# 1994 Chicago Bears season

The 1994 Chicago Bears season was their 75th regular season completed in the National Football League (NFL). The Bears finished with a 9–7 record under head coach Dave Wannstedt for their first winning season since the end of the 1991 season. The club was one of four teams from the NFC Central to make the playoffs. This was also the NFL's 75th Anniversary so the Bears wore 1920s-era throwback jerseys in a few games. The Bears celebrated their first playoff win since January 6, 1991, with a hard-fought road victory over the NFC Central champion Minnesota Vikings 35–18 before being knocked out by the eventual Super Bowl champion San Francisco 49ers 44–15 at Candlestick Park.
1994 was the last time the Bears made the playoffs during the 1990s as the following seasons would be disastrous. They would not return to postseason contention until 2001.

## Offseason

| Additions | Subtractions |
| TE Marv Cook (Patriots) | DT Steve McMichael (Packers) |
| QB Erik Kramer (Lions) | QB Jim Harbaugh (Colts) |
| QB Steve Walsh (Saints) | DE Richard Dent (49ers) |
| T Andy Heck (Seahawks) | |
| WR Nate Lewis (Chargers) | |
| RB Lewis Tillman (Giants) | |

### NFL draft

1994 Chicago Bears draft :
| Round | Pick | Player | Position | College |
| 1 | 11 | John Thierry | Defensive end | Alcorn State |
| 2 | 39 | Marcus Spears | Offensive tackle | Northwestern State |
| 3 | 74 | Jim Flanigan | Defensive tackle | Notre Dame |
| 4 | 114 | Raymont Harris | Running back | Ohio State |
| 6 | 170 | Lloyd Hill | Wide receiver | Texas Tech |
| 7 | 205 | Dennis Collier | Defensive back | Colorado |
| Made roster ||||||

### Undrafted free agents

1994 Undrafted Free Agents of note :
| Player | Position | College |
| Robert Bass | Linebacker | Miami (FL) |
| Donny Brooks | Cornerback | Texas Tech |
| Arthur Bussie | Defensive end | Northeast Louisiana |
| Tony Carter | Fullback | Minnesota |
| Josh Dunning | Guard | Washington State |
| Marcus Durgin | Cornerback | Samford |
| Matt Frier | Wide receiver | Florida State |
| Michael Hightower | Running back | East Texas State |
| Anthony Marshall | Cornerback | LSU |
| Todd Norman | Tackle | Notre Dame |
| Aubrey Thompson | Tight end | Utah State |

## Regular season
### Schedule

| Week | Date | Opponent | Result | TV | TV Announcers | Attendance |
| 1 | September 4, 1994 | Tampa Bay Buccaneers | W 21–9 | Fox | Joe Buck, Tim Green | 61,844 |
| 2 | September 12, 1994 | at Philadelphia Eagles | L 30–22 | ABC | Al Michaels, Frank Gifford, Dan Dierdorf, Lynn Swann | 64,890 |
| 3 | September 18, 1994 | Minnesota Vikings | L 42–14 | Fox | Kevin Harlan, Jerry Glanville | 61,073 |
| 4 | September 25, 1994 | at New York Jets | W 19–7 | TNT | Gary Bender, Pat Haden, Kevin Kiley | 70,806 |
| 5 | October 2, 1994 | Buffalo Bills | W 20–13 | NBC | Dick Enberg, Bob Trumpy, Hannah Storm | 62,406 |
| 6 | October 9, 1994 | New Orleans Saints | W 17–7 | Fox | Kevin Harlan, Jerry Glanville | 63,822 |
| 7 | Bye | Bye | Bye | Bye | Bye |
| 8 | October 23, 1994 | at Detroit Lions | L 21–16 | Fox | Dick Stockton, Matt Millen | 73,574 |
| 9 | October 31, 1994 | Green Bay Packers | L 33–6 | ABC | Al Michaels, Frank Gifford, Dan Dierdorf, Lynn Swann | 47,381 |
| 10 | November 6, 1994 | at Tampa Bay Buccaneers | W 20–6 | Fox | Joe Buck, Tim Green | 60,821 |
| 11 | November 13, 1994 | at Miami Dolphins | W 17–14 | Fox | Dick Stockton, Matt Millen, Ron Pitts | 64,871 |
| 12 | November 20, 1994 | Detroit Lions | W 20–10 | Fox | Kevin Harlan, Jerry Glanville | 55,035 |
| 13 | November 27, 1994 | at Arizona Cardinals | W 19–16 (OT) | Fox | Kevin Harlan, Jerry Glanville | 65,922 |
| 14 | December 1, 1994 | at Minnesota Vikings | L 33–27 (OT) | ESPN | Mike Patrick, Joe Theismann, Mark Malone | 61,483 |
| 15 | December 11, 1994 | at Green Bay Packers | L 40–3 | Fox | Joe Buck, Tim Green, Dan Jiggetts | 57,927 |
| 16 | December 18, 1994 | Los Angeles Rams | W 27–13 | Fox | Kevin Harlan, Jerry Glanville, Kevin Frazier | 56,276 |
| 17 | December 24, 1994 | New England Patriots | L 13–3 | NBC | Marv Albert, Paul Maguire, Will McDonough | 60,178 |

### Standings

NFC Central :
| viewtalkedit | W | L | T | PCT | PF | PA | STK |
| $^{(3)}$ Minnesota Vikings | 10 | 6 | 0 | .625 | 356 | 314 | W1 |
| $^{(4)}$ Green Bay Packers | 9 | 7 | 0 | .563 | 382 | 287 | W3 |
| $^{(5)}$ Detroit Lions | 9 | 7 | 0 | .563 | 357 | 342 | L1 |
| $^{(6)}$ Chicago Bears | 9 | 7 | 0 | .563 | 271 | 307 | L1 |
| Tampa Bay Buccaneers | 6 | 10 | 0 | .375 | 251 | 351 | L1 |

## Playoffs

| Week | Date | Opponent | Result | TV | TV Announcers | Attendance |
| Wildcard | January 1, 1995 | at Minnesota Vikings | W 35–18 | Fox | Pat Summerall, John Madden, Matt Millen, Anthony Muñoz | 60,347 |
| Division | January 7, 1995 | at San Francisco 49ers | L 44–15 | Fox | Dick Stockton, Matt Millen, Tim Green | 64,644 |