History of The Chicago Bears - 1985: Super Bowl XX

1985: Super Bowl XX

1985 is the most celebrated year in Bears history. Through various rankings, the 1985 Bears have been marked as one of the top 5 NFL teams of all time. The Bears beat the first twelve of their opponents. In the process, they outscored opponents 456 to 198.

Along the way, the Bears created a huge amount of hype around themselves. The season brought players to the national spotlight such as William "The Refrigerator" Perry, Mike Singletary, Jim McMahon, Dan Hampton, and Walter Payton. During the season, in Week 2, McMahon had back spasms, and when the Bears were trailing the Minnesota Vikings, and eventually, the McMahon-led Bears stunned the Vikings in The Viking Miracle Eventually, in Week 9, the Bears themselves embarrassed the 49ers 26-10, sacking Joe Montana a then-record 7 times, and the Bears claimed their revenge by sending Perry in, but instead of as a mere blocker like McIntyre, Ditka used him as a runner. The Bears also handed the Cowboys their worst loss in franchise history in Week 11 44-0, clinching the division for Chicago. Then, in the Week 12 game on Monday Night Football, the Bears suffered their only defeat, a 38–24 loss to the Miami Dolphins, who in doing so retained their status as the lone team to have ever had a perfect season. Chicago afterwards produced a music video called The Super Bowl Shuffle. The Bears were also divided, as Head Coach Mike Ditka and Defensive Coordinator Buddy Ryan did not see eye to eye. In the Divisional Playoffs the Bears played the New York Giants, shutting them out 21–0, on a bitterly cold and windy afternoon. The Bears then faced the Los Angeles Rams in the NFC Championship Game. This game too was a shutout, the score being 24–0. The "Monsters of the Midway" advanced to the Super Bowl.

In Super Bowl XX, the Bears were enormously favored to beat their opponents, the New England Patriots. In the week before the game, Jim McMahon allegedly made some controversial comments about New Orleans women that got him some death threats, with McMahon responding by mooning a group of reporters because of the injury report stated McMahon had an injury to his buttock. At the same time, the NFL was cracking down on his trademark message headbands. However, during the game, McMahon wore a headband that said "Pete", in honor of former commissioner Pete Rozelle. The Super Bowl was a circus atmosphere, getting huge TV ratings and reversing a decline in NFL viewership during the previous two years. The Bears started shaky as Walter Payton fumbled deep in Bears territory. On the subsequent possession, the Patriots were unable to advance the football and had to settle for a field goal, taking a 3–0 lead. However, the Patriots' lead was short-lived as the Bears struck back by scoring the next 44 points in a relentless battering of the Patriots, including a touchdown by "The Refrigerator". The Bears won the game 46–10, setting then Super Bowl records for points and margin of victory as defensive end Richard Dent was named the Most Valuable Player of the Super Bowl.