2002 Chicago Bears season

2002 Chicago Bears season
2002 Chicago Bears season
Owner	The McCaskey Family
General manager	Jerry Angelo
Head coach	Dick Jauron
Home stadium	Memorial Stadium; (Champaign, Illinois)
Results
Record	4–12
Division place	3rd NFC North
Playoffs	Did not qualify
All-Pros	LB Brian Urlacher (1st team)
Pro Bowlers	Marty Booker; Olin Kreutz; Brian Urlacher
	← 2001; Bears seasons; 2003 →;

The 2002 season was the Chicago Bears' 83rd in the National Football League (NFL) and their fourth under head coach Dick Jauron.

OwnerThe McCaskey Family

General managerJerry Angelo

Head coachDick Jauron

Home stadiumMemorial Stadium
(Champaign, Illinois)

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The team had hopes of returning to the playoffs after an unexpected 13–3 season the previous year, However, the team failed to improve on that record and finished with a 4–12 record and missed the postseason for the second time in three years. The Bears had problems on both sides of the ball, finishing 27th in the league in points scored and 23rd in points allowed.^[1] The Bears began the season 2–0, but things quickly fell apart as the team fell into an eight-game losing streak, including a loss at home to the New England Patriots where, despite having a 27–6 lead at some point, the Patriots came back and won the game late in the fourth quarter. After this, the Bears never recovered, finishing 4–12 and in third place in their division, the newly aligned NFC North.

With Soldier Field being rebuilt, the Bears opted to play all of their home games Downstate in Champaign, at Memorial Stadium on the campus of the University of Illinois.^[2] The arrangement was similar to the one made by the newly-relocated Tennessee Oilers five years earlier, in that the Bears continued to be based in Chicago and travelled to Champaign (a two-hour drive to the southwest) only for games, essentially consigning themselves to playing sixteen games on the road. This was the first time since their move out of Wrigley Field that they didn't play home games at Soldier Field.

While (unlike the 1997 Oilers) the venture was reasonably successful at the box office, with the Bears drawing more than 50,000 fans to every game in Champaign and more than 60,000 to all but two games, the Bears never seemed to get used to their "new" home field. Injuries piled up as the season went on for both offense and defense. Starting quarterback Jim Miller was injured throughout the year, leaving the team no choice but to use backup Chris Chandler and rookie third-string quarterback Henry Burris for both spot relief and as starters. 2001 NFL Offensive Rookie of the Year Anthony Thomas suffered a broken right index finger in Week 15 against the Green Bay Packers.^[3] These injuries and the league's 23rd worst turnover differential contributed to the team's franchise record-tying eight-game losing streak and their poor record.^[4]

[1]

[2]

[3]

[4]

Signings	Departures
QB Chris Chandler (Falcons)	QB Shane Matthews (Redskins)
DB Damon Moore (Eagles)	RB James Allen (Texans)
LB Mike Caldwell (Eagles)	WR D'Wayne Bates (Vikings)
DT Christian Peter (Colts)	T Blake Brockermeyer (Broncos)
	CB Walt Harris (Colts)
	FS Tony Parrish (49ers)

Round	Pick	Player	Position	College
2002 Chicago Bears draft
1	29	Marc Colombo	Offensive tackle	Boston College
3	72	Roosevelt Williams	Cornerback	Tuskegee
3	93	Terrence Metcalf	Guard	Ole Miss
4	104	Alex Brown	Defensive end	Florida
5	140	Bobby Gray	Safety	Louisiana Tech
5	165	Bryan Knight	Linebacker	Pittsburgh
6	199	Adrian Peterson	Running back	Georgia Southern
6	203	Jamin Elliott	Wide receiver	Delaware
6	210	Bryan Fletcher	Tight end	UCLA
Made roster † Pro Football Hall of Fame * Made at least one Pro Bowl during career

Player	Position	College
Luke Butkus	Center	Illinois
Travis Coleman	Defensive back	Hampton
Mike Collins	Guard	Wake Forest
Curry Dawson	Defensive tackle	Angelo State
Jerris Evans	Wide receiver	Missouri Western State
Steve Fitts	Punter	Illinois
Jeff Grzeskowiak	Tackle	Akron
Maurice Hicks	Running back	North Carolina A&T
Rodney Jones	Defensive tackle	UAB
Kiah Johnson	Linebacker	Texas A&M–Kingsville
Brad Lewis	Quarterback	West Virginia
Tony Lukins	Cornerback	New Mexico State
Eric McCoo	Running back	Penn State
Edell Shepherd	Wide receiver	San Jose State
Adrian Singleton	Safety	UAB
Dave Volk	Tackle	Nebraska

Week	Date	Opponent	Result	Record	Venue	NFL.com recap
1	August 10	Denver Broncos	L 3–27	0–1	Memorial Stadium	Summary
2	August 16	St. Louis Rams	W 19–17	1–1	Edward Jones Dome	Summary
3	August 23	Jacksonville Jaguars	L 16–24	1–2	Memorial Stadium	Summary
4	August 29	Miami Dolphins	L 22–24	1–3	Pro Player Stadium	Summary

