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 club of the league's National Football Conference (NFC) North division. The Bears have won nine NF ...

' 64th in the

National Football League The National Football League (NFL) is a professional American football league that consists of 32 teams, divided equally between the American Football Conference (AFC) and the National Football Conference (NFC). The NFL is one of the ...

, and their second under

head coach A head coach, senior coach or manager is a professional at training and developing athletes. They typically hold a more public profile and are paid more than other coaches. In some sports, the head coach is instead called the "manager", as in assoc ...

Mike Ditka Michael Keller Ditka (born Michael Dyczko; October 18, 1939) is an American former football player, coach, and television commentator. A member of both the College (1986) and the Pro (1988) Football Halls of Fame, he was UPI NFL Rookie of Year i ...

. 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 a former American football quarterback who played in the National Football League (NFL) for 15 seasons, most notably with the Chicago Bears. McMahon played college football at BYU, where he wa ...

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 She ...

class was ranked #3 in ''

NFL Top 10 The National Football League (NFL) is a professional American football league that consists of 32 teams, divided equally between the American Football Conference (AFC) and the National Football Conference (NFC). The NFL is one of the major ...

''s greatest draft classes.

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 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 f ...

Dennis McKinnon Dennis Lewis McKinnon (born August 22, 1961) is a former professional American football wide receiver in the National Football League for the Chicago Bears and the Dallas Cowboys. McKinnon played college football at Florida State University an ...

(signed as an

undrafted free agent In professional sports, a free agent is a player 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 contract at present but who is a ...

by the Bears in 1983) 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 during the 1980s and early 1990s. Covert played college foot ...

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 football running back who played ...

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 th ...

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

and new defensive backs Mike Richardson and Dave Duerson. 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 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. Packers

Standings

Roster and staff

Staff

Roster

References

External links

1983 Chicago Bears Season at www.bearshistory.com

Chicago Bears seasons

Chicago (''City in a Garden''); I Will , image_map = , map_caption = Interactive Map of Chicago , coordinates = , coordinates_footnotes = , subdivision_type = Country , subdivision_name ...

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