They 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.
Highlights of the season included a Week 2 shutout of the Denver Broncos 27–0 behind a huge day from star running back Walter Payton, a Week 3 victory against Green Bay, the first game between Ditka and Packers head coach Forrest Gregg, and a 17–6 victory against the defending Super Bowl champion Los Angeles Raiders. The Week 2 game against Denver 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. Payton reached a major milestone as he surpassed Jim Brown as the game's all-time leading rusher in yards in the third quarter of a Week Six home game against the New Orleans Saints. The Bears beat the Saints 20–7. The 1984 Bears ran for the second-most rushing attempts in a season, with 674. [3]
In the Divisional Round of the playoffs, the Bears defeated the Washington Redskins 23–19 for their first playoff victory in the Super Bowl era as well as their first since their victory over the New York Giants in the 1963 NFL Championship Game. However, the Bears' season ended in the NFC Championship Game 23–0 to the eventual Super Bowl XIX champions, the San Francisco 49ers.
| 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 | |||||
| Player | Position | College |
|---|---|---|
| Mike Bass | Kicker | Illinois |
| Chris Jensen | Wide receiver | Lake Forest |
Front office
Head coaches
Offensive coaches
| Defensive coaches
Strength and conditioning
|
| Week | Date | Opponent | Result | Record | Venue |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | August 4 | St. Louis Cardinals | L 10–19 | 0–1 | Soldier Field |
| 2 | August 11 | Green Bay Packers | L 10–17 | 0–2 | Milwaukee County Stadium |
| 3 | August 18 | Cincinnati Bengals | L 17–25 | 0–3 | Soldier Field |
| 4 | August 26 | Buffalo Bills | W 38–7 | 1–3 | Hoosier Dome |
| Week | Date | Opponent | Result | Record | Venue | Attendance |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | September 2 | Tampa Bay Buccaneers | W 34–14 | 1–0 | Soldier Field | 58,789 |
| 2 | September 9 | Denver Broncos | W 27–0 | 2–0 | Soldier Field | 54,335 |
| 3 | September 16 | at Green Bay Packers | W 9–7 | 3–0 | Lambeau Field | 55,942 |
| 4 | September 23 | at Seattle Seahawks | L 9–38 | 3–1 | Kingdome | 61,520 |
| 5 | September 30 | Dallas Cowboys | L 14–23 | 3–2 | Soldier Field | 63,623 |
| 6 | October 7 | New Orleans Saints | W 20–7 | 4–2 | Soldier Field | 53,752 |
| 7 | October 14 | at St. Louis Cardinals | L 21–38 | 4–3 | Busch Memorial Stadium | 49,554 |
| 8 | October 21 | at Tampa Bay Buccaneers | W 44–9 | 5–3 | Tampa Stadium | 60,003 |
| 9 | October 28 | Minnesota Vikings | W 16–7 | 6–3 | Soldier Field | 57,517 |
| 10 | November 4 | Los Angeles Raiders | W 17–6 | 7–3 | Soldier Field | 59,858 |
| 11 | November 11 | at Los Angeles Rams | L 13–29 | 7–4 | Anaheim Stadium | 62,021 |
| 12 | November 18 | Detroit Lions | W 16–14 | 8–4 | Soldier Field | 54,911 |
| 13 | November 25 | at Minnesota Vikings | W 34–3 | 9–4 | Hubert H. Humphrey Metrodome | 56,881 |
| 14 | December 3 | at San Diego Chargers | L 7–20 | 9–5 | Jack Murphy Stadium | 45,470 |
| 15 | December 9 | Green Bay Packers | L 14–20 | 9–6 | Soldier Field | 59,374 |
| 16 | December 16 | at Detroit Lions | W 30–13 | 10–6 | Pontiac Silverdome | 53,252 |
| 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 |
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.
| Quarter | 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | Total |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Bears | 3 | 3 | 0 | 3 | 9 |
| Packers | 0 | 7 | 0 | 0 | 7 |
at Lambeau Field, Green Bay, Wisconsin
| Game information | ||
|---|---|---|
|
| Quarter | 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | Total |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Bears | 7 | 0 | 0 | 2 | 9 |
| Seahawks | 7 | 3 | 21 | 7 | 38 |
at Kingdome, Seattle, Washington
| Game information | ||
|---|---|---|
|
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.
