The 1985 Chicago Bears are revered as one of the greatest teams in Chicago sports history. Right up there with the 1995-1996 Chicago Bulls or the 2012-2013 Chicago Blackhawks. Not only were they close to unstoppable on the field, going 15-1 that year. They also featured a cast of memorable characters that took pop culture by storm that year. They played hard. They played great and they entertained the entire way to a Super Bowl championship. Nobody has come close to them since.
It seems the NFL agrees. In honor of the 100th season of the league’s existence, they unveiled the 100 greatest teams of all-time. There were the obvious inclusions like the 1984 San Francisco 49ers and the 1978 Pittsburgh Steelers. In the end though, the rankings came down to two teams and the Bears claimed their spot as the second-best in all of NFL history. They were only beaten out by the 1972 Miami Dolphins, the only team to ever go undefeated in a season.
Some will argue that the Bears could’ve easily beaten that Dolphins team, but facts are facts. Chicago had one loss. Miami had none. Second place on a list like this isn’t a bad thing at all. It’s the pinnacle of respect and a reminder of how incredible that team was.
1985 Chicago Bears said they would do it and then did it
What made the Bears so unique is the way they won their championship. Most teams even in those days won the Super Bowl behind mostly great quarterback play. The Bears did get some quality games out of Jim McMahon, but he was not the primary reason they rampaged to a Lombardi trophy. That was the defense. The greatest defense ever. Sure they didn’t give up the fewest points but no defense before or since has a greater reputation for striking fear into opponents like them.
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They forced turnovers, knocked out quarterback, talked incessantly and remain the only unit to ever pitch not one but two shutouts in the playoffs. Combine that with the ageless Walter Payton carrying the offense and it was perfect chemistry that nobody had an answer for.
