When the Chicago Bears host the Indianapolis Colts on Sunday, the game is sure to bring up memories of Super Bowl XLI, which featured the two teams. It was a Super Bowl that featured Brian Urlacher and the famed Chicago Bears defense against the legendary Peyton Manning-led Colts offense. Although the Colts won 29-17 in a commanding victory, it was what the 1997 Chicago Bears did nearly ten years earlier, which had a direct impact on the Super Bowl.
Back in 1997, the Chicago Bears were the worst team in football, heading into December. The team was coming off a 55-20 Thanksgiving Day defeat to the Detroit Lions and had just two wins on their season. At the start of December, they were in a prime position to earn the first overall selection in the 1998 NFL Draft. The consensus favorite to be the first player selected was Tennessee quarterback Peyton Manning.
Manning was viewed as the next great quarterback to enter the league as many draft analysts viewed him as the best prospect in the draft. The Volunteers quarterback led his team to a victory in the 1998 Orange Bowl and had led them to a win in the 1997 Citrus Bowl.
Had the Bears obtained the first overall selection, Manning would have been the obvious choice as the team had dealt with issues at the quarterback position the past decade. With three games left to go in the 1997 season, Chicago, unfortunately, won two of their last three games to move from the first overall selection down to the fifth selection.
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#tbt – 15 yrs ago today. With the 1st pick in the 1998 NFL Draft, the Colts select: Peyton Manning, QB Tennessee. pic.twitter.com/gWwYDZkibs
— NFL on ESPN (@ESPNNFL) April 18, 2013
The two wins came at home against the Buffalo Bills and on the road a week later against the St. Louis Rams. The Bears blew out the Bills in a 20-3 victory as the buffalo team looked completely unenergized and uninterested in playing. The Bears defense sacked Bills quarterback Todd Collins five times on the day.
The following week on Sunday Night Football against the Rams, the Bears won one of the ugliest games of the year by a score of 13-10. The week 16 Sunday night game featured two teams with a combined seven wins on the season. Chicago’s defense forced three interceptions and five sacks while Sports Center would mock the poor quality of play in the game later that night.
With the two wins, Chicago would lose their first overall selection spot to the Colts, who would finish the season with a 3-13 record. Three other teams would finish 1997 with the same record as the Bears at 4-12. The Colts would go on to select Manning and instantly began building their franchise around him. Indianapolis would draft running back Edgerrin James the following year in 1999 and wide receiver Reggie Wayne in 2001 to provide their quarterback with offensive weapons. Manning would lead the Colts to the playoffs six times before the team made it to the Super Bowl in 2006.
Chicago would draft running back Curtis Enis in the 1998 NFL Draft and would select quarterback Cade McNown a year later. Both would become the worst draft selections in franchise history as neither player would be with the team after the 2000 season.
Never forget that the Bears drafted Curtis Enis instead of Randy Moss. pic.twitter.com/w0rVfy1P1M
— Bryan Perez 🎃 (@BryanPerezNFL) August 25, 2020
Had the Bears locked down the first overall selection in 1997, it is a safe bet that Manning would have fixed the team’s historic quarterback woes and led the team back to the playoffs earlier than the 2001 season. Super Bowl XLl would have been much different as Chicago probably would have won the Super Bowl but against someone other than the Colts. Looking back, it is unfortunate that two meaningless games in December cost the Bears one of the best quarterbacks in NFL history.