| Quarter | 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | Total |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Cowboys | 10 | 7 | 3 | 3 | 23 |
| Bears | 7 | 7 | 0 | 0 | 14 |
at Soldier Field, Chicago
| Game information | ||
|---|---|---|
|
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 400 to 313 but forced two Bears turnovers to win 23-14. The Bears rushing attack still managed 283 yards.
| Quarter | 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | Total |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Saints | 0 | 7 | 0 | 0 | 7 |
| Bears | 6 | 7 | 0 | 7 | 20 |
at Soldier Field, Chicago
| Game information | ||
|---|---|---|
|
Walter Payton ran for 154 yards and a touchdown on his way to breaking Jim Brown's career rushing yardage and 100-yard games records. [4]
| Quarter | 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | Total |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Vikings | 0 | 0 | 0 | 7 | 7 |
| Bears | 6 | 10 | 0 | 0 | 16 |
at Soldier Field, Chicago, Illinois
| Game information | ||
|---|---|---|
|
| Quarter | 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | Total |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Raiders | 0 | 3 | 3 | 0 | 6 |
| Bears | 7 | 7 | 0 | 3 | 17 |
at Soldier Field, Chicago, Illinois
| Game information | ||
|---|---|---|
|
| Team | 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | Total |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| • Bears | 7 | 10 | 17 | 0 | 34 |
| Vikings | 3 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 3 |
| Q1 | 4:19 | MIN | Stenerud 19-yard field goal | MIN 3–0 |
| Q1 | 1:32 | CHI | Gault 30-yard pass from Fuller (Thomas kick) | CHI 7–3 |
| Q2 | 7:12 | CHI | Thomas 45-yard field goal | CHI 10–3 |
| Q2 | 0:24 | CHI | Moorehead 13-yard pass from Fuller (Thomas kick) | CHI 17–3 |
| Q3 | 9:59 | CHI | Thomas 37-yard field goal | CHI 20–3 |
| Q3 | 9:28 | CHI | Bell 36-yard interception return (Thomas kick) | CHI 27–3 |
| Q3 | 2:41 | CHI | Payton 2-yard run (Thomas kick) | CHI 34–3 |
| Quarter | 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | Total |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Packers | 0 | 7 | 6 | 7 | 20 |
| Bears | 0 | 0 | 7 | 7 | 14 |
at Soldier Field, Chicago, Illinois
| Game information | ||
|---|---|---|
|
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.
| Game | Date | Opponent (seed) | Result | Record | Venue | Attendance |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Divisional Round | December 30 | at Washington Redskins (2) | W 23–19 | 1–0 | Robert F. Kennedy Memorial Stadium | 55,431 |
| NFC Championship | January 6, 1985 | at San Francisco 49ers (1) | L 0–23 | 1–1 | Candlestick Park | 61,040 |
| Quarter | 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 information |
|---|
|
| Quarter | 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | Total |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Bears (11–7) | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| 49ers (17–1) | 3 | 3 | 7 | 10 | 23 |
at Candlestick Park • San Francisco, California
| Team | Category | Player | Statistics |
|---|---|---|---|
| CHI | Passing | Steve Fuller | 13/22, 87 YDS, 1 INT |
| Rushing | Walter Payton | 22 CAR, 92 YDS | |
| Receiving | Matt Suhey | 4 REC, 11 YDS | |
| SF | Passing | Joe Montana | 18/34, 233 YDS, 1 TD, 2 INTs |
| Rushing | Wendell Tyler | 10 CAR, 68 YDS, 1 TD | |
| Receiving | Freddie Solomon | 7 REC, 73 YDS, 1 TD |
| Scoring summary | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
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| Bears | Game Statistics | 49ers |
|---|---|---|
| 13 | First downs | 25 |
| 32–149 | Rushes–yards | 29–159 |
| 87 | Passing yards | 236 |
| 13–22–1 | Passes | 19–35–2 |
| 9–50 | Sacked–yards | 3–8 |
| 37 | Net passing yards | 228 |
| 186 | Total yards | 387 |
| 84 | Return yards | 84 |
| 7–43.1 | Punts | 3–39.0 |
| 1–0 | Fumbles–lost | 1–0 |
| 7–50 | Penalties–yards | 3–20 |
| 31:53 | Time of Possession | 28:07 |