1978 Chicago Bears season

The 1978 season was the Chicago Bears' 59th in the National Football League, and their second under head coach Neill Armstrong. The team failed to improve on their 9–5 record from 1977 to finish at 7–9, and failed to make the playoffs for the 14th time in the past 15 seasons.

1978 Chicago Bears season
Owner	George Halas
Head coach	Neill Armstrong
General manager	Jim Finks
Home field	Soldier Field
Results
Record	7–9
Division place	4th NFC Central
Playoff finish	Did not qualify

Offseason

NFL Draft

Round	Pick	Player	Position	School/Club Team
3	74	Brad Shearer	Defensive tackle	Texas

Undrafted free agents

1978 Undrafted Free Agents of note

Player	Position	College
Mike Morgan	Running back	Wisconsin

Roster

1978 Chicago Bears final roster

	Quarterbacks 7 Bob Avellini 8 Vince Evans 15 Mike Phipps Running backs 25 Art Best 35 Roland Harper 34 Walter Payton 29 Mike Morgan 30 John Skibinski Wide receivers 84 Brian Baschnagel 83 Golden Richards 85 Steve Schubert 89 James Scott Tight ends 87 Mike Cobb 39 Robin Earl 88 Greg Latta		Offensive linemen 64 Ted Albrecht T 79 Lionel Antoine T 65 Noah Jackson G 62 Dan Jiggetts T 70 Dennis Lick T 63 Jon Morris C 52 Dan Neal C 75 Jeff Sevy G 69 Revie Sorey G Defensive linemen 53 Tommy Hart DE 73 Mike Hartenstine DE 68 Jim Osborne DT 82 Alan Page DT 76 Ron Rydalch DT 72 Brad Shearer DT		Linebackers 51 Doug Becker 55 Doug Buffone 59 Gary Campbell 50 Chris Devlin 54 Tom Hicks 58 Jerry Muckensturm 57 Don Rives Defensive backs 48 Allan Ellis CB 45 Gary Fencik SS 24 Virgil Livers CB 46 Doug Plank SS 47 Mike Spivey 23 Len Walterscheid Special teams 86 Bob Parsons P 16 Robert R. Thomas K		Reserve lists Practice squad Rookies in italics , 5 practice squad

Schedule

Week	Date	Opponent	Result	Attendance
1	September 3, 1978	St. Louis Cardinals	W 17–10	52,791
2	September 10, 1978	at San Francisco 49ers	W 16–13	49,502
3	September 17, 1978	at Detroit Lions	W 19–0	65,982
4	September 25, 1978	Minnesota Vikings	L 24–20	53,551
5	October 1, 1978	Oakland Raiders	L 25–19	52,848
6	October 8, 1978	at Green Bay Packers	L 24–14	56,267
7	October 16, 1978	at Denver Broncos	L 16–7	75,008
8	October 22, 1978	at Tampa Bay Buccaneers	L 33–19	68,146
9	October 29, 1978	Detroit Lions	L 21–17	53,378
10	November 5, 1978	Seattle Seahawks	L 31–29	50,697
11	November 12, 1978	at Minnesota Vikings	L 17–14	43,286
12	November 19, 1978	Atlanta Falcons	W 13–7	46,022
13	November 26, 1978	Tampa Bay Buccaneers	W 14–3	42,373
14	December 4, 1978	at San Diego Chargers	L 40–7	48,492
15	December 10, 1978	Green Bay Packers	W 14–0	34,306
16	December 16, 1978	at Washington Redskins	W 14–10	49,774

Game summaries

Week 2

"The 100 yards was nice, but it doesn't mean a thing since we lost." O.J. Simpson said after winning his first confrontation with Walter Payton. Simpson had 108 yards to Payton's 62. - But Simpson's fumble proved to be a pivotal one. He recovered the ball but lost 6 yards on the play, and the 49ers, leading by four points in the fourth quarter, had to go to the air to try to maintain possession. Doug Buffone then intercepts and Chicago wound up with the winning touchdown.

1 2 3 4 Total • Bears 3 3 3 7 16 49ers 7 3 0 3 13 Date: September 10 Location: Candlestick Park, San Francisco, California Game start: 1:00 p.m. Game weather: 64°F, wind 13 mph Referee: Dick Jorgensen TV announcers (CBS): Frank Glieber Johnny Morris

Scoring summary 1 CHI Bob Thomas 32 yard field goal Bears 3–0 1 SF O.J. Simpson 8 yard pass from Steve DeBerg (Ray Wersching kick) 49ers 7–3 2 CHI Bob Thomas 44 yard field goal 49ers 7–6 2 SF Ray Wersching 44 yard field goal 49ers 10–6 3 CHI Bob Thomas 38 yard field goal 49ers 10–9 4 SF Ray Wersching 27 yard field goal 49ers 13–9 4 CHI Roland Harper 1 yard run (Bob Thomas kick) Bears 16–13

[1]

Week 16

1 2 3 4 Total • Bears 7 0 7 0 14 Redskins 0 3 0 7 10 Date: December 16 Location: RFK Stadium • Washington, D.C. Game start: 1:00 p.m. EST Game weather: 46°F • Wind 11

Scoring summary 1 CHI Walter Payton 44-yard run (Bob Thomas kick) Bears 7–0 2 WSH Mark Moseley 33-yard field goal Bears 7–3 3 CHI Steve Schubert 73-yard punt return (Bob Thomas kick) Bears 14–3 4 WSH Jean Fugett 17-yard pass from Billy Kilmer (Mark Moseley kick) Bears 14–10

[2]

Standings

NFC Central
	W	L	T	PCT	DIV	CONF	PF	PA	STK
Minnesota Vikings^(3)	8	7	1	.531	5–2–1	7–4–1	294	306	L2
Green Bay Packers	8	7	1	.531	5–2–1	6–5–1	249	269	L2
Detroit Lions	7	9	0	.438	4–4	5–7	290	300	W2
Chicago Bears	7	9	0	.438	3–5	7–5	253	274	W2
Tampa Bay Buccaneers	5	11	0	.313	2–6	3–11	241	259	L4

References

1. Pro-Football-Reference.com
2. Pro-Football-Reference.com