1992 Chicago Bears season

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The 1992 Chicago Bears season was their 73rd regular season completed in the National Football League (NFL). The Bears were looking to get back into the playoffs for a third straight year and improve on their 11–5 2nd place finish in the NFC Central Division. The Bears started the season with a 4–3 record but ended up losing eight of their remaining nine games, including six straight, and finished a disappointing 5–11, tied for last in the NFC Central with the Detroit Lions and Tampa Bay Buccaneers (the Bucs finished third, the Bears fourth and the Lions fifth based upon conference winning percentage). The Bears' poor record resulted in Head Coach Mike Ditka being fired on January 5, 1993 after eleven seasons.^[1] Dave Wannstedt, who was serving as the Dallas Cowboys' defensive coordinator, was hired to take his place. Ditka teams went 106–62, and made the playoffs in seven out of 11 seasons since 1982, including a win in Super Bowl XX in 1985, with what is considered the best defense of all time. He would return to coaching in 1997 as a head coach of the New Orleans Saints.

Additionally; this would mark the final season for future Hall of Fame middle linebacker Mike Singletary.

Offseason

Additions	Subtractions
LS Mark Rodenhauser (Chargers)	RB Johnny Bailey (Cardinals)
	G Jay Hilgenberg^[2] (Browns)
	T Ron Mattes (Colts)

NFL draft

Round	Pick	Player	Position	College
1992 Chicago Bears draft
1	22	Alonzo Spellman	Defensive end	Ohio State
2	49	Troy Auzenne	Offensive tackle	California
3	80	Jeremy Lincoln	Cornerback	Tennessee
4	107	Will Furrer	Quarterback	Virginia Tech
5	134	Todd Harrison	Tight end	North Carolina State
6	161	Mark Berry	Defensive back	Texas
7	192	John Brown	Wide receiver	Houston
9	246	Mirko Jurkovic	Guard	Notre Dame
10	273	Nikki Fisher	Running back	Virginia
11	304	Louis Age	Offensive tackle	Louisiana–Lafayette
12	331	Chris Wilson	Linebacker	Oklahoma
Made roster † Pro Football Hall of Fame * Made at least one Pro Bowl during career

^[3]

Undrafted free agents

1992 Undrafted Free Agents of note
Player	Position	College
Tyrone Ashley	Running back	Ole Miss
Kelly Blackwell	Tight end	TCU
Mark Bounds	Punter	Texas Tech
Jim Deter	Defensive tackle	Penn State
Jeff Ireland	Kicker	Baylor
Walter Jones	Wide Receiver	Duke
Brendan Lynch	Linebacker	Wisconsin
Marcus Mickel	Wide receiver	Virginia Tech
David Nobbe	Tackle	Indianapolis
Ed O’Bradovich	Linebacker	Michigan State
Marlon Primous	Safety	Illinois
Jim Schwantz	Linebacker	Purdue
Travis Talton	Running back	UW–Whitewater
Gene Thomas	Wide receiver	Maryland

Staff

**1992 Chicago Bears staff**
	Front office Chairman of the Board – Ed McCaskey President and Chief Executive Officer – Michael McCaskey Vice President of Player Personnel – Bill Tobin Director of Finance – Ted Phillips Assistant Director of Player Personnel – Rod Graves Head coaches Head Coach – Mike Ditka Offensive coaches Offensive Coordinator – Greg Landry Running backs – Johnny Roland Wide receivers – Vic Rapp Tight ends – Steve Kazor Offensive Line – Dick Stanfel			Defensive coaches Defensive Coordinator – Vince Tobin Defensive Line – John Levra Linebackers – Dave McGinnis Defensive backs – Zaven Yaralian Special teams coaches Special Teams – Danny Abramowicz Strength and conditioning Strength Coordinator –Clyde Emrich Physical Development Coordinator – Russ Riederer

