1978 Chicago Bears season

1978 Chicago Bears season
Head Coach	Neill Armstrong
General Manager	Jim Finks
Home Field	Soldier Field
Results
Record	7–9
Place	4th NFC Central
Playoff Finish	did not qualify
Timeline
Previous season	Next season
1977	1979

The 1978 Chicago Bears season was their 59th regular season completed in the National Football League. The club posted a 7–9 record in the first year of Coach Neill Armstrong, yet another below .500 record in the 1970s.

Offseason

NFL Draft

Main article: 1978 NFL Draft

Round	Pick	Player	Position	School/Club Team
3	74	Brad Shearer	Defensive tackle	Texas

Undrafted free agents

1978 Undrafted Free Agents of note

Player	Position	College
Mike Morgan	Running back	Wisconsin

Roster

1978 Chicago Bears roster
	Quarterbacks 7 Bob Avellini 8 Vince Evans 15 Mike Phipps Running backs 25 Art Best 35 Roland Harper 34 Walter Payton 29 Mike Morgan 30 John Skibinski Wide receivers 84 Brian Baschnagel 83 Golden Richards 85 Steve Schubert 89 James Scott Tight ends 87 Mike Cobb 39 Robin Earl 88 Greg Latta		Offensive linemen 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 Defensive linemen 53 Tommy Hart DE 73 Mike Hartenstine DE 68 Jim Osborne DT 82 Alan Page DT 76 Ron Rydalch DT 72 Brad Shearer DT		Linebackers 51 Doug Becker 55 Doug Buffone 59 Gary Campbell 50 Chris Devlin 54 Tom Hicks 58 Jerry Muckensturm 57 Don Rives Defensive backs 48 Allan Ellis CB 45 Gary Fencik SS 24 Virgil Livers CB 46 Doug Plank SS 47 Mike Spivey 23 Len Walterscheid Special teams 86 Bob Parsons P 16 Robert R. Thomas K		Reserve lists Practice squad Rookies in italics 53 Active, 5 Inactive, 5 Practice squad

Schedule

Week	Date	Opponent	Result	Attendance
1	September 3, 1978	St. Louis Cardinals	W 17–10	52,791
2	September 10, 1978	at San Francisco 49ers	W 16–13	49,502
3	September 17, 1978	at Detroit Lions	W 19–0	65,982
4	September 25, 1978	Minnesota Vikings	L 24–20	53,551
5	October 1, 1978	Oakland Raiders	L 25–19	52,848
6	October 8, 1978	at Green Bay Packers	L 24–14	56,267
7	October 16, 1978	at Denver Broncos	L 16–7	75,008
8	October 22, 1978	at Tampa Bay Buccaneers	L 33–19	68,146
9	October 29, 1978	Detroit Lions	L 21–17	53,378
10	November 5, 1978	Seattle Seahawks	L 31–29	50,697
11	November 12, 1978	at Minnesota Vikings	L 17–14	43,286
12	November 19, 1978	Atlanta Falcons	W 13–7	46,022
13	November 26, 1978	Tampa Bay Buccaneers	W 14–3	42,373
14	December 4, 1978	at San Diego Chargers	L 40–7	48,492
15	December 10, 1978	Green Bay Packers	W 14–0	34,306
16	December 16, 1978	at Washington Redskins	W 14–10	49,774

Game summaries

Week 2

by Quarter 1 2 3 4 Total • Bears 3 3 3 7 16 49ers 7 3 0 3 13 Date: September 10 Location: Candlestick Park, San Francisco, California Game start: 1:00 p.m. Game weather: 64°F, wind 13 mph Scoring summary 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

Week 16

by Quarter 1 2 3 4 Total • Bears 7 0 7 0 14 Redskins 0 3 0 7 10 Date: December 16 Location: RFK Stadium • Washington, D.C. Game start: 1:00 p.m. EST Game weather: 46°F • Wind 11 Scoring summary 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