Did any other team dominate? We're they all that they were cracked up to be? You bet!! I think they should make a full length feature film about these guys. What other season was so entertaining for their fans?

What the '85 Bears did for Bear fans was bring them all together again. It was a time of confirmation for a coaching icon. It was the affirmation to the football sense and knowledge of a football legend. Chicago sports fans didn't have anything to cheer about since the Bear's 1963 NFL Championship season (that includes any sports team!). The 1985 Bears put an end to all of that. The cast of characters put together added even more flavor to savor with the victory. Walter Payton, the NFL's most accomplished and prolific running back. Jimmy Mac, the headbands, and the rock-n-roll attitude. Sack-master Richard Dent. Da Fridge...a rookie of epic proportions. Ditka, Buddy Ryan and his 46 defense.......The Superbowl Shuffle. The Bears dominated and entertained.


The Bears had assembled a formidable team, we saw that in '84....the Monsters of the Midway.. again.. FINALLY! Without Jim Finks at the drafting helm, the year started with the draft and speculation of whether the personnel selecting process was breaking down... again. The Bears selected a mammoth defensive tackle from Clemson, William Perry. A.K.A. The Refrigerator (a nickname he inhereted from college buddies). Da Fridge weighed in the vicinity of 350 pounds. Speculation was whether Perry had enough speed to play the game of professional football. Perry's soon to be defensive coach, Buddy Ryan, wondered aloud whether the Bears had wasted a first round draft pick. What the Bears got in the Refrigerator was a mini-folk hero by season's end.


The Bears also picked up an individual who would become the Bears all-time leading scorer, NFL rookie record holder, and Chicago icon, kicker Kevin "Butthead" Butler from Georgia. Butler would eventually beat out the team's all-time points leader, kicker Bob Thomas.


All the pieces were now in place (hey, I've heard that somewhere before). Problem was, Ditka had lead his Bears to the playoffs a year before and the Bears faced a tough schedule. The Dallas Cowboys, the Washington Redskins, both teams from the previous year's Superbowl (Miami and San Francisco), plus tough Central Division rivals. It would not be an easy road for Da Bears. They started the year by losing three straight pre-season games: St. Louis Cardinals(10-3), Indianapolis Colts (24-13), Dallas Cowboys (15-13). Of course these were pre-season games, but, enough to cause some concern.

The Chicago Bears started their romp through the 1985 season with a 45-14 slaughtering of the Buffalo Bills. This set the tone for the rest of the season....


The first regular game of the season was against division rivals the Tampa Bay Buccaneers. The first half didn't go as well as expected. Buccaneer running back James Wilder had compiled 105 rushing yards to put Tampa Bay in the lead at 28-17. The Bears needed to pick up the pace. Richard Dent provided the spark by putting a hand on an errant pass by Buc QB Steve Deberg. CB Leslie Frazier snagged the pass and ran 29 yards for a score. It was all down-hill from there for the Bucs. The Bears defense took over the game. Jim McMahon took the Bears down the field and provided another score with a TD pass to FB Matt Suhey. Rookie S Shaun Gayle blocked a punt and Jimmy Mac took another in for a score. The fat lady was warming up for the rest of the season.

The Monsters of the Midway's defense handled the New England Patriots easily in the team's next game. Patriots never scored until the final period, which marked only the second time the Patriots were allowed into Bear territory the entire afternoon. Da Bears were rolling.


The next game versus the Minnesota Vikings proved to be a nail-biter. True to form, Jim McMahon was sitting out the first half with back injuries (something that plagued him the entire season), and the Bears were in a hole 17-9 at the half. Jimmy Mac decided enough was enough and hopped in the game in the 3rd quarter. This proved to be the medicine the Bears were lacking. His first toss was a 70 yard TD pass to speedster Willie Gault. On the subsequent Viking possession, the Bear defense picked off a Tommy Kramer pass and gave Jimmy Mac the ball back. McMahon's second pass of the afternoon was a 25 yard TD pass to Dennis McKinnon. On the Bears next possession, McMahon threw a couple of dump passes and then found Dennis McKinnon again, a 43 yard TD play. The Vike's backs were broken and the Bears won the game 33-24.


Now, the Bears faced the previous year's NFC East Champs, the Washington Redskins. Again, the Bears were slow to get started. They eventually picked up the pace fueled by a 99 yard kickoff return for a Touchdown by world-class sprinter Willie Gault. The Bears went on a tear after that, scoring another 24 points in the second quarter. The Redskins were never able to recover and were deflated. The final score read 45-10. Another vital come-from-behind victory for the Bears.


