# 1982 Chicago Bears season

The 1982 season was the Chicago Bears' strike shortened 63rd season in the National Football League, and their first under head coach Mike Ditka. The team failed to improve on their 6–10 record from 1981 to finish at 3–6 and failed to make the playoffs for the third consecutive season.
The strike also prevented the Bears–Packers rivalry from being played this year, making the Lions–Packers rivalry the longest-running annual series in the league.
This would be the final full season that George Halas was the Bears' owner, as he died during the following season on October 31, 1983 at the age of 88.

## Offseason
### Transactions
#### Signings

After the draft, the Bears signed 2 undrafted free agents, linebacker Dan Rains from Cincinnati and running back Calvin Thomas of Illinois.

### 1982 NFL Draft

1982 Chicago Bears draft :
| Round | Pick | Player | Position | College |
| 1 | 5 | Jim McMahon * | Quarterback | Brigham Young |
| 3 | 62 | Tim Wrightman | Tight end | UCLA |
| 4 | 89 | Dennis Gentry | Running back | Baylor |
| 5 | 116 | Perry Hartnett | Offensive tackle | Southern Methodist |
| 5 | 134 | Dennis Tabron | Defensive back | Duke |
| 6 | 146 | Kurt Becker | Guard | Michigan |
| 7 | 173 | Henry Waechter | Defensive tackle | Nebraska |
| 8 | 200 | Jerry Doerger | Tackle | Wisconsin |
| 9 | 230 | Mike Hatchett | Defensive back | Texas |
| 10 | 257 | Joe Turner | Defensive back | USC |
| 11 | 283 | Guy Boliaux | Linebacker | Wisconsin |
| 12 | 313 | Ricky Young | Linebacker | Oklahoma State |
| Made roster † Pro Football Hall of Fame * Made at least one Pro Bowl during career ||||||

## Regular season
### Schedule

| Week | Date | Opponent | Result | Record | Venue | Attendance |
| 1 | September 12 | at Detroit Lions | L 10–17 | 0–1 | Pontiac Silverdome | 71,337 |
| 2 | September 19 | New Orleans Saints | L 0–10 | 0–2 | Soldier Field | 56,600 |
| | September 26 | at San Francisco 49ers | canceled | 0–2 | Candlestick Park | 1982 NFL players strike |
| | October 3 | Minnesota Vikings | canceled | 0–2 | Soldier Field | 1982 NFL players strike |
| | October 10 | Green Bay Packers | canceled | 0–2 | Soldier Field | 1982 NFL players strike |
| | October 17 | at St. Louis Cardinals | canceled | 0–2 | Busch Memorial Stadium | 1982 NFL players strike |
| | October 24 | Tampa Bay Buccaneers | canceled | 0–2 | Soldier Field | 1982 NFL players strike |
| | October 31 | at Green Bay Packers | canceled | 0–2 | Lambeau Field | 1982 NFL players strike |
| | November 7 | Atlanta Falcons | canceled | 0–2 | Soldier Field | 1982 NFL players strike |
| | November 14 | at Tampa Bay Buccaneers | postponed | 0–2 | Tampa Stadium | 1982 NFL players strike |
| 3 | November 21 | Detroit Lions | W 20–17 | 1–2 | Soldier Field | 46,783 |
| 4 | November 28 | at Minnesota Vikings | L 7–35 | 1–3 | Hubert H. Humphrey Metrodome | 54,724 |
| 5 | December 5 | New England Patriots | W 26–13 | 2–3 | Soldier Field | 36,973 |
| 6 | December 12 | at Seattle Seahawks | L 14–20 | 2–4 | Kingdome | 52,826 |
| 7 | December 19 | St. Louis Cardinals | L 7–10 | 2–5 | Soldier Field | 43,270 |
| 8 | December 26 | at Los Angeles Rams | W 34–26 | 3–5 | Anaheim Stadium | 46,502 |
| 9 | January 2, 1983 | at Tampa Bay Buccaneers | L 23–26 (OT) | 3–6 | Tampa Stadium | 68,112 |
| Note: Intra-division opponents are in bold text. |||||||

## Standings

NFC Central :
| viewtalkedit | W | L | T | PCT | DIV | CONF | PF | PA | STK |
| Green Bay Packers$^{(3)}$ | 5 | 3 | 1 | .611 | 1–2 | 4–2 | 226 | 169 | L1 |
| Minnesota Vikings$^{(4)}$ | 5 | 4 | 0 | .556 | 3–1 | 4–1 | 158 | 178 | W3 |
| Tampa Bay Buccaneers$^{(7)}$ | 5 | 4 | 0 | .556 | 2–1 | 3–3 | 158 | 178 | W1 |
| Detroit Lions$^{(8)}$ | 4 | 5 | 0 | .444 | 3–3 | 4–4 | 181 | 176 | W1 |
| Chicago Bears | 3 | 6 | 0 | .333 | 1–3 | 2–5 | 141 | 174 | L1 |
NFCvte :
| # | Team | W | L | T | PCT | PF | PA | STK |
| Seeded postseason qualifiers |||||||||
| 1 | Washington Redskins | 8 | 1 | 0 | .889 | 190 | 128 | W4 |
| 2 | Dallas Cowboys | 6 | 3 | 0 | .667 | 226 | 145 | L2 |
| 3 | Green Bay Packers | 5 | 3 | 1 | .611 | 226 | 169 | L1 |
| 4 | Minnesota Vikings | 5 | 4 | 0 | .556 | 187 | 198 | W1 |
| 5 | Atlanta Falcons | 5 | 4 | 0 | .556 | 183 | 199 | L2 |
| 6 | St. Louis Cardinals | 5 | 4 | 0 | .556 | 135 | 170 | L1 |
| 7 | Tampa Bay Buccaneers | 5 | 4 | 0 | .556 | 158 | 178 | W3 |
| 8 | Detroit Lions | 4 | 5 | 0 | .444 | 181 | 176 | W1 |
| Did not qualify for the postseason |||||||||
| 9 | New Orleans Saints | 4 | 5 | 0 | .444 | 129 | 160 | W1 |
| 10 | New York Giants | 4 | 5 | 0 | .444 | 164 | 160 | W1 |
| 11 | San Francisco 49ers | 3 | 6 | 0 | .333 | 209 | 206 | L1 |
| 12 | Chicago Bears | 3 | 6 | 0 | .333 | 141 | 174 | L1 |
| 13 | Philadelphia Eagles | 3 | 6 | 0 | .333 | 191 | 195 | L1 |
| 14 | Los Angeles Rams | 2 | 7 | 0 | .222 | 200 | 250 | W1 |
| Tiebreakers |||||||||
| 1 2 3 4 Minnesota (4–1), Atlanta (4–3), St. Louis (5–4), Tampa Bay (3–3) seeds were determined by best won-lost record in conference games. 1 2 3 Detroit finished ahead of New Orleans and the N.Y. Giants based on best conference record (4–4 to Saints’ 3–5 to Giants’ 3–5). 1 2 3 San Francisco finished ahead of Chicago, and Chicago finished ahead of Philadelphia, based on conference record (49ers’ 2–3 to Bears’ 2–5 to Eagles’ 1–5). |||||||||