1985 Bears Postseason Flashback: January 5, 1986

Don’t look now, but the postseason journey that confirmed the 1985 Bears as one of the greatest teams in NFL history took place 35 years ago. We’re going to revisit the three postseason games—the NFC playoff games against the New York Giants and Los Angeles Rams and the Super Bowl against the New England Patriots—on the anniversary of each. So here goes, and we hope you enjoy the ride.

 

The Bears’ journey to the 1985 world championship began more than a year before, in the 1984 NFC championship game. The San Francisco 49ers ended Chicago’s best season in two decades with a decisive 23-0 victory at Candlestick Park. As the teams were leaving the field, 49ers safety Ronnie Lott called out, “Next time, bring your offense.”  

     The Bears showed up at training camp in 1985 with Lott’s taunt ringing in their ears. “I don’t know about you guys,” head coach Mike Ditka said, “but second best isn’t good enough for me.” The Bears believed that they were ready to advance to another level, but there were some questions to be answered. Could their defense, the best in the league, withstand the loss of safety Todd Bell and defensive end Al Harris to salary holdouts? Could quarterback Jim McMahon stay healthy long enough to reach his potential? Could the great Walter Payton (already the NFL’s all-time leading rusher) continue to perform with his usual brilliance for an eleventh season? Could the Bears go all the way with the youngest team in the league—whose 45 members included 24 with two years’ experience or less, ten of them rookies?

     Week by week, the Bears turned every question mark into an exclamation point. They rampaged through the regular season, winning 15 of 16 games while scoring 456 points (second most in the league) and allowing only 198 (fewest in the league). 

 

JIM McMAHON

Payback time for the 49ers came in Week 6. McMahon came out winging (27 of Chicago’s first 37 plays were passes), and the Bears opened up a 16-0 lead early in the second quarter. By halftime the 49ers closed to within 16-10, but the Bears soon quashed any thoughts of a comeback. San Francisco managed only three first downs and 45 total yards in the second half. Quarterback Joe Montana was under fire all day and was sacked seven times in all (twice each by Richard Dent and Wilber Marshall, and once apiece by Dave Duerson, Steve McMichael, and Otis Wilson). 

     Payton rushed for 88 of his 132 yards in the second half as the Bears relied on the ground game to hold the lead. His two touchdowns and Kevin Butler’s four field goals accounted for all the Bears’ scoring.

     As the clock ticked down on the 26-10 victory, Ditka inserted defensive tackle William “Refrigerator” Perry at fullback, and the 325-pound rookie carried twice for four yards. What began as a way to tweak the 49ers for using guard Guy McIntyre in the backfield in the ’84 title game (“I have a long memory,” Ditka said) spawned a national phenomenon almost overnight. 

     After the game, 49ers coach Bill Walsh was asked to describe the Bear defense. “Use any adjective you want,” he said. “I’ll say it was intense and ferocious. They gave us a good, sound beating.” 

 

RICHARD DENT

By going 15-1, the Bears equaled the 49ers’ feat of the year before and ensured that if there were an NFC championship rematch between the two clubs, it would be at Soldier Field. They also earned a week off while other playoff qualifiers fought it out in first-round games. While the Bears were home relaxing, the New York Giants beat San Francisco—so the Niners wouldn’t be coming to Chicago after all. 

     The Giants appeared at Soldier Field on January 5, 1986. On this clear, cold, and blustery day, the wind off Lake Michigan became a 12th player for the Bears when New York’s Sean Landeta went back to punt from his own goal line in the first quarter. A gust blew the ball away from Landeta at the instant his foot was coming through. The ball glanced off the side of his foot and wobbled to the five-yard line, where safety Shaun Gayle scooped it up and sauntered into the end zone. Landeta was credited with a punt of minus seven yards, and Gayle’s touchdown made him the 22nd different Bear to score for the year (the ninth on defense).  

     The Giants were not in the game after Landeta’s miscue. They went three-and-out on nine of their first 11 possessions. All-Pro running back Joe Morris rushed for 14 yards on his first carry but managed only 18 yards on 11 attempts thereafter. Quarterback Phil Simms was sacked six times. Dent was all over the field, recording three and a half sacks and corralling Morris from behind several times. “The Giants came into the game with the No. 2 defense in the NFL,” Don Pierson wrote in the Tribune, “and left knowing that Avis is a lot closer to Hertz than the Giants are to the Bears.”

     McMahon connected with Dennis McKinnon on two touchdown strikes in the third quarter to put the game out of reach. “When the game is on the line and you’ve got to perform,” said fullback Matt Suhey, “[McMahon] is the kind of guy who turns it on. He has the mentality of a running back or an offensive lineman stuck in a quarterback body.”

     The final score was 21-0. Defensive coordinator Buddy Ryan had promised a shutout, and his players had delivered. “We believe every thought Buddy shares with us,” Duerson explained. 

     “We beat a good football team,” said Ditka. He could scarcely conceal his glee when he added, “They manhandled the 49ers.” 

 

 

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