# 1991 Chicago Bears season

The 1991 Chicago Bears season was their 72nd regular season and 21st postseason completed in the National Football League (NFL). The Bears returned to the playoffs for a second consecutive season as one of three NFC Wild Cards, finishing with an 11–5 record and in second place in the NFC Central. They were beaten 17–13 by the Dallas Cowboys in their first playoff game. This was Mike Ditka's last playoff game as a head coach.

## Offseason
### NFL draft

1991 Chicago Bears draft :
| Round | Pick | Player | Position | College |
| 1 | 22 | Stan Thomas | Offensive tackle | Texas |
| 2 | 49 | Chris Zorich | Defensive tackle | Notre Dame |
| 3 | 78 | Chris Gardocki * | Punter | Clemson |
| 4 | 105 | Joe Johnson | Cornerback | North Carolina State |
| 5 | 134 | Anthony Morgan | Wide receiver | Tennessee |
| 6 | 161 | Darren Lewis | Running back | Texas A&M |
| 7 | 190 | Paul Justin | Quarterback | Arizona State |
| 8 | 217 | Larry Horton | Defensive back | Texas A&M |
| 9 | 245 | Mike Stonebreaker | Linebacker | Notre Dame |
| 10 | 272 | Tom Backes | Defensive end | Oklahoma |
| 11 | 301 | Stacy Long | Guard | Clemson |
| 12 | 328 | John Cook | Defensive tackle | Washington |
| Made roster * Made at least one Pro Bowl during career ||||||

### Undrafted free agents

1991 Undrafted Free Agents of note :
| Player | Position | College |
| Scott Asman | Tight end | West Chester |
| Sean Beckton | Wide receiver | UCF |
| Richard Booker | Linebacker | TCU |
| Peter Brantley | Linebacker | Oregon |
| Sean Brown | Wide receiver | Wake Forest |
| Nigel Codrington | Wide receiver | Rice |
| Tim Cross | Fullback | Tennessee State |
| Anthony Cummings | Wide receiver | Louisville |
| Ron Ferguson | Cornerback | Texas Tech |
| Tre Giller | Tackle | SMU |
| John Hardy | Cornerback | California |
| Eric Ihnat | Tight end | Marshall |
| Michael Johnson | Wide receiver | Sacramento State |
| Tim Lance | Safety | Eastern Illinois |
| Steve Montgomery | Fullback | Michigan State |
| Patrick Moore | Defensive end | Cal Poly |
| Quintin Parker | Safety | Illinois |
| Chris Reed | Guard | SW Missouri State |
| Charles Rowe | Linebacker | Texas Tech |
| Eric Wenckowski | Center | Northern Illinois |
| John Wiley | Safety | Auburn |
| James Williams | Defensive tackle | Cheyney |
| Eric Wright | Wide receiver | Stephen F. Austin |

## Preseason

| Week | Date | Opponent | Result | Record | Venue | Attendance |
| 1 | July 26 | at Miami Dolphins | W 6–0 | 1–0 | Joe Robbie Stadium | 49,939 |
| 2 | August 3 | vs. San Francisco 49ers | L 7–21 | 1–1 | Olympiastadion (Berlin) | 66,876 |
| 3 | August 11 | Phoenix Cardinals | L 10–12 | 1–2 | Soldier Field | 55,513 |
| 4 | August 17 | at Los Angeles Raiders | L 10–13 | 1–3 | Los Angeles Memorial Coliseum | 35,538 |
| 5 | August 24 | Buffalo Bills | W 30–13 | 2–3 | Soldier Field | 57,435 |

