Fog Bowl (American football) - AbsoluteAstronomy.com

For the 1962 Canadian Football Fog Bowl, see 50th Grey Cup
50th Grey Cup
The 50th Grey Cup, also known as the Fog Bowl, was the 1962 Grey Cup Canadian Football League championship game played between the Winnipeg Blue Bombers and the Hamilton Tiger-Cats at Toronto's Exhibition Stadium. It remains the only Grey Cup game ever suspended during play. The Blue Bombers won...

The 1974 Sun Bowl also carries this nickname

In American football

American football

American football is a sport played between two teams of eleven with the objective of scoring points by advancing the ball into the opposing team's end zone. Known in the United States simply as football, it may also be referred to informally as gridiron football. The ball can be advanced by...

, the Fog Bowl was the name given to the December 31, 1988 National Football League

National Football League

The National Football League is the highest level of professional American football in the United States, and is considered the top professional American football league in the world. It was formed by eleven teams in 1920 as the American Professional Football Association, with the league changing...

(NFL) playoff game between the Philadelphia Eagles

1988 Philadelphia Eagles season

The 1988 Philadelphia Eagles season resulted in an appearance in the postseason for the first time since 1981.-Player Selections:The table shows the Eagles selections and what picks they had that were traded away and the team that ended up with that pick...

and the Chicago Bears

1988 Chicago Bears season

The 1988 Chicago Bears season was their 69th regular season and 19th postseason completed in the National Football League. The club posted a 12-4 record, winning the NFC Central for the fifth straight season, but lost in the NFC Championship Game. Coach Mike Ditka suffered a heart attack during the...

. A heavy, dense fog rolled over Chicago

Chicago

Chicago is the largest city in the US state of Illinois. With nearly 2.7 million residents, it is the most populous city in the Midwestern United States and the third most populous in the US, after New York City and Los Angeles...

's Soldier Field

Soldier Field

Soldier Field is located on Lake Shore Drive in Chicago, Illinois, United States, in the Near South Side. It is home to the NFL's Chicago Bears...

during the 2nd quarter, cutting visibility to about 10-20 yards for the rest of the game. Philadelphia moved the ball effectively all day and Eagles quarterback

Quarterback

Quarterback is a position in American and Canadian football. Quarterbacks are members of the offensive team and line up directly behind the offensive line...

Randall Cunningham

Randall W. Cunningham is a former American football quarterback.After playing college football at the University of Nevada, Las Vegas, he was selected in the second round of the 1985 NFL Draft by the Philadelphia Eagles, with whom he remained through the 1995 season...

had 407 passing yards despite the low visibility; but they could not get the ball into the end zone. Many players complained that they could not see the sidelines or first-down markers. The Bears ended up winning 20-12.

Game summary

Chicago scored first with quarterback Mike Tomczak

Mike Tomczak

Michael John "Mike" Tomczak is a former American football player. Tomczak played quarterback for several NFL teams including the Chicago Bears, Green Bay Packers, Cleveland Browns, and Pittsburgh Steelers....

's 64-yard touchdown pass to Dennis McKinnon

Dennis McKinnon

Dennis Lewis McKinnon is a former professional American football wide receiver in the National Football League for the Chicago Bears and the Dallas Cowboys....

. The Eagles responded by driving to the Chicago 26-yard line, but kicker Luis Zendejas

Luis Zendejas

Luis Fernando Zendejas is a Mexican former placekicker in American football. He played college football for Arizona State University, and was the all-time career leading scorer in the NCAA when he left Arizona State...

missed a 43-yard field goal. Philadelphia quickly got the ball back after linebacker Seth Joyner

Seth Joyner

Seth Joyner is a former American football linebacker in the National Football League for the Philadelphia Eagles, Arizona Cardinals, Green Bay Packers and Denver Broncos. Joyner graduated from Spring Valley High School.-Professional career:Joyner was drafted by the Philadelphia Eagles in the...

intercepted a pass from Tomczak, and this time they managed to score with Zendejas' 42-yard field goal, but only after committing two costly mistakes: twice on the drive Philadelphia had touchdowns nullified by penalties. The Bears then drove to the Eagles 33-yard line on their ensuing drive, but it stalled and kicker Kevin Butler

Kevin Butler (American football)

Kevin Gregory Butler is a former professional American football placekicker. He played college football for the University of Georgia Bulldogs, and then played professionally for the Chicago Bears and the Arizona Cardinals of the National Football League...

missed a 51-yard field goal attempt, giving the ball back to Philadelphia with great field position. Cunningham then led the Eagles inside Chicago's 20-yard line where Zendejas kicked a 29-yard field goal to cut the team's deficit to one point, 7-6.