Final roster

**1992 Chicago Bears final roster**

	Quarterbacks 2 Will Furrer 4 Jim Harbaugh 10 Peter Tom Willis Running backs 35 Neal Anderson 44 Bob Christian FB 31 Mark Green KR 33 Darren Lewis KR 25 Brad Muster FB Wide receivers 82 Wendell Davis 29 Dennis Gentry KR 81 Anthony Morgan 83 Eric Wright Tight ends 89 Kelly Blackwell 85 Keith Jennings		Offensive linemen 79 Louis Age T 70 Troy Auzenne T 62 Mark Bortz G 67 Jerry Fontenot C 58 Jay Leeuwenburg C 57 Tom Thayer G 60 Stan Thomas T 78 Keith Van Horne T 73 John Wojciechowski G Defensive linemen 93 Trace Armstrong DE 95 Richard Dent DE 76 Steve McMichael DT 72 William Perry DT 96 Tim Ryan DE 90 Alonzo Spellman DE 71 James Williams DT 97 Chris Zorich DT		Linebackers 54 Ron Cox OLB 51 Jim Morrissey OLB 59 Ron Rivera OLB 55 John Roper OLB 65 Jim Schwantz OLB 50 Mike Singletary MLB Defensive backs 20 Mark Carrier FS 37 Maurice Douglass CB 24 Richard Fain CB 23 Shaun Gayle SS 36 Markus Paul SS 32 Lemuel Stinson CB 49 David Tate FS 21 Donnell Woolford CB Special teams 6 Kevin Butler K 17 Chris Gardocki P		Reserve lists 64 Mirko Jurkovic G (IRTooltip Injured reserve) 88 Glen Kozlowski WR (IRTooltip Injured reserve) 53 Dante Jones MLB (IRTooltip Injured reserve) 39 Jeremy Lincoln CB (IRTooltip Injured reserve) 26 John Mangum CB (IRTooltip Injured reserve) 84 Ron Morris WR (IRTooltip Injured reserve) 80 James Thornton TE (IRTooltip Injured reserve) 87 Tom Waddle WR/PR (IRTooltip Injured reserve) 86 Barry Wagner WR (IRTooltip Injured reserve) Rookies in italics 47 active, 9 inactive

^[4]

Regular season

Schedule

Week	Date	Opponent	Result	Attendance
1	September 6, 1992	Detroit Lions	W 27–24	63,672
2	September 13, 1992	at New Orleans Saints	L 28–6	68,591
3	September 21, 1992	New York Giants	L 27–14	63,444
4	September 27, 1992	Atlanta Falcons	W 41–31	63,528
5	October 4, 1992	at Minnesota Vikings	L 21–20	60,992
6	Bye
7	October 18, 1992	Tampa Bay Buccaneers	W 31–14	61,412
8	October 25, 1992	at Green Bay Packers	W 30–10	59,435
9	November 2, 1992	Minnesota Vikings	L 38–10	61,257
10	November 8, 1992	Cincinnati Bengals	L 31–28	56,120
11	November 15, 1992	at Tampa Bay Buccaneers	L 20–17	69,102
12	November 22, 1992	Green Bay Packers	L 17–3	56,170
13	November 29, 1992	at Cleveland Browns	L 27–14	73,578
14	December 7, 1992	at Houston Oilers	L 24–7	62,193
15	December 13, 1992	Pittsburgh Steelers	W 30–6	52,904
16	December 20, 1992	at Detroit Lions	L 16–3	72,777
17	December 27, 1992	at Dallas Cowboys	L 27–14	63,101

Game summaries

Week 8: at Green Bay Packers

Chicago Bears at Green Bay Packers

	1	2	3	4	Total
• Bears	3	17	3	7	30
Packers	0	10	0	0	10

Date: Sunday, October 25
Location: Lambeau Field, Green Bay, Wisconsin
Game start: 12:00 p.m. CST
Television network: CBS

Source: Pro-Football-Reference.com

Scoring summary

1	Bears	Kevin Butler 18-yard field goal	Bears 3–0

2	Packers	Chris Jacke 51-yard field goal	Tie 3–3

2	Bears	Brad Muster 1-yard run (Kevin Butler kick)	Bears 10–3

2	Bears	Keith Jennings 4-yard pass from Jim Harbaugh (Kevin Butler kick)	Bears 17–3

2	Packers	Sterling Sharpe 10-yard pass from Brett Favre (Chris Jacke kick)	Bears 17–10

2	Bears	Kevin Butler 30-yard field goal	Bears 20–10

3	Bears	Kevin Butler 21-yard field goal	Bears 23–10

4	Bears	Darren Lewis 30-yard run (Kevin Butler kick)	Bears 30–10

Week 15 vs Steelers

Week Fifteen: Pittsburgh Steelers (10–3) at Chicago Bears (4–9)

