1985 Bears

[Jack the Cat]

They were such a great team, but then what happened? They only ended up winning that one super bowl, while the 49ers dominated the rest of the 1980s. What gives?

[redbuck]

1985 they were 15-1. Not only did they have the best defense but they were 2nd in the league in points scored. They only allowed 10 points in 3 playoff games, scoring 91.

A year later they were almost as good, going 14-2, again with the league's best defense but a much less productive offense, which finished 13th in the league. Jim McMahon for whatever reason (perhaps somebody who knows could enlighten us) only played in 6 games and Mike Tomczak led the offense. Walter Payton was still there although '86 was his last year as the team's leading rusher. The Bears lost in the NFC Divisional Playoffs handily to the Redskins.

In an apparent effort to improve the offense, the '87 Bears' defense lost some of its strength. The Bears still finished 11-4 but once again fell to the REdskins in the first round of the playoffs.

A year later the defense was back to best in the league but the offense was down. The Bears still dominated at 12-4 although they lost 2 of their final 3 games and lost 23-3 to San Fran. in the 2nd round of the playoffs.

In '89 everything fell apart. The bears started 4-0 and 6-4 before losing their last 6 games to finish 6-10.

The Bears had good years in '90 and '91 behind Jim Harbaugh. Each year they went 11-5 but an old team was losing its edge.

In '92 they were 5-11 in a season that saw the Bears finish 1-8. After Mike Ditka left the Bears were never the same. They had two 9-7 teams in the mid-'90s but didn't have a great season again until the Jim Miller 13-3 season in 2001.

And now, with 2 young running backs, a young quarterback and an excellent defense, the Bears may be getting back to their old ways. They finished 11-5 a year ago and again do not face a terribly difficult schedule. Time for another Super Bowl, Chicago?

Geez...didn't realize how much this started to sound like a newspaper article, but there you go.

[Snake]

In my estimation, quite a few things went wrong after the 85 season. Buddy Ryan went to the Philadelphia Eagles. He and Ditka didn't really get along as it was. QB Jim McMahon's ego was about the size of Chicago itself. He first reported to training camp in 86 overweight, and displayed a lack of respect towards Ditka. Later on in the season, he got hurt, and the Bears didn't really have a reliable back up. 86 was still a great year for them, but going into the playoffs, they were without their starting QB, and didn't have a good enough back up to get them anywhere. 87 came along, and after the first 2 weeks, the NFL players went on strike. Ditka obviously sided with management, and if I remember correctly, even went so far as to refer to his scab players as his "real" players. When the strike ended, the Bears had 4 QB's they were shuffling around, never a good plan there. Also, quite a few of the real Bears were miffed at Ditka, who they believe didn't stand up for them. 87 also marked Sweetness' last year and Fencik's last year, as they both retired. Wilbur Marshall went free agent to the Redskins, and speedster Willie Gault sprinted to LA and the Raiders. After losing those 4 guys, and not getting much in return for them, that finally did the Bears in. I am sure other factors involved as well, but that 85 team was pure magic, and the 86 team was almost as good (maybe as good if McMahon didn't go out injured).

[Jack the Cat]

Thank you redbuck, and snake for answering my question. Now I understand why the Bears were a bit of a one hit wonder. They went 29-3 in 2 regular seasons though, that is awesome.

[football junkie]

I think even more important than the QB situation and Walter Payton's decline was the departure, as previously noted, of Buddy Ryan -- the architect of that great '85 Bears' defense.

Ryan was snatched up by the Philadelphia Eagles in 1986 and turned that franchise around. Ryan inherited a team quarterbacked by Ron Jaworski and quickly replaced him with the hugely talented Randall Cunningham. With an eye towards character Ryan cut the great Cris Carter in 1990 after learning of Carter's repeated problems with cocaine. (Carter now credits this act by Ryan with saving his career, if not his life.)

I sincerely believe that had it not been for the tragic and untimely death of defensive lineman Jerome Brown in 1992 that Brown's close friend Reggie White wouldn't have left the Eagles in 1993, bound for Green Bay. And although Ryan had moved on by that point, another defensive unit put together by Ryan would have become a dominant force in the NFL for years to come.

But unfortunately, that was not to be.