1984 Chicago Bears season

Last updated

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
Record10–6
Division place1st NFC Central
PlayoffsWon Divisional Playoffs
(at Redskins) 23–19
Lost NFC Championship
(at 49ers) 0–23
All-Pros
Pro Bowlers

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.

Contents

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.

Offseason

1984 NFL draft

1984 Chicago Bears draft
RoundPickPlayerPositionCollegeNotes
1 11 Wilber Marshall *  Linebacker Florida
244 Ron Rivera   Linebacker California
371 Stefan Humphries   Guard Michigan
498 Tom Andrews   Guard Louisville
7179Nakita Robertson  Running back Central Arkansas
8212 Brad Anderson   Wide receiver Arizona
9244 Mark Casale   Quarterback Montclair State
10266Kurt Vestman  Tight end Idaho
10271 Shaun Gayle *  Safety Ohio State
11298Mark Butkus  Defensive tackle Illinois
12330Donald Jordan  Running back Houston
      Made roster        Pro Football Hall of Fame     *   Made at least one Pro Bowl during career

Undrafted free agents

1984 undrafted free agents of note
PlayerPositionCollege
Mike BassKicker Illinois
Chris JensenWide receiverLake Forest

Personnel

Coaches / Staff

1984 Chicago Bears staff

Front office

Head coaches

Offensive coaches

Defensive coaches


Strength and conditioning

Roster

1984 Chicago Bears roster
Quarterbacks (QB)

Running backs (RB)

Wide receivers (WR)

Tight ends (TE)

Offensive linemen (OL)

Defensive linemen (DL)

Linebackers (LB)

Defensive backs (DB)

Special teams (ST)

Reserve

Rookies in italics

Preseason

Walter Payton (34), pictured breaking the NFL's career rushing record 1986 Jeno's Pizza - 12 - Walter Payton (cropped).jpg
Walter Payton (34), pictured breaking the NFL's career rushing record
WeekDateOpponentResultRecordVenue
1August 4 St. Louis Cardinals L 10–190–1 Soldier Field
2August 11 Green Bay Packers L 10–170–2 Milwaukee County Stadium
3August 18 Cincinnati Bengals L 17–250–3 Soldier Field
4August 26 Buffalo Bills W 38–71–3 Hoosier Dome

Regular season

Schedule

WeekDateOpponentResultRecordVenueAttendance
1September 2 Tampa Bay Buccaneers W 34–141–0 Soldier Field 58,789
2September 9 Denver Broncos W 27–02–0Soldier Field54,335
3September 16at Green Bay Packers W 9–73–0 Lambeau Field 55,942
4September 23at Seattle Seahawks L 9–383–1 Kingdome 61,520
5September 30 Dallas Cowboys L 14–233–2Soldier Field63,623
6October 7 New Orleans Saints W 20–74–2 Soldier Field 53,752
7October 14at St. Louis Cardinals L 21–384–3 Busch Memorial Stadium 49,554
8October 21at Tampa Bay BuccaneersW 44–95–3 Tampa Stadium 60,003
9October 28 Minnesota Vikings W 16–76–3 Soldier Field 57,517
10November 4 Los Angeles Raiders W 17–67–3 Soldier Field 59,858
11November 11at Los Angeles Rams L 13–297–4 Anaheim Stadium 62,021
12November 18 Detroit Lions W 16–148–4Soldier Field54,911
13November 25at Minnesota VikingsW 34–39–4 Hubert H. Humphrey Metrodome 56,881
14December 3at San Diego Chargers L 7–209–5 Jack Murphy Stadium 45,470
15December 9Green Bay PackersL 14–209–6Soldier Field59,374
16December 16at Detroit LionsW 30–1310–6 Pontiac Silverdome 53,252

Standings

NFC Central
WLTPCTDIVCONFPFPASTK
Chicago Bears (3)1060.6257–18–4325248W1
Green Bay Packers 880.5005–38–4390309W3
Tampa Bay Buccaneers 6100.3753–55–9335380W2
Detroit Lions 4111.2813–54–7–1283408L3
Minnesota Vikings 3130.1882–63–9276484L6

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

Quarter1234Total
Bears33039
Packers07007

at Lambeau Field, Green Bay, Wisconsin

  • Date: Sunday, September 16
  • Game time: 12:00 p.m.
  • Game weather: 50 °F (10 °C), wind 9 mph (14 km/h)
  • Referee: Pat Haggerty
  • TV announcers (CBS): Pat Summerall and John Madden
  • Pro-Football-Reference.com
Game information

Week 4: at Seattle Seahawks

Quarter1234Total
Bears70029
Seahawks7321738

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.

Week 5: vs. Dallas Cowboys

Quarter1234Total
Cowboys1073323
Bears770014

at Soldier Field, Chicago

  • Date: Sunday, September 30
  • Game time: 12:00 p.m.
  • Game weather: 44 °F (7 °C), wind 7 mph (11 km/h)
  • Referee: Fred Wyant
  • TV announcers (CBS): Pat Summerall and John Madden
  • Pro-Football-Reference.com
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.

Week 6: vs. New Orleans Saints

Quarter1234Total
Saints07007
Bears670720

at Soldier Field, Chicago

  • Date: Sunday, October 7
  • Game time: 12:00 p.m.
  • Game weather: 62 °F (17 °C), wind 11 mph (18 km/h)
  • Game attendance: 53,752
  • Referee: Bob McElwee
  • TV announcers (CBS): Tim Ryan and Johnny Morris
  • Pro-Football-Reference.com
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]

Week 9: vs. Minnesota Vikings

Quarter1234Total
Vikings00077
Bears6100016

at Soldier Field, Chicago, Illinois

  • Date: Sunday, October 28
  • Game time: 12:00 p.m.
  • Game weather: 55 °F (13 °C), wind 12 mph (19 km/h)
  • Referee: Tom Dooley
  • TV announcers (CBS): Tim Ryan and Johnny Morris
  • Pro-Football-Reference.com
Game information

Week 10: vs. Los Angeles Raiders

Quarter1234Total
Raiders03306
Bears770317

at Soldier Field, Chicago, Illinois

  • Date: Sunday, November 4
  • Game time: 12:00 p.m.
  • Game weather: 51 °F (11 °C), wind 18 mph (29 km/h)
  • Referee: Pat Haggerty
  • TV announcers (NBC): Dick Enberg and Merlin Olsen
  • Pro-Football-Reference.com
Game information

Week 13

Team1234Total
Bears71017034
Vikings30003
  • Bears clinch division title

[5]

Week 15: vs. Green Bay Packers

Quarter1234Total
Packers076720
Bears007714

at Soldier Field, Chicago, Illinois

Game information

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.

Schedule

GameDateOpponent (seed)ResultRecordVenueAttendance
Divisional RoundDecember 30at Washington Redskins (2)W 23–191–0 Robert F. Kennedy Memorial Stadium 55,431
NFC ChampionshipJanuary 6, 1985at San Francisco 49ers (1)L 0–231–1 Candlestick Park 61,040

NFC Divisional Playoff (Sunday, December 30, 1984): at Washington Redskins

Game summary
Quarter1234Total
Bears01013023
Redskins3014219

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

Game information
  • Scoring
    • WAS – Moseley 35-yard field goal. WAS 3–0.
    • CHI – Thomas 34-yard field goal. Tied 3–3.
    • CHI – Dunsmore 19-yard pass from Payton (Thomas kick). CHI 10–3.
    • CHI – Gault 75-yard pass from Fuller (kick failed). CHI 16–3.
    • WAS – Riggins 1-yard run (Moseley kick). CHI 16–10.
    • CHI – McKinnon 16-yard pass from Fuller (Thomas kick). CHI 23–10.
    • WAS – Riggins 1-yard run (Moseley kick). CHI 23–17.
    • WAS – Finzer ran out of the end zone for a safety. CHI 23–19.

NFC Championship Game (Sunday, January 6, 1985): at San Francisco 49ers

[6]

NFC Championship Game: Chicago Bears at San Francisco 49ers
Quarter1234Total
Bears (11–7)00000
49ers (17–1)3371023

at Candlestick ParkSan Francisco, California

  • Date: January 6, 1985
  • Game time: 3:00 p.m. CST
  • Game weather: Drizzle, 52 °F (11 °C); wind 5 miles per hour (8.0 km/h; 4.3 kn)
  • Game attendance: 61,040
  • Referee: Jerry Seeman
  • TV announcers (CBS): Pat Summerall (play-by-play), John Madden (color commentator) and Irv Cross (sideline reporter)
  • [7]
TeamCategoryPlayerStatistics
CHIPassing Steve Fuller 13/22, 87 YDS, 1 INT
Rushing Walter Payton 22 CAR, 92 YDS
Receiving Matt Suhey 4 REC, 11 YDS
SFPassing 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
  • Point spread: 49ers by 10
  • Over/Under: 40.0 (under)
  • Time of Game:
BearsGame Statistics49ers
13First downs25
32–149Rushes–yards29–159
87Passing yards236
13–22–1Passes19–35–2
9–50Sacked–yards3–8
37Net passing yards228
186Total yards387
84Return yards84
7–43.1Punts3–39.0
1–0Fumbles–lost1–0
7–50Penalties–yards3–20
31:53Time of Possession28:07

References

  1. "1984 NFL All-Pros". Pro-Football-Reference.com.
  2. "1984 NFL Pro Bowlers". 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 September 28, 2012.
  4. "Walter Payton broke Jim Brown's NFL career rushing record". UPI. October 7, 1984. Retrieved August 24, 2019.
  5. The Football Database. Retrieved 2018-Oct-28.
  6. The Football Database. Retrieved 2022-Jul-1.
  7. Pro Football Reference ; NFC Championship Game – Chicago Bears at San Francisco 49ers – January 6, 1985