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The 1983 Chicago Bears season was their 64th regular season completed in the National Football League . The club posted an 8–8 record under second year head coach Mike Ditka , but missed postseason play. Jim McMahon was the quarterback, who completed 175 of 295 pass attempts. The Bears 1983 NFL Draft class was ranked #3 in NFL Top 10 ' s greatest draft classes.[3]
1983 NFL Draft
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 , Dennis McKinnon (signed as an undrafted free agent by the Bears in 1983) and Jimbo Covert would help open bigger holes for Walter Payton 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 Dan Hampton and new defensive backs Mike Richardson and Dave Duerson .[4] 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.
Schedule
Week
Date
Opponent
Result
Attendance
1
September 4, 1983
Atlanta Falcons
L 20–17
60,165
2
September 11, 1983
Tampa Bay Buccaneers
W 17–10
58,186
3
September 18, 1983
at New Orleans Saints
L 34–31
64,692
4
September 25, 1983
at Baltimore Colts
L 22–19
34,350
5
October 2, 1983
Denver Broncos
W 31–14
58,210
6
October 9, 1983
Minnesota Vikings
L 23–14
59,632
7
October 16, 1983
at Detroit Lions
L 31–17
66,709
8
October 23, 1983
at Philadelphia Eagles
W 7–6
45,263
9
October 30, 1983
Detroit Lions
L 38–17
58,764
10
November 6, 1983
at Los Angeles Rams
L 21–14
53,010
11
November 13, 1983
Philadelphia Eagles
W 17–14
47,524
12
November 20, 1983
at Tampa Bay Buccaneers
W 27–0
36,816
13
November 27, 1983
San Francisco 49ers
W 13–3
40,483
14
December 4, 1983
at Green Bay Packers
L 31–28
51,147
15
December 11, 1983
at Minnesota Vikings
W 19–13
57,880
16
December 18, 1983
Green Bay Packers
W 23–21
35,807
Standings
Game summaries
Week 1: vs. Atlanta Falcons
Week 2
Period
1
2
3 4 Total
Buccaneers
0
3
7 0 10
Bears
0
10
0 7 17
at Soldier Field, Chicago, Illinois
Date : September 11Game time : 12:00 p.m.Game weather : 68°F, wind 11 mphReferee : Ben Dreith Box Score
CHI: Mike Hartenstine 2.0 sacks, Terry Schmidt INT
Scoring summary
Quarter
Time
Drive
Team
Scoring information
Score
Plays
Yards
TOP
Buccaneers
Bears
2
Buccaneers
20-yard field goal by Bill Capece
3
0
2
Bears
Walter Payton 73-yard touchdown reception from Jim McMahon, Bob Thomas kick good
3
7
2
Bears
50-yard field goal by Bob Thomas
3
10
3
Buccaneers
James Owens 1-yard touchdown run, Bob Capece kick good
10
10
4
Bears
Terry Schmidt 32-yard interception return, Bob Thomas kick good
10
17
"TOP" = time of possession . For other American football terms, see Glossary of American football .
10
17
Week 3: at New Orleans Saints
Week 4: at Baltimore Colts
Week 5: vs. Denver Broncos
Period
1
2
3 4 Total
Broncos
0
0
7 7 14
Bears
14
10
0 7 31
at Soldier Field, Chicago, Illinois
Week 8: at Philadelphia Eagles
Week 9: vs. Detroit Lions
Period
1
2
3 4 Total
Lions
14
3
14 7 38
Bears
0
3
0 14 17
at Soldier Field, Chicago, Illinois
Week 11: vs. Philadelphia Eagles
Period
1
2
3 4 Total
Eagles
7
0
7 0 14
Bears
0
14
0 3 17
at Soldier Field, Chicago, Illinois
Week 12: at Tampa Bay Buccaneers
Week 13: vs. San Francisco 49ers
Period
1
2
3 4 Total
49ers
3
0
0 0 3
Bears
3
7
3 0 13
at Soldier Field, Chicago, Illinois
Week 14: at Green Bay Packers
Week 15
1
2 3 4 Total
• Bears
10
6 0 3
19
Vikings
6
0 7 0
13
[5]
Week 16
1
2 3 4 Total
Packers
7
7 0 7
21
• Bears
7
0 7 9
23
Scoring summary 1 Bears Willie Gault 35-yard pass from Jim McMahon (Bob Thomas kick)Bears 7–0
1 Packers Lynn Dickey 1-yard run (Jan Stenerud kick)Tie 7–7
2 Packers James Lofton 31-yard pass from Lynn Dickey (Jan Stenerud kick)Packers 14–7
3 Bears Dennis McKinnon 22-yard pass from Jim McMahon (Bob Thomas kick)Tie 14–14
4 Bears Jim McMahon 6-yard run (run failed) Bears 20–14
4 Packers Paul Coffman 5-yard pass from Lynn Dickey (Jan Stenerud kick)Packers 21–20
4 Bears Bob Thomas 22-yard field goal Bears 23–21
Roster and staff
Staff
Coaching Staff of 1983 season
Front office
Coaches
Position coaches
Trainers
Scouts
Roster
Complete Roster of 1983 season
Quarterbacks
Offensive backs
Receivers
Tight ends
Kickers
Offensive line
Defensive line
Linebackers
Cornerbacks
Defensive backs
Safeties
Reserve Lists
Rookies in italics
Depth chart
References
External links
Franchise Records Stadiums Culture Lore Rivalries Minor league affiliates Retired numbers Key personnel Division championships (21) Conference championships (4) League championships (9) Media
Broadcasters
Radio:
Personnel:
Television:
WFLD (pre-season and most regular season games through Fox , official pre-game and post-game alternate)
Marquee Sports Network (official post-game and in-season programming)
Personnel:
Lou Canellis (gameday television host, pre-season sideline reporter)
Adam Amin (pre-season play-by-play)
Jim Miller (pre-season analyst)
Current league affiliations
Formerly the Decatur Staleys (1920) and the Chicago Staleys (1921)