## Regular season
### Schedule

| Week | Date | Opponent | Result | Record | Venue | Attendance |
| 1 | September 1 | Minnesota Vikings | W 10–6 | 1–0 | Soldier Field | 64,112 |
| 2 | September 8 | at Tampa Bay Buccaneers | W 21–20 | 2–0 | Tampa Stadium | 65,625 |
| 3 | September 15 | New York Giants | W 20–17 | 3–0 | Soldier Field | 64,829 |
| 4 | September 23 | New York Jets | W 19–13 (OT) | 4–0 | Soldier Field | 65,255 |
| 5 | September 29 | at Buffalo Bills | L 20–35 | 4–1 | Rich Stadium | 80,366 |
| 6 | October 6 | Washington Redskins | L 7–20 | 4–2 | Soldier Field | 64,941 |
| 7 | Bye | Bye | Bye | Bye | Bye | Bye |
| 8 | October 17 | at Green Bay Packers | W 10–0 | 5–2 | Lambeau Field | 58,435 |
| 9 | October 27 | at New Orleans Saints | W 20–17 | 6–2 | Louisiana Superdome | 68,591 |
| 10 | November 3 | Detroit Lions | W 20–10 | 7–2 | Soldier Field | 57,281 |
| 11 | November 11 | at Minnesota Vikings | W 34–17 | 8–2 | Hubert H. Humphrey Metrodome | 59,001 |
| 12 | November 17 | at Indianapolis Colts | W 31–17 | 9–2 | Hoosier Dome | 60,519 |
| 13 | November 24 | Miami Dolphins | L 13–16 (OT) | 9–3 | Soldier Field | 58,288 |
| 14 | November 28 | at Detroit Lions | L 6–16 | 9–4 | Pontiac Silverdome | 78,879 |
| 15 | December 8 | Green Bay Packers | W 27–13 | 10–4 | Soldier Field | 62,353 |
| 16 | December 14 | Tampa Bay Buccaneers | W 27–0 | 11–4 | Soldier Field | 54,719 |
| 17 | December 23 | at San Francisco 49ers | L 14–52 | 11–5 | Candlestick Park | 60,419 |
| Note: Intra-division opponents are in bold text. |||||||

### Game summaries
#### Week 1: vs. Minnesota Vikings

| Quarter | 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | Total |
| Vikings | 3 | 0 | 3 | 0 | 6 |
| Bears | 0 | 7 | 0 | 3 | 10 |
at Soldier Field, Chicago, Illinois
* Date: September 1
* Game time: 3:00 p.m. CST
* Game weather: Mostly sunny, 68 °F (20 °C)
* Game attendance: 64,112
* Referee: Tom Dooley (6)
* TV announcers (CBS): Verne Lundquist and John Madden
* Box score, Game Book
Game information :
First quarter
MIN – Fuad Reveiz 26-yard field goal, 5:50. Vikings 3–0. Drive: 13 plays, 72 yards, 5:50.
Second quarter
CHI – Tom Waddle 37-yard pass from Jim Harbaugh (Kevin Butler kick), 14:05. Bears 7–3. Drive: 10 plays, 98 yards, 5:38.
Third quarter
MIN – Fuad Reveiz 24-yard field goal, 9:31. Bears 7–6. Drive: 11 plays, 60 yards, 5:20.
Fourth quarter
CHI – Kevin Butler 22-yard field goal, 9:06. Bears 10–6. Drive: 10 plays, 45 yards, 5:58.
Top passers
MIN – Wade Wilson – 21/36, 248 yards, 3 INT
CHI – Jim Harbaugh – 17/24, 186 yards, TD
Top rushers
MIN – Herschel Walker – 20 rushes, 86 yards
CHI – Neal Anderson – 23 rushes, 58 yards
Top receivers
MIN – Steve Jordan – 8 receptions, 89 yards
CHI – Tom Waddle – 2 receptions, 48 yards, TD :

#### Week 10: vs. Detroit Lions

| Quarter | 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | Total |
| Lions | 0 | 10 | 0 | 0 | 10 |
| Bears | 3 | 0 | 10 | 7 | 20 |
at Soldier Field, Chicago, Illinois
* Date: November 3
* Game time: 12:00 p.m. CST
* Game weather: 18 °F (−8 °C)
* Game attendance: 57,281
* Referee: Bob McElwee
* TV announcers (CBS): Pat Summerall and John Madden
* Box score

### Standings

NFC Central :
| viewtalkedit | W | L | T | PCT | DIV | CONF | PF | PA | STK |
| $^{(2)}$ Detroit Lions | 12 | 4 | 0 | .750 | 6–2 | 8–4 | 339 | 295 | W6 |
| $^{(4)}$ Chicago Bears | 11 | 5 | 0 | .688 | 7–1 | 9–3 | 299 | 269 | L1 |
| Minnesota Vikings | 8 | 8 | 0 | .500 | 3–5 | 8–6 | 301 | 306 | L1 |
| Green Bay Packers | 4 | 12 | 0 | .250 | 3–5 | 3–9 | 273 | 313 | W1 |
| Tampa Bay Buccaneers | 3 | 13 | 0 | .188 | 1–7 | 2–10 | 199 | 365 | W1 |

## Playoffs

| Round | Date | Opponent (seed) | Result | Record | Venue | Attendance |
| Wild Card | December 29 | Dallas Cowboys (5) | L 13–17 | 0–1 | Soldier Field | 62,594 |