1978 Chicago Bears season

NFL team season August 2023 March 2026 Chicago Bears 1978 7–9 4th NFC Central Neill Armstrong Jim Finks George Halas Soldier Field Did not qualify Bears seasons The 1978 season was the Chicago Bears' 59th in the National Football League, and their first 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. Offseason NFL draft 1978 NFL draft 1978 Chicago Bears 3 74 Brad Shearer Defensive tackle Texas yes 6 139 John Skibinski Running back Purdue yes 6 158 Mekeli Ieremia Defensive end BYU no 7 185 Herman Jones Wide receiver Ohio State no 8 212 George Freitas Tight end California no 9 244 Mike Martin Linebacker Kentucky no 10 271 Ben Zambiasi Linebacker Georgia no 11 298 Walt Underwood Defensive end USC no 12 325 Lew Sibley Linebacker LSU no no no Undrafted free agents + 1978 undrafted free agents of notePlayerPositionCollegeReggie ArnoldWide receiverPurdueRick HansingCenterBemidji StateMike MorganRunning backWisconsinJack SteptoeWide receiverUtahMike UlmerDefensive backDoane Roster 1978 Chicago Bears 45 6  7 Bob Avellini  8 Vince Evans 15 Mike Phipps 25 Art Best 39 Robin Earl 35 Roland Harper 34 Walter Payton 30 John Skibinski y 84 Brian Baschnagel 83 Golden Richards 85 Steve Schubert 89 James Scott gridiron football 87 Mike Cobb 88 Greg Latta 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 53 Tommy Hart DE 73 Mike Hartenstine DE 74 Jerry Meyers American football DE 68 Jim Osborne defensive tackle DT 82 Alan Page DT 76 Ron Rydalch DT 72 Brad Shearer y DT 55 Doug Buffone OLB 59 Gary Campbell linebacker OLB 50 Chris Devlin OLB 51 Bruce Herron OLB 58 Jerry Muckensturm OLB 57 Don Rives MLB 45 Gary Fencik SS 36 Wentford Gaines CB 24 Virgil Livers CB 46 Doug Plank FS 47 Mike Spivey American football CB 44 Terry Schmidt CB 23 Len Walterscheid FS 86 Bob Parsons American football P 16 Bob Thomas K -- Waymond Bryant LB IR 48 Allan Ellis American football CB IR 38 George Freitas y TE IR 54 Tom Hicks American football LB IR 22 Johnny Musso RB IR 83 Steve Rivera WR IR Schedule Week Date Opponent Result Record Venue Attendance 1 September 3 St. Louis Cardinals W 17–10 1–0 Soldier Field 52,791 2 September 10 at San Francisco 49ers W 16–13 2–0 Candlestick Park 49,502 3 September 17 at Detroit Lions W 19–0 3–0 Pontiac Silverdome 65,982 4 September 25 Minnesota Vikings L 20–24 3–1 Soldier Field 53,551 5 October 1 Oakland Raiders L 19–25 3–2 Soldier Field 52,848 6 October 8 at Green Bay Packers L 14–24 3–3 Lambeau Field 56,267 7 October 16 at Denver Broncos L 7–16 3–4 Mile High Stadium 75,008 8 October 22 at Tampa Bay Buccaneers L 19–33 3–5 Tampa Stadium 68,146 9 October 29 Detroit Lions L 17–21 3–6 Soldier Field 53,378 10 November 5 Seattle Seahawks L 29–31 3–7 Soldier Field 50,697 11 November 12 at Minnesota Vikings L 14–17 3–8 Metropolitan Stadium 43,286 12 November 19 Atlanta Falcons W 13–7 4–8 Soldier Field 46,022 13 November 26 Tampa Bay Buccaneers W 14–3 5–8 Soldier Field 42,373 14 December 4 at San Diego Chargers L 7–40 5–9 San Diego Stadium 48,492 15 December 10 Green Bay Packers W 14–0 6–9 Soldier Field 34,306 16 December 16 at Washington Redskins W 14–10 7–9 RFK Stadium 49,774 Note: Intra-division opponents are in bold text. 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. Bears 3 3 3 7 49ers 7 3 0 3 September 10 Candlestick Park, San Francisco, California 1:00 p.m. 64 F, wind 13 mph on Dick Jorgensen Frank Glieber Johnny Morris CBS yes 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 yes Pro-Football-Reference.com Week 3 Television: CBS Announcers: Tim Ryan and Johnny Morris Chicago scored three times in about four minutes in the third quarter, including a 40-yard touchdown pass from Bob Avellini to James Scott as the Bears go 3–0 to stay in first place and extend their regular season winning streak to 9. The third quarter scoring barrage began with a 28-yard field goal by Bob Thomas at 10:41. Less than Three minutes later Tommy Hart tackled quarterback Greg Landry in the end zone for a safety. Then the Bears wrapped up the scoring with Avellini's 40-yard bomb to wide receiver James Scott over the head of cornerback James Hunter. Week 6 at Packers Chicago Bears 1978 2; text-align:center collapsed Week Six: Chicago Bears (3–2) at Green Bay Packers (4–1) October 8 2:00 p.m. Bears 0 0 0 14 Packers 0 3 14 7 Lambeau Field, Green Bay, Wisconsin 56,267 40 F C Box Score First quarter No scoring Second quarter GB – Chester Marcol 41-yard field goal. Packers 3–0. Third quarter GB – Terdell Middleton 2-yard run (Chester Marcol kick). Packers 10–0. GB – Steve Luke 63-yard interception return (Chester Marcol kick). Packers 17–0. Fourth quarter CHI – James Scott 15-yard pass from Bob Avellini (Bob Thomas kick). Packers 17–7. GB – James Lofton 58-yard pass from David Whitehurst (Chester Marcol kick). Packers 24–7. CHI – James Scott 17-yard pass from Bob Avellini (Bob Thomas kick). Packers 24–14. Top passers CHI – Bob Avellini – 23/37, 224 yards, 2 TD, 3 INT GB – David Whitehurst – 6/12, 88 yards, TD Top rushers CHI – Walter Payton – 19 rushes, 82 yards GB – Terdell Middleton – 16 rushes, 64 yards, TD Top receivers CHI – James Scott – 9 receptions, 113 yards, 2 TD GB – James Lofton – 2 receptions, 65 yards, TD Week 16 Bears 7 0 7 0 Redskins 0 3 0 7 December 16 RFK Stadium • Washington, D.C. 1:00 p.m. EST 46 F • Wind 11 mph on yes 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 yes Pro-Football-Reference.com Standings References Chicago Bears Category:Chicago Bears seasons Chicago Bears Category:Long stubs with short prose Category:1978 in Chicago