The 1985 Chicago Bears: The Grabowskis
Published by Scott Shniderman on May 28, 2009
Article Source: Bleacher Report - Chicago Bears
“There are teams that are fair-haired, and those that aren’t so fair-haired. Some teams are named Smith, some Grabowski. We’re Grabowskis.”
-Mike Ditka, January 1986
The 1985 Chicago Bears are my favorite team of all time and, for my money, the best team of all time. The team finished 15-1 during the regular season and outscored their opponents 91-10 in the playoffs on their way to the title.
Mike Singletary was named the NFL Defensive Player of the Year and Walter Payton, arguably the greatest RB in league history, was named the Offensive Player of the Year. Mike Ditka was named Coach of the Year.
The team was fun to root for. They had a cast of characters. A fiery, mohawked quarterback named Jim McMahon. William “The Fridge” Perry. They put out their own record in the middle of the season—The Super Bowl Shuffle—claiming they were going to “shuffle” their way to the Super Bowl!
The team made its way into the national spotlight, and was even immortalized on Saturday Night Live by Da Superfans.
My love affair with this team began in a nationally televised Thursday night game in Week 3, when McMahon was unable to start the game because of a pinched nerve in his neck. The Bears were losing to the Vikings in the second half and Ditka needed a spark to help get the team a ‘W.’
He inserted McMahon in the third quarter, who then proceeded to throw three TD passes to lead the team to victory. Those included a bomb to Willie Gault on the first pass he threw. The legend of the ’85 Bears was born.
The next week, the Bears spotted the Redskins a 10 point lead, and then rattled off 45 unanswered points to win 45-10. Two weeks later, a pop culture “icon” was born.
The Bears inserted charismatic rookie DT William “Refrigerator” Perry in as a fullback at the end of the game vs. San Francisco. A week later, as the fullback, Perry delivered two crushing blocks to lead the way for two Walter Payton touchdowns while scoring a TD himself in a nationally televised Monday Night game versus the hated Packers.
In weeks 10-12, the Bears won all three games by a combined score of 104-3 to run their record to 12-0. The only blemish for this squad was a loss at the hands of Dan Marino and the Dolphins at the Orange Bowl in Week 13.
After that hiccup, the Bears won out and finished at 15-1 going into the postseason.
Buddy Ryan’s 46 Defense revolutionized the way people thought about defensive schemes. Ryan’s unit ranks right up there with any defensive team in the history of the league, including the 2000 Baltimore Ravens.
My favorite player on that 1985 defense was a young linebacker named Wilbur Marshall. In only his second season in the league, he seemed to be everywhere, and, as great players often do, stepped up his game in the playoffs.
Marshall was a key cog in the Bears defense that shut out the New York Giants 21-0 in the divisional playoff game, holding the Giants to 32 yards rushing. The Bears scored on a blocked (or as most like to remember as a whiffed) punt and two Jim McMahon- to-Dennis McKinnon touchdown passes.
But perhaps Wilbur and the defense’s most memorable play was at the end of the NFC championship game against the Rams.
The defense again dominated, holding NFL rushing leader Eric Dickerson to 46 yards and the Rams’ offense to a total of 130 yards. Up 17-0, at the very end of the game a play unfolded that basically summed up the season for a team that was defined by its defense.
With a minute to go, Richard Dent sacked the Rams quarterback, Dieter Brock, forcing a fumble. Marshall picked up the loose ball and carried it 52 yards for a score.
As the play unfolded, a light snow began to fall, and many believed it was George “Papa Bear” Halas smiling down from up above. It was a fitting end to the game, as the Bears won 24-0 and became the first team in history to make it through the playoffs without allowing any points by the opposition.
Super Bowl XX in New Orleans was more of the same for the dominating Bears defense, who forced six turnovers in the game.
After an early fumble by Payton allowed the Patriots to jump to a surprising 3-0 lead, the Bears rattled off 44 consecutive points on the way to a 46-10 blowout. At the time, it was the biggest margin of victory for a Super Bowl winner. The Fridge scored another TD and DE Richard Dent took home the MVP honors as the Bears completed their dream season with a title.
The 1985 Chicago Bears team had it all: characters, playmakers and they were incredibly exciting to watch. When you throw in an entertaining and well-respected head coach like Ditka, this team was my favorite of all time and arguably the best NFL squad in the history of the league.
If you look at the way the Bears dominated on its way to a title, going 15-1 in the regular season and then outscoring their playoff opponents 91-10 on the way to the championship, it will be very hard to convince me or any Bears fans otherwise.
Bring on the 1972 Dolphins. Or the 2007 Patriots. Or the 1991 Skins. Or the 1989 49ers. I’ll take ‘Da Bears of 1985.