The 4-0 Bears now faced divisional opponent Tampa Bay again and what seemed to be a replay of the first game, the Bears were down 12-3 at the half. Again, the true grit set in and the Bears romped Tampa Bay with 17 unanswered points from Walter Payton and the McMahon-McKinnon connection. The Bucs were handed another defeat by the Bears.


Now the Bears faced a true test. Superbowl champs the San Francisco 49ers. The Bears strode into Candlestick Park with the memories of the 23-0 stomping the 49ers gave them in last year's post-season and the words of All-Pro Ronnie Lott still ringing in their ears, "Next time bring your offense." The team to beat was destroyed by the Bears! Joe Montana was sacked 7 times, the 49er offensive machine was shut down, gaining only 183 yards (only 3 yards rushing in the second half). "Sweetness" put in a "par" performance of 132 yards rushing. Jimmy Mac brought his offense, throwing for 186 yards. The game also was the debut of Da Fridge at running back, garnering 2 yards on 2 rushing attempts. The Bears were now 6-0 and they had just beat the defending Superbowl Champs!

The next four games would prove to be monumental if the Bears were to make it in the post-season. They faced division rivals Green Bay, Minnesota, Green Bay again, and then Detroit. This challenge proved to be futile because the Bears walked through their opponents with ease. The first Packer game marked the Fridge's first NFL TD. He also provided the blocking for Walter Payton's TD. Against the Vikes, Bear ball-hawkers picked off 5 Minnesota passes. The next Green Bay game, the Fridge was back again foiling the sub-par cheesehead players by catching his first ever NFL TD pass. Walter Payton furthered the Green Bay slaughter by running over the Pack for 192 yards rushing. The Detroit game saw Payton and Matt Suhey each rush for over 100 yards. The defense brought in the guns and allowed only 106 total yards by the Lions. Da Fridge registered two sacks....The Bears were 10-0.


Now it was time for the true test of this team...the Dallas Cowboys and Tom Landry. The Cowboys had an impressive record against the Bears (7-3) and the beating the Bears took the season before was still fresh in their minds (23-14). The game proved to be another mile-stone for team. They trounced the Cowboys in their own house 44-0, by far the Cowboys worst defeat in their storied history. The game provided Walter with his ninth 1,000 yard season and one of my personal favorite memories of this '85 team: Da Fridge trying to pick up Payton at the Bear's goalline and trying to throw him into the end zone for the score (that was epic!!). The end result of this game was the clinching of the NFC Central Division Title and an 11-0 record.

The Bears faced the Atlanta Falcons next, and gave them a taste of what the Monsters of the Midway brought to the game. The defense handled the hapless Falcons easily allowing only 3 pass completions, -22 yards passing, and a 36-0 score.


Now the Bears were up against the AFC Champion Miami Dolphins. At stake in this game was the Dolphin's unbeaten season record of 17-0. Miami defended their record beautifully. Although "Sweetness" added another notch in the NFL record books by rushing over 100 yards in 8 straight games, young Dan Marino proved unstoppable and the Bears were beaten 38-24. Now the Bears were back to reality


The Bears continued their winning ways by beating the Indianapolis Colts, the New York Jets, and winding up their regular season by handing the Detroit Lions their heads again with a score of 37-17. The Bears were 15-1 and had home field advantage throughout the playoffs.....


The Bears first play-off game was against the New York Giants, who were fresh from a win against the wild-card 49ers. The Giants brought with them their own brand of defense, which was second only to the Bears. The game handled them easily. Shaun Gayle proved his special teams worth by plucking a botched punt and running it in for a score. The McMahon-McKinnon connection proved lethel again by racking up a couple more TDs. The Bears laid the Giants out 21-0.


The Bears next test looked to be a little tougher. Erik Dickerson and the L.A. Rams were coming off a shut-out victory of their own, beating the Dallas Cowboys 20-0. Dickerson had racked up 248 yards rushing in the drubbing of Dallas. The Bears defense gave Erik belated Christmas greetings in the Monsters of the Midway fashion by holding him to 17 carries for only 46 yards. In fact, the Rams entire offense was held to 130 yards. The Bears offense took this time to warm up for the big show in New Orleans. Jimmy Mac scampered into the end zone with a 16 yard carry. McMahon tossed another TD to Willie Gault for a 22 yard score. Kevin Butler got into the act with a 32 yard field goal. The defense, not to be outscored, provided some points also when Wilbur Marshall picked up a fumble and carried it home 52 yards. All the pistons in the Bear juggernaut were firing. With the Bears handing the Rams a final score of 24-0, it was time to head to New Orleans.




Go to a page using the selections below: