1992 Chicago Bears season
NFL team 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, second-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).
| 1992 Chicago Bears season | |
|---|---|
| Head coach | Mike Ditka |
| Home stadium | Soldier Field |
| Results | |
| Record | 5–11 |
| Division place | 4th NFC Central |
| Playoffs | Did not qualify |
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's Bears teams went a cumulative 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 one of the best defenses in NFL history. He would return to coaching in 1997 as 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
| 1992 Chicago Bears draft | |||||
| Round | Pick | Player | Position | College | Notes |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 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 | |||||
Undrafted free agents
| Player | Position | College |
|---|---|---|
| Tyrone Ashley | Running back | Ole Miss |
| Kelly Blackwell | Tight end | TCU |
| Mark Bounds | Punter | Texas Tech |
| Charles Boyce | Cornerback | Sam Houston State |
| Jim Deter | Defensive tackle | Penn State |
| Maxie Graham | Defensive end | Western Illinois |
| Jeff Ireland | Kicker | Baylor |
| Darron Johnson | Wide receiver | Angelo State |
| Eric Johnson | Defensive end | Stephen F. Austin |
| Walter Jones | Wide Receiver | Duke |
| Brendan Lynch | Linebacker | Wisconsin |
| Marcus Mickel | Wide receiver | Virginia Tech |
| Peyton Minter | Defensive end | Purdue |
| David Nobbe | Tackle | Indianapolis |
| Ed O’Bradovich | Linebacker | Michigan State |
| Marlon Primous | Safety | Illinois |
| Alex Rankin | Guard/Long Snapper | Angelo State |
| Jim Schwantz | Linebacker | Purdue |
| Travis Talton | Running back | UW–Whitewater |
| Robert Taylor | Fullback | Mississippi College |
| Gene Thomas | Wide receiver | Maryland |
| John Wiley | Safety | Auburn |
| Arnie Williams | Linebacker | Southern Miss |
Staff
|
Front office
Head coaches
Offensive coaches
|
Defensive coaches
Special teams coaches
Strength and conditioning
|
Final roster
Regular season
Schedule
| Week | Date | Opponent | Result | Attendance | |||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | September 6 | Detroit Lions | W 27–24 | 63,672 | |||
| 2 | September 13 | at New Orleans Saints | L 6–28 | 68,591 | |||
| 3 | September 21 | New York Giants | L 14–27 | 63,444 | |||
| 4 | September 27 | Atlanta Falcons | W 41–31 | 63,528 | |||
| 5 | October 4 | at Minnesota Vikings | L 20–21 | 60,992 | |||
| 6 | Bye | ||||||
| 7 | October 18 | Tampa Bay Buccaneers | W 31–14 | 61,412 | |||
| 8 | October 25 | at Green Bay Packers | W 30–10 | 59,435 | |||
| 9 | November 2 | Minnesota Vikings | L 10–38 | 61,257 | |||
| 10 | November 8 | Cincinnati Bengals | L 28–31 | 56,120 | |||
| 11 | November 15 | at Tampa Bay Buccaneers | L 17–20 | 69,102 | |||
| 12 | November 22 | Green Bay Packers | L 3–17 | 56,170 | |||
| 13 | November 29 | at Cleveland Browns | L 14–27 | 73,578 | |||
| 14 | December 7 | at Houston Oilers | L 7–24 | 62,193 | |||
| 15 | December 13 | Pittsburgh Steelers | W 30–6 | 52,904 | |||
| 16 | December 20 | at Detroit Lions | L 3–16 | 72,777 | |||
| 17 | December 27 | at Dallas Cowboys | L 14–27 | 63,101 | |||
Game summaries
Week 8: at Green Bay Packers
| Team | 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
| 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
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 | ||
|---|---|---|
|
Mike Singletary's final home game. It was the Bears' only win in their final nine games.
Standings
| NFC Central | |||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 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 |
