# 1992 Chicago Bears season

The 1992 Chicago Bears season was their 73rd regular season completed in the National Football League (NFL). The Bears were looking to get back into the playoffs for a third straight year and improve on their 11–5 2nd place finish in the NFC Central Division. The Bears started the season with a 4–3 record but ended up losing eight of their remaining nine games, including six straight, and finished a disappointing 5–11, tied for last in the NFC Central with the Detroit Lions and Tampa Bay Buccaneers (the Bucs finished third, the Bears fourth and the Lions fifth based upon conference winning percentage). The Bears' poor record resulted in Head Coach Mike Ditka being fired on January 5, 1993 after eleven seasons. Dave Wannstedt, who was serving as the Dallas Cowboys' defensive coordinator, was hired to take his place. Ditka teams went 106–62, and made the playoffs in seven out of 11 seasons since 1982, including a win in Super Bowl XX in 1985, with what is considered the best defense of all time. He would return to coaching in 1997 as a head coach of the New Orleans Saints.
Additionally; this would mark the final season for future Hall of Fame middle linebacker Mike Singletary.

## Offseason

| Additions | Subtractions |
| LS Mark Rodenhauser (Chargers) | RB Johnny Bailey (Cardinals) |
| | G Jay Hilgenberg (Browns) |
| | T Ron Mattes (Colts) |

### NFL draft

1992 Chicago Bears draft :
| Round | Pick | Player | Position | College |
| 1 | 22 | Alonzo Spellman | Defensive end | Ohio State |
| 2 | 49 | Troy Auzenne | Offensive tackle | California |
| 3 | 80 | Jeremy Lincoln | Cornerback | Tennessee |
| 4 | 107 | Will Furrer | Quarterback | Virginia Tech |
| 5 | 134 | Todd Harrison | Tight end | North Carolina State |
| 6 | 161 | Mark Berry | Defensive back | Texas |
| 7 | 192 | John Brown | Wide receiver | Houston |
| 9 | 246 | Mirko Jurkovic | Guard | Notre Dame |
| 10 | 273 | Nikki Fisher | Running back | Virginia |
| 11 | 304 | Louis Age | Offensive tackle | Louisiana–Lafayette |
| 12 | 331 | Chris Wilson | Linebacker | Oklahoma |
| Made roster † Pro Football Hall of Fame * Made at least one Pro Bowl during career ||||||

### Undrafted free agents

1992 Undrafted Free Agents of note :
| Player | Position | College |
| Tyrone Ashley | Running back | Ole Miss |
| Kelly Blackwell | Tight end | TCU |
| Mark Bounds | Punter | Texas Tech |
| Charles Boyce | Cornerback | Sam Houston State |
| Jim Deter | Defensive tackle | Penn State |
| Maxie Graham | Defensive end | Western Illinois |
| Jeff Ireland | Kicker | Baylor |
| Darron Johnson | Wide receiver | Angelo State |
| Eric Johnson | Defensive end | Stephen F. Austin |
| Walter Jones | Wide Receiver | Duke |
| Brendan Lynch | Linebacker | Wisconsin |
| Marcus Mickel | Wide receiver | Virginia Tech |
| Peyton Minter | Defensive end | Purdue |
| David Nobbe | Tackle | Indianapolis |
| Ed O’Bradovich | Linebacker | Michigan State |
| Marlon Primous | Safety | Illinois |
| Alex Rankin | Guard/Long Snapper | Angelo State |
| Jim Schwantz | Linebacker | Purdue |
| Travis Talton | Running back | UW–Whitewater |
| Robert Taylor | Fullback | Mississippi College |
| Gene Thomas | Wide receiver | Maryland |
| John Wiley | Safety | Auburn |
| Arnie Williams | Linebacker | Southern Miss |

