The 1983 season was the

Chicago Bears The Chicago Bears are a professional American football team based in Chicago. The Bears compete in the National Football League (NFL) as a member of the National Football Conference (NFC) NFC North, North division. They are one of two remaining ...

' 64th in the

National Football League The National Football League (NFL) is a Professional gridiron football, professional American football league in the United States. Composed of 32 teams, it is divided equally between the American Football Conference (AFC) and the National ...

, and their second under

head coach A head coach, senior coach, or manager is a professional responsible for training and developing athletes within a sports team. This role often has a higher public profile and salary than other coaching positions. In some sports, such as associat ...

Mike Ditka Michael Keller Ditka ( ; born Michael Dyczko; October 18, 1939) is an American former professional American football, football player, coach, and television commentator. During his playing career, he was UPI NFL-NFC Rookie of the Year, UPI NFL R ...

. The team improved from their 3–6 record from 1982 to finish at 8–8, but to failed to make the playoffs for the fourth consecutive season.

Jim McMahon James Robert McMahon Jr. (born August 21, 1959) is an American former professional American football, football quarterback who played in the National Football League (NFL) for 15 seasons, most notably with the Chicago Bears. McMahon played col ...

was the quarterback, who completed 175 of 295 pass attempts. The Bears

1983 NFL draft The 1983 NFL draft was the procedure by which National Football League teams selected amateur college football players. It is officially known as the NFL Annual Player Selection Meeting. The draft was held April 26–27, 1983, at the New York Sh ...

class was ranked #3 in ''

NFL Top 10 ''NFL Top 10'' is a documentary program produced by NFL Films for airing on the NFL Network. The host and narrator is Derrin Horton. The program counts down 10 items directly related to the players, coaches, and events of the National Footb ...

''s greatest draft classes.

Offseason

1983 NFL draft

Undrafted free agents

Roster and staff

Staff

Roster

Preseason

The Bears were predicted to finish 7–9 and fourth in the division by Paul Zimmerman. Their prized new weapon would be

Willie Gault Willie James Gault (born September 5, 1960) is an American former professional football player who was a wide receiver in the National Football League (NFL) for 11 seasons with the Chicago Bears and Los Angeles Raiders. Considered one of the fa ...

Dennis McKinnon Dennis Lewis McKinnon (born August 22, 1961) is an American former football wide receiver in the National Football League (NFL) for the Chicago Bears, Dallas Cowboys and Miami Dolphins. He played college football for the Florida State Seminoles ...

(signed as an

undrafted free agent In professional sports, a free agent is a player or manager who is eligible to sign with other clubs or franchises; i.e., not under contract to any specific team. The term is also used in reference to a player who is under a contract at present ...

by the Bears in 1983) would also play a key role in the receiving corps and

Jimbo Covert James Paul "Jimbo" Covert (born March 22, 1960) is an American former professional football player who was an offensive tackle in the National Football League (NFL) for eight seasons with the Chicago Bears. He played college football for the Pi ...

would help open bigger holes for

Walter Payton Walter Jerry Payton (July 25, 1953Although most sources at the time of his death gave Payton's birth year as 1954, reliable sources subsequently state he was born in 1953. – November 1, 1999) was an American professional American football, ...

but it was felt they were a few offensive lineman and a tight end away from being effective. The defense would be led by

All-Pro All-Pro is an honor bestowed upon professional American football players that designates the best player at each position during a given season. All-Pro players are typically selected by press organizations, who select an "All-Pro team," a list t ...

Dan Hampton Daniel Oliver Hampton (born September 19, 1957) is an American former professional football player who was a defensive tackle for twelve seasons with the Chicago Bears from 1979 to 1990 in the National Football League (NFL). He was elected to ...

and new defensive backs Mike Richardson and

Dave Duerson David Russell Duerson (November 28, 1960February 17, 2011) was an American professional football player who was a safety in the National Football League (NFL) for 11 seasons, primarily with the Chicago Bears. As a member of the Bears, he was se ...

. The Bears started 1983 by losing 7 of their first 10, but won 5 of their last 6 to finish 8–8. The Bears would go 71–18 in regular season games from November 13, 1983, through October 2, 1989.

Regular season

Schedule

Game summaries

Week 1: vs. Atlanta Falcons

Week 2 vs Tampa Bay Buccaneers

''CHI: Mike Hartenstine 2.0 sacks, Terry Schmidt INT''

Week 3: at New Orleans Saints

Week 4: at Baltimore Colts

Week 5: vs. Denver Broncos

Week 6: vs. Minnesota Vikings

Week 8: at Philadelphia Eagles

Week 9: vs. Detroit Lions

Week 11: vs. Philadelphia Eagles

Week 12: at Tampa Bay Buccaneers

Week 13: vs. San Francisco 49ers

Week 14: at Green Bay Packers

Week 15: at Minnesota Vikings

Pro-Football-Reference.com
Retrieved 2014-Mar-02.

Week 16 vs. Green Bay Packers

Standings

References

External links

1983 Chicago Bears Season at www.bearshistory.com
{{DEFAULTSORT:1983 Chicago Bears Season

Chicago Bears seasons

Chicago Chicago is the List of municipalities in Illinois, most populous city in the U.S. state of Illinois and in the Midwestern United States. With a population of 2,746,388, as of the 2020 United States census, 2020 census, it is the List of Unite ...