Period	1	2	3	4	Total
Steelers	0	3	0	3	6
Bears	3	10	7	10	30

at Soldier Field, Chicago, Illinois

Date: December 13, 1992
Game time: 1:00 p.m. EST
Game weather: 34 °F (1 °C)
Game attendance: 52, 904
Referee: Gerald Austin
TV announcers (NBC): Marv Albert and Bill Parcells
Pro-Football-Reference, The Football Database

Game information

First quarter

CHI – Kevin Butler 37-yard field goal, 3:40. Bears 3–0. Drive:

Second quarter

CHI – Darren Lewis 3-yard run (Kevin Butler kick), 6:27. Bears 10–0. Drive:
CHI – Kevin Butler 26-yard field goal, 0:50. Bears 13–0. Drive:
PIT – Gary Anderson 38-yard field goal, 0:08. Bears 13–3. Drive:

Third quarter

CHI – Neal Anderson 15-yard pass from Jim Harbaugh (Kevin Butler kick), 6:20. Bears 20–3. Drive:

Fourth quarter

CHI – Kevin Butler 38-yard field goal, 13:35. Bears 23–3. Drive:
PIT – Gary Anderson 38-yard field goal, 10:05. Bears 23–6. Drive:
CHI – Neal Anderson 6-yard run (Kevin Butler kick), 3:02. Bears 30–6. Drive:

Top passers

PIT – Bubby Brister – 14/31, 143 yards, 2 INT
CHI – Jim Harbaugh – 11/21, 90 yards, TD

Top rushers

PIT – Barry Foster – 12 rushes, 25 yards
CHI – Neal Anderson – 11 rushes, 56 yards, TD

Top receivers

PIT – Adrian Cooper – 3 receptions, 58 yards
CHI – Wendell Davis – 3 receptions, 41 yards

Mike Singletary's final home game. It was the Bears' only win in their final nine games.

Standings

NFC Central
view talk edit	W	L	T	PCT	DIV	CONF	PF	PA	STK
⁽³⁾ Minnesota Vikings	11	5	0	.688	7–1	8–4	374	249	W2
Green Bay Packers	9	7	0	.563	4–4	6–6	276	296	L1
Tampa Bay Buccaneers	5	11	0	.313	3–5	5–9	267	365	W1
Chicago Bears	5	11	0	.313	3–5	4–8	295	361	L2
Detroit Lions	5	11	0	.313	3–5	3–9	273	332	L1

References

^ Cahill, Dan (January 5, 2016). "The Bears fired Mike Ditka 23 years ago today". Chicago Sun-Times. Retrieved May 12, 2021.
^ "1992 NFL Transactions. Trades - August". National Football League. Retrieved December 3, 2020.
^ "1992 Chicago Bears draftees". Pro-Football-Reference.com. Retrieved November 1, 2014.
^ "1992 Chicago Bears starters and roster". Pro-Football-Reference.com. Retrieved November 1, 2014.

External links

Wikiquote has quotations related to 1992 Chicago Bears season.

1992 Chicago Bears at Pro-Football-Reference.com

v t e Chicago Bears
Founded in 1919 Formerly the Decatur Staleys (1919–1920) and the Chicago Staleys (1921) Based in Chicago, Illinois Headquartered in Lake Forest, Illinois
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Key personnel	Principal owner: Virginia Halas McCaskey Chairman: George McCaskey President/CEO: Kevin Warren General manager: Ryan Poles Head coach: Matt Eberflus
Division championships (21)	1933 1934 1937 1940 1941 1942 1943 1946 1956 1963 1984 1985 1986 1987 1988 1990 2001 2005 2006 2010 2018
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v t e Chicago Bears seasons
Formerly the Decatur Staleys (1920) and the Chicago Staleys (1921)
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Bold indicates NFL Championship (1920–69) or Super Bowl (1966–present) victory Italics indicates NFL Championship (1920–69) or Super Bowl (1966–present) appearance

1992 NFL season

East	Central	West	East	Central	West
Buffalo	Cincinnati	Denver	Dallas	Chicago	Atlanta
Indianapolis	Cleveland	Kansas City	NY Giants	Detroit	LA Rams
Miami	Houston	LA Raiders	Philadelphia	Green Bay	New Orleans
New England	Pittsburgh	San Diego	Phoenix	Minnesota	San Francisco
NY Jets		Seattle	Washington	Tampa Bay