## Regular season
### Schedule

| Week | Date | Opponent | Result | Attendance |
| 1 | September 6, 1992 | Detroit Lions | W 27–24 | 63,672 |
| 2 | September 13, 1992 | at New Orleans Saints | L 28–6 | 68,591 |
| 3 | September 21, 1992 | New York Giants | L 27–14 | 63,444 |
| 4 | September 27, 1992 | Atlanta Falcons | W 41–31 | 63,528 |
| 5 | October 4, 1992 | at Minnesota Vikings | L 21–20 | 60,992 |
| 6 | Bye | Bye | Bye | Bye |
| 7 | October 18, 1992 | Tampa Bay Buccaneers | W 31–14 | 61,412 |
| 8 | October 25, 1992 | at Green Bay Packers | W 30–10 | 59,435 |
| 9 | November 2, 1992 | Minnesota Vikings | L 38–10 | 61,257 |
| 10 | November 8, 1992 | Cincinnati Bengals | L 31–28 | 56,120 |
| 11 | November 15, 1992 | at Tampa Bay Buccaneers | L 20–17 | 69,102 |
| 12 | November 22, 1992 | Green Bay Packers | L 17–3 | 56,170 |
| 13 | November 29, 1992 | at Cleveland Browns | L 27–14 | 73,578 |
| 14 | December 7, 1992 | at Houston Oilers | L 24–7 | 62,193 |
| 15 | December 13, 1992 | Pittsburgh Steelers | W 30–6 | 52,904 |
| 16 | December 20, 1992 | at Detroit Lions | L 16–3 | 72,777 |
| 17 | December 27, 1992 | at Dallas Cowboys | L 27–14 | 63,101 |

### Game summaries
#### Week 8: at Green Bay Packers

| | 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | Total |
| • Bears | 3 | 17 | 3 | 7 | 30 |
| Packers | 0 | 10 | 0 | 0 | 10 |

#### Week 15 vs Steelers

| Quarter | 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | Total |
| Steelers | 0 | 3 | 0 | 3 | 6 |
| Bears | 3 | 10 | 7 | 10 | 30 |
at Soldier Field, Chicago, Illinois
* Date: December 13, 1992
* Game time: 1:00 p.m. EST
* Game weather: 34 °F (1 °C)
* Game attendance: 52, 904
* Referee: Gerald Austin
* TV announcers (NBC): Marv Albert and Bill Parcells
* Pro-Football-Reference, The Football Database
Game information :
First quarter
CHI – Kevin Butler 37-yard field goal, 3:40. Bears 3–0. Drive:
Second quarter
CHI – Darren Lewis 3-yard run (Kevin Butler kick), 6:27. Bears 10–0. Drive:
CHI – Kevin Butler 26-yard field goal, 0:50. Bears 13–0. Drive:
PIT – Gary Anderson 38-yard field goal, 0:08. Bears 13–3. Drive:
Third quarter
CHI – Neal Anderson 15-yard pass from Jim Harbaugh (Kevin Butler kick), 6:20. Bears 20–3. Drive:
Fourth quarter
CHI – Kevin Butler 38-yard field goal, 13:35. Bears 23–3. Drive:
PIT – Gary Anderson 38-yard field goal, 10:05. Bears 23–6. Drive:
CHI – Neal Anderson 6-yard run (Kevin Butler kick), 3:02. Bears 30–6. Drive:
Top passers
PIT – Bubby Brister – 14/31, 143 yards, 2 INT
CHI – Jim Harbaugh – 11/21, 90 yards, TD
Top rushers
PIT – Barry Foster – 12 rushes, 25 yards
CHI – Neal Anderson – 11 rushes, 56 yards, TD
Top receivers
PIT – Adrian Cooper – 3 receptions, 58 yards
CHI – Wendell Davis – 3 receptions, 41 yards :
Mike Singletary's final home game. It was the Bears' only win in their final nine games.

### Standings

NFC Central :
| viewtalkedit | W | L | T | PCT | DIV | CONF | PF | PA | STK |
| $^{(3)}$ Minnesota Vikings | 11 | 5 | 0 | .688 | 7–1 | 8–4 | 374 | 249 | W2 |
| Green Bay Packers | 9 | 7 | 0 | .563 | 4–4 | 6–6 | 276 | 296 | L1 |
| Tampa Bay Buccaneers | 5 | 11 | 0 | .313 | 3–5 | 5–9 | 267 | 365 | W1 |
| Chicago Bears | 5 | 11 | 0 | .313 | 3–5 | 4–8 | 295 | 361 | L2 |
| Detroit Lions | 5 | 11 | 0 | .313 | 3–5 | 3–9 | 273 | 332 | L1 |