In American football, the Fog Bowl was the December 31, 1988 National Football League (NFL) playoff game between the Philadelphia Eagles and Chicago Bears. A dense fog rolled over Chicago's Soldier Field during the 2nd quarter, cutting visibility to about 15–20 yards for the rest of the game. The Eagles moved the ball effectively all game and their quarterback Randall Cunningham recorded 407 passing yards despite the low visibility; but they could not advance 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 the game by a score of 20–12. The game eventually was named #3 on NFL Top 10's Weather Games.
The game was also notable in that it involved head coaches who had previously worked on the same staff of a Super Bowl winning team. Eagles coach Buddy Ryan had been the defensive coordinator for Mike Ditka on the Bears when the team won Super Bowl XX. An NFL Network special on the game highlighted how unusual the conditions were: the fog was caused by a very rare late-December mix of cold and hot air in the atmosphere, and the fog itself covered a very small part of Chicago (less than 15 city blocks) for a very short amount of time (less than three hours). If the game had been played in the late afternoon or at night, there would have been no fog during the game at all.
Game summary
Chicago scored first with quarterback Mike Tomczak's 64-yard touchdown pass to Dennis McKinnon. The Eagles responded by driving to the Chicago 26-yard line, but kicker Luis Zendejas missed a 43-yard field goal attempt. Philadelphia quickly got the ball back after linebacker Seth Joyner intercepted a pass from Tomczak on the next play and returned it 8 yards to the Bears 31-yard line. 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, both on running back Anthony Toney. The Bears then drove to the Eagles 33-yard line on their ensuing drive, but it stalled there and kicker Kevin Butler missed a 51-yard field goal attempt, giving the ball back to Philadelphia with great field position. Quarterback Randall Cunningham then led the Eagles down the field with two completions to fullback Keith Byars for gains of 13 and 24 yards. A few plays later, faced with 3rd and 32, Cunningham completed a 31-yard pass to Ron Johnson, bringing up 4th and 1 on the Bears 4-yard line. Cunningham tried to convert the 4th down with a QB sneak, but after a chain measurement which took several minutes, officials ruled the ball short of a first down. The Eagles soon got another chance to score when Andre Waters forced a fumble from Cap Boso that was recovered by defensive back Wes Hopkins on the Chicago 15. Following another missed chance at a touchdown when rookie tight end Keith Jackson dropped a wide open pass in the end zone, Zendejas' 29-yard field goal to cut the deficit to 7–6.
Philadelphia tackled Chicago returner Dennis Gentry on the 22 on the ensuing kickoff, but the kick had to be redone due to an offsides penalty on the Eagles. This proved to be hugely beneficial for Chicago, as on the second kick, Glen Kozlowski returned the ball 23 yards to the Philadelphia 44-yard line. A few plays later, Tomczak's 30-yard completion to Ron Morris gave Chicago a first down on the Eagles 4-yard line, and Neal Anderson ran for a touchdown on the next play to give them a 14–6 lead. Then after forcing a punt, Thomas Sanders' 58-yard run set up a 46-yard field goal by Butler, increasing Chicago's lead to 17-6 with less than 2:03 left before halftime. At this point, a thick fog rolled on to field, obscuring vision so much that a CBS helicopter providing aerial coverage for the game was forced to land. Meanwhile, Philadelphia struck back with a 65-yard completion from Cunningham to Jackson that set up Zendejas' 30-yard field goal, and the teams went into their locker rooms with Chicago leading 17–9.
