One would think it’d be an automatic answer at this point. Mike Ditka has a legacy in NFL coaching circles today because of what the 1985 Chicago Bears defense accomplished. Fewest points allowed in a 16-game season. Back-to-back shutouts in the playoffs. Seven turnovers forced in the Super Bowl. Being asked the question about which defense was the best he ever saw should’ve been a lock.
Except people forget that the ’85 unit wasn’t the first all-time great defense Da Coach had witnessed up close. Go back 22 years to when he was a young tight end playing for the Bears and you’d find another. The last great defense coached by George Halas himself. The 1963 unit. Ditka appeared on a panel to discuss that great season and was inevitably put on the spot.
Which defense was better: the ’63 or the ’85 version? Ditka pondered it for a moment but in the end, he stayed true to himself and said what he felt.
“I can’t win in this. I think it was the best. They only gave up 10 points [a game] — hello? Our defense was unbelievable. People don’t remember. I can remember Joe Fortunato, Bill George and those guys. J.C. Caroline, I can go on and on. Rosie Taylor. They were great football players. They didn’t get the acclaim they would get today.”
Mike Ditka may anger some with his response but he isn’t out of line
People today don’t remember how incredible the 1963 defense was. They didn’t benefit from the media coverage back then that the ’85 group would later enjoy. This was an era back when television was still in its infancy. So they weren’t able to build the same mythos with fans that the other did. This doesn’t mean they were any less dominant.
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They were #1 against the pass and the run that year. They allowed just 10.28 points per game including 10 total across two meetings with the defending champion Green Bay Packers. Ditka believes where they truly separated themselves from the ’85 team was the secondary. In his mind it was the best in Bears history. Safeties Richie Petitbon and Rosey Taylor along with corners Bennie McRae and Dave Whitsell combined for 29 interceptions that year.
It’s not known how many sacks the team had that year since it wasn’t an official statistic yet. Anybody who watched though knew it was many, and they took pleasure in knocking out several quarterbacks along the way. One of them being Y.A. Tittle in the NFL championship. He was knocked out for much of that game with a knee injury. The Bears took advantage, holding the Giants to 10 points in a 14-10 victory.
That’s one more thing that the ’85 unit never had to worry about. Carrying a terrible offense. Maybe Ditka is right, but nobody else would dare admit it.
