1982 Chicago Bears season

The 1982 season was the Chicago Bears' strike shortened 63rd season in the National Football League, and their first under head coach Mike Ditka. The team failed to improve on their 6–10 record from 1981 to finish at 3–6 and failed to make the playoffs for the third consecutive season.

1982 Chicago Bears season
OwnerGeorge Halas
General managerJim Finks
Head coachMike Ditka (1st season)
Home fieldSoldier Field
Results
Record3–6
Division place12th NFC
Playoff finishDid not qualify
Pro Bowlers
AP All-Pros

The strike also prevented the Bears–Packers rivalry from being played this year, making the Lions–Packers rivalry the longest-running annual series in the league.

Offseason

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Transactions

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Signings

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After the draft, the Bears signed 2 undrafted free agents, linebacker Dan Rains from Cincinnati and running back Calvin Thomas of Illinois.[3]

1982 NFL Draft

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1982 Chicago Bears draft
Round Pick Player Position College Notes
1 5 Jim McMahon *  Quarterback Brigham Young
3 62 Tim Wrightman  Tight end UCLA
4 89 Dennis Gentry  Running back Baylor
5 116 Perry Hartnett  Offensive tackle Southern Methodist
5 134 Dennis Tabron  Defensive back Duke
6 146 Kurt Becker  Guard Michigan
7 173 Henry Waechter  Defensive tackle Nebraska
8 200 Jerry Doerger  Tackle Wisconsin
9 230 Mike Hatchett  Defensive back Texas
10 257 Joe Turner  Defensive back USC
11 283 Guy Boliaux  Linebacker Wisconsin
12 313 Ricky Young  Linebacker Oklahoma State
      Made roster    †   Pro Football Hall of Fame    *   Made at least one Pro Bowl during career

Roster

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1982 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

Reserve

Rookies in italics

Regular season

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Schedule

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Week Date Opponent Result Record Venue Attendance
1 September 12 at Detroit Lions L 10–17 0–1 Pontiac Silverdome 71,337
2 September 19 New Orleans Saints L 0–10 0–2 Soldier Field 56,600
September 26 at San Francisco 49ers canceled 0–2 Candlestick Park 1982 NFL players strike
October 3 Minnesota Vikings canceled 0–2 Soldier Field
October 10 Green Bay Packers canceled 0–2 Soldier Field
October 17 at St. Louis Cardinals canceled 0–2 Busch Memorial Stadium
October 24 Tampa Bay Buccaneers canceled 0–2 Soldier Field
October 31 at Green Bay Packers canceled 0–2 Lambeau Field
November 7 Atlanta Falcons canceled 0–2 Soldier Field
November 14 at Tampa Bay Buccaneers postponed 0–2 Tampa Stadium
3 November 21 Detroit Lions W 20–17 1–2 Soldier Field 46,783
4 November 28 at Minnesota Vikings L 7–35 1–3 Hubert H. Humphrey Metrodome 54,724
5 December 5 New England Patriots W 26–13 2–3 Soldier Field 36,973
6 December 12 at Seattle Seahawks L 14–20 2–4 Kingdome 52,826
7 December 19 St. Louis Cardinals L 7–10 2–5 Soldier Field 43,270
8 December 26 at Los Angeles Rams W 34–26 3–5 Anaheim Stadium 46,502
9 January 2, 1983 at Tampa Bay Buccaneers L 23–26 (OT) 3–6 Tampa Stadium 68,112
Note: Intra-division opponents are in bold text.

Standings

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NFC Central
W L T PCT DIV CONF PF PA STK
Green Bay Packers(3) 5 3 1 .611 1–2 4–2 226 169 L1
Minnesota Vikings(4) 5 4 0 .556 3–1 4–1 158 178 W3
Tampa Bay Buccaneers(7) 5 4 0 .556 2–1 3–3 158 178 W1
Detroit Lions(8) 4 5 0 .444 3–3 4–4 181 176 W1
Chicago Bears 3 6 0 .333 1–3 2–5 141 174 L1
# Team W L T PCT PF PA STK
Seeded postseason qualifiers
1 Washington Redskins 8 1 0 .889 190 128 W4
2 Dallas Cowboys 6 3 0 .667 226 145 L2
3 Green Bay Packers 5 3 1 .611 226 169 L1
4[a] Minnesota Vikings 5 4 0 .556 187 198 W1
5[a] Atlanta Falcons 5 4 0 .556 183 199 L2
6[a] St. Louis Cardinals 5 4 0 .556 135 170 L1
7[a] Tampa Bay Buccaneers 5 4 0 .556 158 178 W3
8[b] Detroit Lions 4 5 0 .444 181 176 W1
Did not qualify for the postseason
9[b] New Orleans Saints 4 5 0 .444 129 160 W1
10[b] New York Giants 4 5 0 .444 164 160 W1
11[c] San Francisco 49ers 3 6 0 .333 209 206 L1
12[c] Chicago Bears 3 6 0 .333 141 174 L1
13[c] Philadelphia Eagles 3 6 0 .333 191 195 L1
14 Los Angeles Rams 2 7 0 .222 200 250 W1
Tiebreakers
  1. ^ a b c d Minnesota (4–1), Atlanta (4–3), St. Louis (5–4), Tampa Bay (3–3) seeds were determined by best won-lost record in conference games.
  2. ^ a b c Detroit finished ahead of New Orleans and the N.Y. Giants based on best conference record (4–4 to Saints’ 3–5 to Giants’ 3–5).
  3. ^ a b c San Francisco finished ahead of Chicago, and Chicago finished ahead of Philadelphia, based on conference record (49ers’ 2–3 to Bears’ 2–5 to Eagles’ 1–5).

References

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  1. ^ "1982 NFL Pro Bowlers". Pro-Football-Reference.com.
  2. ^ "1982 NFL All-Pros". Pro-Football-Reference.com.
  3. ^ Taylor, Roy. "1982 Chicago Bears". Bearshistory.com.