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NFL team season
The Bears playing against the Philadelphia Eagles in the famous Fog Bowl divisional playoff game.
The 1988
Washington Redskins
.
The Bears won 12 games and lost 4, tying for the best record in the league with the Buffalo Bills and the AFC Champion Cincinnati Bengals . They earned home field advantage in the NFC. However, the Bears failed to advance to the Super Bowl XXIII as one of the top two seeds for a third straight season, falling to the eventual Super Bowl champion San Francisco 49ers 28–3, in the NFC Championship Game at Soldier Field . This was the second time that the 49ers and Bears had met for a trip to the Super Bowl during the decade, with the 49ers previously defeating the Bears in the 1984 NFC Championship Game on their way to Super Bowl XIX .
Coach Mike Ditka suffered a heart attack during the season, but was back on the sidelines 11 days later. Ditka was named coach of the year for the second time in his career. 1988 also marked Jim McMahon 's last season as starter for the Bears, as he was traded during the following offseason to the San Diego Chargers .
1988 Chicago Bears draft choices
Undrafted free agents
1988 Undrafted Free Agents of note
Player
Position
College
Richard Ehmke
Kicker
Eastern Illinois
Roster
1988 Team Starters
Offense
9 Jim McMahon QB
35 Neal Anderson RB
26 Matt Suhey FB
85 Dennis McKinnon WR/PR
29 Dennis Gentry WR/KR
80 James Thornton TE
73 John Wojciechowski LT
62 Mark Bortz LG
63 Jay Hilgenberg C
57 Tom Thayer RG
78 Keith Van Horne RT
Defense
90 Al Harris LDE
76 Steve McMichael LDT
99 Dan Hampton RDT
95 Richard Dent RDE
59 Ron Rivera LB
50 Mike Singletary LB
51 Jim Morrissey LB
27 Mike Richardson LCB
24 Vestee Jackson RCB
22 Dave Duerson SS
37 Maurice Douglass FS
6 Kevin Butler K
15 Bryan Wagner P
Final roster
1988 Chicago Bears final roster
Quarterbacks
Running backs
Wide receivers
Tight ends
Offensive linemen
Defensive linemen
Linebackers
Defensive backs
Special teams
Reserve lists
21 IR Tooltip Injured reserve )
68 IR Tooltip Injured reserve )
95 IR Tooltip Injured reserve )
23 IR Tooltip Injured reserve )
9 IR Tooltip Injured reserve )
72 IR Tooltip Injured reserve )
30 IR Tooltip Injured reserve )
39 IR Tooltip Injured reserve )
55 IR Tooltip Injured reserve )
-- IR Tooltip Injured reserve )
Rookies in italics
47 active, 10 inactive
Regular season
Schedule
Week
Date
Opponent
Result
Attendance
1
September 4, 1988
Miami Dolphins
W 34–7
63,330
2
September 11, 1988
at Indianapolis Colts
W 17–13
60,503
3
September 18, 1988
Minnesota Vikings
L 31–7
63,990
4
September 25, 1988
at Green Bay Packers
W 24–6
56,492
5
October 2, 1988
Buffalo Bills
W 24–3
62,793
6
October 9, 1988
at Detroit Lions
W 24–7
64,526
7
October 16, 1988
Dallas Cowboys
W 17–7
64,759
8
October 24, 1988
San Francisco 49ers
W 10–9
65,293
9
October 30, 1988
at New England Patriots
L 30–7
60,821
10
November 6, 1988
Tampa Bay Buccaneers
W 28–10
56,892
11
November 13, 1988
at Washington Redskins
W 34–14
52,418
12
November 20, 1988
at Tampa Bay Buccaneers
W 27–15
67,070
13
November 27, 1988
Green Bay Packers
W 16–0
62,026
14