Week	Date	Opponent	Result	Record	Venue	NFL.com recap
1	September 8	Minnesota Vikings	W 27–23	1–0	Memorial Stadium	Summary
2	September 15	at Atlanta Falcons	W 14–13	2–0	Georgia Dome	Summary
3	September 22	New Orleans Saints	L 23–29	2–1	Memorial Stadium	Summary
4	September 29	at Buffalo Bills	L 27–33 (OT)	2–2	Ralph Wilson Stadium	Summary
5	October 7	Green Bay Packers	L 21–34	2–3	Memorial Stadium	Summary
6	Bye
7	October 20	at Detroit Lions	L 20–23 (OT)	2–4	Ford Field	Summary
8	October 27	at Minnesota Vikings	L 7–25	2–5	Hubert H. Humphrey Metrodome	Summary
9	November 3	Philadelphia Eagles	L 13–19	2–6	Memorial Stadium	Summary
10	November 10	New England Patriots	L 30–33	2–7	Memorial Stadium	Summary
11	November 18	at St. Louis Rams	L 16–21	2–8	Edward Jones Dome	Summary
12	November 24	Detroit Lions	W 20–17 (OT)	3–8	Memorial Stadium	Summary
13	December 1	at Green Bay Packers	L 20–30	3–9	Lambeau Field	Summary
14	December 9	at Miami Dolphins	L 9–27	3–10	Pro Player Stadium	Summary
15	December 15	New York Jets	W 20–13	4–10	Memorial Stadium	Summary
16	December 22	at Carolina Panthers	L 14–24	4–11	Ericsson Stadium	Summary
17	December 29	Tampa Bay Buccaneers	L 0–15	4–12	Memorial Stadium	Summary

2002 Chicago Bears season

Offseason

2002 expansion draft

Draft

Undrafted free agents

Training camp

Staff

Roster

Preseason

Regular season

Schedule

Game summaries

Week 1: vs. Minnesota Vikings

Week 2: at Atlanta Falcons

Week 3: vs. New Orleans Saints

Week 4: at Buffalo Bills

Week 5: vs. Green Bay Packers

Week 7: at Detroit Lions

Week 8: at Minnesota Vikings

Week 9: vs. Philadelphia Eagles

Week 10: vs. New England Patriots

Week 11: at St. Louis Rams

Week 12: vs. Detroit Lions

Week 13: at Green Bay Packers

Week 14: at Miami Dolphins

Week 15: vs. New York Jets

Week 16: at Carolina Panthers

Week 17: Tampa Bay Buccaneers

Standings

Division

Conference

References

External links

Related Articles

NFC North
view talk edit	W	L	T	PCT	DIV	CONF	PF	PA	STK
⁽³⁾ Green Bay Packers	12	4	0	.750	5–1	9–3	398	328	L1
Minnesota Vikings	6	10	0	.375	4–2	5–7	390	442	W3
Chicago Bears	4	12	0	.250	2–4	3–9	281	379	L2
Detroit Lions	3	13	0	.188	1–5	3–9	306	451	L8

NFC v t e
#	Team	Division	W	L	T	PCT	DIV	CONF	SOS	SOV
Division leaders
1^[a]	Philadelphia Eagles	East	12	4	0	.750	5–1	11–1	.469	.432
2^[a]^[b]	Tampa Bay Buccaneers	South	12	4	0	.750	4–2	9–3	.482	.432
3^[a]^[b]	Green Bay Packers	North	12	4	0	.750	5–1	9–3	.451	.414
4	San Francisco 49ers	West	10	6	0	.625	5–1	8–4	.504	.450
Wild Cards
5	New York Giants	East	10	6	0	.625	5–1	8–4	.482	.450
6	Atlanta Falcons	South	9	6	1	.594	4–2	7–5	.494	.429
Did not qualify for the postseason
7	New Orleans Saints	South	9	7	0	.563	3–3	7–5	.498	.566
8^[c]	St. Louis Rams	West	7	9	0	.438	4–2	5–7	.508	.446
9^[c]	Seattle Seahawks	West	7	9	0	.438	2–4	5–7	.506	.433
10^[d]	Washington Redskins	East	7	9	0	.438	1–5	4–8	.527	.438
11^[d]	Carolina Panthers	South	7	9	0	.438	1–5	4–8	.486	.357
12	Minnesota Vikings	North	6	10	0	.375	4–2	5–7	.498	.417
13^[e]	Arizona Cardinals	West	5	11	0	.313	1–5	5–7	.500	.400
14^[e]	Dallas Cowboys	East	5	11	0	.313	1–5	3–9	.500	.475
15	Chicago Bears	North	4	12	0	.250	2–4	3–9	.521	.430
16	Detroit Lions	North	3	13	0	.188	1–5	3–9	.494	.375
Tiebreakers^[f]
[a] Philadelphia finished ahead of Tampa Bay and Green Bay based on conference record (11–1 vs 9–3/9–3). [b] Tampa Bay finished ahead of Green Bay based on head-to-head victory. [c] St. Louis finished ahead of Seattle based on division record (4–2 to 2–4). [d] Washington finished ahead of Carolina based on common games (2–3 to 1–4) [e] Arizona finished ahead of Dallas based on head-to-head victory. [f] When breaking ties for three or more teams under the NFL's rules, they are first broken within divisions, then comparing only the highest-ranked remaining team from each division.

Quarter	1	2	3	4	Total
Vikings	3	17	0	3	23
Bears	7	3	3	14	27

Quarter	1	2	3	4	Total
Bears	0	7	7	0	14
Falcons	0	10	3	0	13

Quarter	1	2	3	4	Total
Saints	0	14	7	8	29
Bears	10	10	0	3	23

Quarter	1	2	3	4	OT	Total
Bears	7	7	3	10	0	27
Bills	7	10	3	7	6	33