The 1985 Chicago Bears: The Greatest NFL Defense of all time
The Chicago Bears of 1985 had the best defense the NFL has ever seen
The Purple People Eaters, the Legion of Boom, the Steel Curtain, the Monsters of Midway and so many other great NFL Defenses have their place on the NFL’s Greatest Defenses list.
However, one stands out amongst the rest, the 1985 Chicago Bears.
They are known as one of the meanest, toughest teams to ever take the field. Led by a fearless leader, the 1985 Chicago Bears are the greatest defense in NFL history.
With Mike Ditka at the helm and Buddy Ryan as the defensive coordinator, the Bears were set up to have one of the greatest runs on the defensive side of the ball, ever.
The Chicago Bears had Richard Dent, Otis Wilson, Steve McMichael, Leslie Frazier, Mike Singletary, Dave Duerson and Gary Fencik.
The Bears went 15-1 and were first in the NFC Central. In three playoff games during the 1985 season, they allowed just a total of 10 points. They recorded two shutouts and dominated offenses that came at them.
The Greatest Defense - Key players on the 1985 Bears roster
Richard Dent:
Dent played for the Bears for 10 seasons. He was the Super Bowl MVP. During the game, he shared 1.5 sacks, forced two fumbles, and blocked a pass. During the season, Dent had 17 sacks. He was drafted in the eighth round of the 1983 NFL Draft. He was a four-time Pro Bowler and considered one of the greatest Bears of all time.
Otis Wilson:
Otis Wilson was the Bears first-round pick of the 1980 NFL Draft. He was a cornerstone in turning around the Bears defense. In the ‘85 season, Wilson had 10.5 sacks. He was considered the Bears most intimidating player.
Steve McMichael:
McMichael played for the Bears from 1981-1993. He signed with the Bears in the off-season as a free agent. He was a two-time Pro Bowler and two-time First-Team All-Pro selection. He contributed eight sacks in the ‘85 season.
Leslie Frazier:
Leslie Frazier had a short-lived career, playing from just 1981-1985. Frazier had six interceptions during the 1985 season and unfortunately suffered a career ending during the second half of the Super Bowl. He was returning a kick when he was taken out and never played in another NFL game.
Mike Singletary:
He finished as the Bears' first or second leading tackler each of his last 11 seasons. He amassed an impressive 1,488 career tackles, 885 of which were solo efforts. He missed playing just two games, both in 1986. He made 7 interceptions and 12 fumble recoveries.
Dave Duerson:
Duerson played with the Bears from 1983-1989. He was taken in the third round of the 1983 NFL Draft. He went to four consecutive Pro Bowls, two Super Bowls and in the ‘85 season, he had five interceptions.
Coach Ditka
The team was corralled by hard-nosed Mike Ditka.
Ditka was a Bears player himself who was hired to bring back greatness to Chicago. He coached the Bears from 1982 to 1992 and amassed 106 wins and 62 losses. He led the team to seven playoff appearances over nine seasons. At the end of his tenure, the Bears had a 6-6 record in the postseason.
He was the NFL Coach of the Year by the Associated Press in 1985. Mike Ditka set the tone, as he told the team that this was their year.
"Put a chip on your shoulder, and don't let anyone knock it off until we win the super bowl!"
became the team's rallying cry.
Ditka was a tight end when he played in the NFL but with the help of Buddy Ryan, the team was considered a defensive team first. But the relationship he had with Buddy Ryan was not great.
Ryan was on the Bears coaching staff before Ditka took over. It is widely believed that Ryan wanted to be the man to take over the reins but was passed over. This led to a strained relationship. But Ryan loved his players and it showed during a meeting on Saturday night before the Super Bowl.
''He told us, “Win or lose, next week you guys are my heroes''` said safety Dave Duerson. ''By the time he was able to finish, his eyes filled with tears and they were running down his chin. His entire face was quivering. We stood up and gave him a standing ovation. Then Steve McMichael proceeded to destroy the chalkboard.''
After the Bears won the Super Bowl in 1985, Buddy Ryan left to become the coach of the Philadelphia Eagles. When he was gone, Ditka said he was not just happy but “elated” that Ryan was gone. In five seasons, Ryan made the playoffs three years and once lost to the Bears in the NFC Divisional Game in 1988.
The 1985 Bears - The Stats
Many believe that the 1985 Bears are the greatest defense ever and will never be touched again.
Chicago allowed an NFL-low 12.4 points per game and surrendered just 10 total points during three playoff wins, including a 46-10 beatdown of the New England Patriots in Super Bowl XX.
The interior of the line was anchored by the 350-pound William "The Refrigerator" Perry, who tallied five sacks in his rookie year, and fellow DT Steve McMichael, who sacked opposing QBs eight times. That's a total of 26.5 sacks for the starting defensive line alone in 1985. In 14 different games that season, the Bears allowed 14 points or less
The Bears became the first team in history to go through the playoffs without allowing a point after they defeated the Giants 21-0 and Rams 24-0. It was unprecedented that the Bears had such a great regular season considering they were just 1-3 in the preseason. The year before they were 10-4.
Not just a great defense
The 1985 Chicago Bears are one of the few teams to consistently challenge the undefeated 1972 Miami Dolphins for the unofficial title of the greatest NFL team of all time.
In 2007, the 1985 Bears were ranked as the second-greatest Super Bowl championship team on the NFL Network's documentary series America's Game: The Super Bowl Champions, ranking behind only the 1972 Dolphins.
The defense led the league in points allowed (198), yards allowed (4,135) and takeaways (54), a feat that wouldn't be accomplished again until the 2013 Seattle Seahawks defense.
Rich Cohen wrote the book, Monsters: The 1985 Chicago Bears and the Wild Heart of Football. He says this,
“Football is an angry game, played with punishing violence," he writes. "People get destroyed on the field, lives end. It makes sense that its first star was someone who'd already lost everything, a ruined man, ill-treated, stripped to his essential qualities: speed, strength, power. Jim Thorpe is the spirit of the game. Every NFL hit still carries the fury of the disgraced Indian, prowling the field, seeking justice.”
The 1985 Bears were such a great team and defense that they really were more than that. They became a family in the process and one of the NFL’s best. They still have reunions and while some players and coaches are no longer with us, they still have a great relationship.
"The public remembers 'The Super Bowl Shuffle' and the shenanigans. But I remember it as the family in the backyard at the picnic,” Steve McMichaels said. “We're family, man. When a team wins like that, you become family. 'And you know how you are with your family. You might fight in the backyard at the picnic for the last beer. But nobody else better mess with your family, right?"
Read about Matt’s pick for Greatest Offense of all time, the 1999 St. Louis Rams.