December 5, 1988
at Los Angeles Rams
L 23–3
65,579
15
December 11, 1988
Detroit Lions
W 13–12
55,010
16
December 19, 1988
at Minnesota Vikings
L 28–27
62,067
Game summaries
Week 1
1
2 3 4 Total
Dolphins
7
0 0 0
7
• Bears
14
14 0 6
34
Date: September 4Location: Chicago, Illinois
Game start: 12:00 p.m. Game weather: 66 °F (19 °C) • Wind 16 mph (26 km/h)Referee: Pat HaggertyTV announcers (NBC): Dick Enberg and Merlin Olsen
[1]
Week 4
1
2 3 4 Total
• Bears
0
17 0 7
24
Packers
6
0 0 0
6
Date: September 25Location: EST
Game weather: 58 °F (14 °C); wind 10 mph (16 km/h)Referee: Tom DooleyTelevision network: CBS
Scoring summary Q1 GB Fullwood 2 yard run (kick failed)GB 6–0
Q2 CHI Anderson 45 yard run (Butler kick)CHI 7–6
Q2 CHI Anderson 4 yard run (Butler kick) CHI 14–6
Q2 CHI Butler 35 yard field goal CHI 17–6
Q4 CHI Sanders 5 yard run (Butler kick)CHI 24–6
[2]
Week 13
1
2 3 4 Total
Packers
0
0 0 0
0
• Bears
7
0 7 2
16
Date: November 27Location: EST
Game weather: 43 °F (6 °C); wind 20 mph (32 km/h)Referee: Pat HaggertyTV announcers (CBS): Pat Summerall and John Madden
Scoring summary Q1 CHI Anderson 1 yard run (Butler kick)CHI 7–0
Q3 CHI Anderson 80 yard run (Butler kick) CHI 14–0
Q4 CHI Safety, Majkowski stepped out of end zone CHI 16–0
[3]
Standings
[4]
Playoffs
In the divisional playoffs, the Bears defeated the Philadelphia Eagles in the Fog Bowl , earning their first postseason victory since Super Bowl XX . A week later, Chicago was routed 28–3 by the San Francisco 49ers . This was the Bears' last appearance in the NFC Championship Game until 2006 .
Divisional
1
2 3 4 Total
Eagles
3
6 3 0
12
• Bears
7
10 0 3
20
Date: December 31Location:
Scoring summary 1 CHI Dennis McKinnon 64-yard pass from Mike Tomczak (Kevin Butler kick)Bears 7–0
1 PHI Luis Zendejas 42-yard field goalBears 7–3
2 PHI Luis Zendejas 29-yard field goal Bears 7–6
2 CHI Neal Anderson 4-yard run (Kevin Butler kick)Bears 14–6
2 CHI Kevin Butler 46-yard field goal Bears 17–6
2 PHI Luis Zendejas 30-yard field goal Bears 17–9
3 PHI Luis Zendejas 35-yard field goal Bears 17–12
4 CHI Kevin Butler 27-yard field goal Bears 20–12
[5]
NFC Championship
1
2 3 4 Total
• 49ers
7
7 7 7
28
Bears
0
3 0 0
3
Date: January 8Location: Soldier Field • Chicago, IllinoisGame start: 4:00 p.m.
Awards and records
References
Franchise Records Stadiums Culture Lore Rivalries Minor league affiliates
, 1939–1941)
Wichita Aero Commandos (1942)
AFL
, 1946)
Bloomfield Cardinals (AFL
, 1947)
AFL
, 1948–1950)
Quad City Mohawks (MWPFL , 1970–1972)
Retired numbers Key personnel Division championships (21) Conference championships (4) League championships (9) Media
Broadcasters
Radio:
Personnel:
Television:
WFLD (pre-season and most regular season games through Fox , official pre-game and post-game alternate)
Marquee Sports Network (official post-game and in-season programming)
Personnel:
Lou Canellis (gameday television host, pre-season sideline reporter)
Adam Amin (pre-season play-by-play)
Jim Miller (pre-season analyst)
Current league affiliations
Formerly the Decatur Staleys (1920) and the Chicago Staleys (1921)
Bold indicates
(1966–present) appearance
External links