Two possessions later, the Bears drove 44 yards and scored with Neal Anderson

Neal Anderson

Charles Neal Anderson is a former American college and professional football player who was a running back in the National Football League for eight seasons in the 1980s and 1990s...

's 4-yard touchdown run to give them a 14-6 lead. Both teams scored another field goal before halftime, and they went into their locker rooms with Chicago leading 17-9.

Each team could only score a short field goal in the second half. The fog was so thick that both teams were forced to use their running game because receivers could not see the long passes thrown to them. TV and radio announcers, and the fans in the stadium had trouble seeing what was happening on the field. CBS

CBS

CBS Broadcasting Inc. is a major US commercial broadcasting television network, which started as a radio network. The name is derived from the initials of the network's former name, Columbia Broadcasting System. The network is sometimes referred to as the "Eye Network" in reference to the shape of...

color commentator

Color commentator

A color commentator is a sports commentator who assists the play-by-play announcer, often by filling in any time when play is not in progress. The color analyst and main commentator will often exchange comments freely throughout the broadcast, when the play-by-play announcer is not describing the...

Terry Bradshaw

Terry Paxton Bradshaw is a former American football quarterback with the Pittsburgh Steelers in the National Football League . He played 14 seasons. He is a football analyst and co-host of Fox NFL Sunday...

, who was working the game, later said he was more frustrated than at any time when he was a player. Referee Jim Tunney

Jim Tunney (American football official)

Dr. Jim Tunney was an American football official in the National Football League from 1960 to 1991. In his 31 years as an NFL official, Jim Tunney received a record 29 post-season assignments, including ten Championship games and Super Bowls VI, XI, and XII and named as an alternate in Super Bowl...

ended up announcing the down and distance for each play on his wireless microphone.

Eagles quarterback Randall Cunningham finished the game with 407 passing yards, but was unable to lead his team to a single touchdown and was intercepted 3 times. Fullback Keith Byars

Keith Byars

Keith Alan Byars is an American sports broadcaster and former American football player in the National Football League for the Philadelphia Eagles, Miami Dolphins, New England Patriots and New York Jets.-Early life:...

rushed for 34 yards and caught 9 passes for 103 yards. Tight end Keith Jackson caught 7 passes for 142 yards. Other than his 64-yard touchdown pass, Tomczak was dominated the rest of the game by the Eagles defense, completing only 10 of 20 passes for 174 yards with 1 touchdown and 3 interceptions. McKinnon finished the game with 4 receptions for 108 yards and a touchdown.

Scoring summary

CHI - McKinnon 64 pass from Tomczak (Butler kick)
PHI - FG Zendejas 42
PHI - FG Zendejas 29
CHI - Anderson 4 run (Butler kick)
CHI - FG Butler 46
PHI - FG Zendejas 30
PHI - FG Zendejas 35
CHI - FG Butler 27

Officials
Official (American football)
In American football, an official is a person who has responsibility in enforcing the rules and maintaining the order of the game.During professional and college football games, seven officials operate on the field...

Referee: Jim Tunney
Jim Tunney (American football official)
Dr. Jim Tunney was an American football official in the National Football League from 1960 to 1991. In his 31 years as an NFL official, Jim Tunney received a record 29 post-season assignments, including ten Championship games and Super Bowls VI, XI, and XII and named as an alternate in Super Bowl...
Umpire: Ron Botchan
Ron Botchan
Ronald Leslie "Ron" Botchan is a retired American football official from the National Football League . Prior to that he was an American football linebacker in the American Football League from 1960 to 1962. As an official, Botchan worked as an umpire for nearly his entire NFL career and wore the...
Head Linesman: Tom Johnson
Line Judge: Bama Glass
Field Judge: Jack Vaughan
Side Judge: Dave Parry
Back Judge: Tom Sifferman
Tom Sifferman
Tom Sifferman is an American football official in the National Football League since the 1986 NFL season. Sifferman is notable for being the only official in NFL history assigned to three consecutive Super Bowls, which include Super Bowl XXXVII in 2003, Super Bowl XXXVIII in 2004, and Super Bowl...

Game summary

Scoring summary

OfficialsOfficial (American football)In American football, an official is a person who has responsibility in enforcing the rules and maintaining the order of the game.During professional and college football games, seven officials operate on the field...

See also

Officials
Official (American football)
In American football, an official is a person who has responsibility in enforcing the rules and maintaining the order of the game.During professional and college football games, seven officials operate on the field...