2002 Chicago Bears season

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2002 Chicago Bears season
Owner
Memorial Stadium
(Champaign, Illinois)
Results
Record4–12
Division place3rd NFC North
Playoff finishDid not qualify
Pro BowlersMarty Booker
Olin Kreutz
Brian Urlacher[1]
AP All-ProsLB Brian Urlacher (1st team)

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

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

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.

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

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]

Offseason

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)

2002 Expansion Draft

Chicago Bears selected during the Expansion Draft
Round Overall Name Position Expansion Team
17 Danny Wuerffel Quarterback Houston Texans

Draft

Round Overall pick Player Position College
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

[5]

Undrafted free agents

2002 Undrafted Free Agents of note
Player Position College
Luke Butkus Center Illinois
Travis Coleman Defensive back Hampton
Eric McCoo Running back Penn State
Edell Shepherd Wide receiver San Jose State

Training camp

2002 marked the first Bears Training Camp at

Rockford College in Rockford; and the Chanute Air Force Base near Rantoul, where the Illinois Fighting Illini held their offseason camps.[6]

The list was eventually narrowed to Eastern Illinois, Millikin, Northern Illinois, and Olivet Nazarene. On July 17, 2001, the Bears announced Olivet Nazarene as the new Training Camp site on a two-year deal.[7]

Staff

2002 Chicago Bears staff

Front office

Head coaches

Offensive coaches

Defensive coaches

Special teams coaches

Strength and conditioning

  • Physical development coordinator – Russ Riederer
  • Assistant physical development coordinator – Steve Little

Roster

2002 Chicago Bears final roster
Quarterbacks

Running backs

Wide receivers

Tight ends

Offensive linemen

Defensive linemen

Linebackers

Defensive backs

Special teams

Reserve lists


Practice squad


Rookies in italics
53 active, 14 inactive, 5 practice squad

Preseason

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

Regular season

Schedule

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

Game summaries

Week 1: vs. Minnesota Vikings

Week 1: Minnesota Vikings at Chicago Bears
Period 1 2 34Total
Vikings 3 17 0323
Bears 7 3 31427

at Memorial Stadium, Champaign, Illinois

  • Date: September 8, 2002
  • Game time: 1:00 p.m.
  • Game weather: Partly Cloudy, 85 °F (29 °C)
  • Game attendance: 63,226
  • Referee:
    FOX
  • Recap, Game Book
Game information

Week 2: at Atlanta Falcons

Game information

Week 3: vs. New Orleans Saints

Game information

Week 4: at Buffalo Bills

Game information

Week 5: vs. Green Bay Packers

Week 5: Green Bay Packers at Chicago Bears
Period 1 2 34Total
Packers 14 10 7334
Bears 7 7 0721

at Memorial Stadium, Champaign, Illinois

Game information

Week 7: at Detroit Lions

Week 7: Chicago Bears at Detroit Lions
Period 1 2 34OTTotal
Bears 0 10 100020
Lions 0 14 33323

at

Detroit, Michigan

  • Date: October 20, 2002
  • Game time: 1:00 p.m.
  • Game weather: none (indoor stadium)
  • Game attendance: 60,421
  • Referee:
    FOX
  • Recap, Game Book
Game information