When people talk about the 1985 Chicago Bears defense, a fun question to ask is who was the most feared out of that group? Some will say it was Steve McMichael because of his unpredictable personality. Others will say Wilber Marshall for his vicious hits. Maybe it was Dan Hampton for how he manhandled blockers or Mike Singletary slammed everything in sight up the middle. However, plenty of people close to that team might argue Otis Wilson was the one opponents were most wary of.
He could hit just as hard as Marshall, but he also brought a ruthless attitude and fiery emotion that only added to the fear factor. The Bears knocked out five quarterbacks with injury in ’85. The man most often responsible for that was Wilson. A big reason for his mentality? He was a diehard fan of Dick Butkus growing up. His game had been modeled after the Bears all-time great since he was young.
So it’s not hard to understand why he developed a certain distaste for quarterbacks. This ended up leading to one of his most infamous games. The fabled 44-0 drubbing of the Dallas Cowboys that season. Most remember it for the Bears moving their record to 11-0, but it was also a game where Wilson knocked Cowboys quarterback Danny White out of action not once, but twice.
Nobody summed it up better than legendary announcer Pat Summerall who perfectly described White’s status after Wilson’s first big hit.
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Otis Wilson never gets enough credit for that season
People forget just how brilliant Wilson was that season. If one looks at the stat sheet, they’d see he only had 6.5 sacks. However, the tape reveals that he came painfully close to several others throughout the season. If not for QBs getting rid of the ball right as they were getting hit by him. he’d probably have cracked double digits easily. White was a good example during that game, having taken the hits right after getting the ball out.
Wilson came so close to getting his due during Super Bowl XX. He came away with two sacks in that game, which was more than eventual MVP Richard Dent who had 1.5. However, Dent forced two fumbles as well. Another reminder of the talent that Wilson was surrounded by. Maybe if he’d played on lesser units in his career, he might’ve gotten more recognition. Not that he’d have it any other way, of course.
