1985 Chicago Bears Had One of NFL's Best Ever Defenses

Published on March 10th, 2024 2:25 pm EST
Written By: Dave Manuel


In 1985, the Chicago Bears won the Super Bowl, led a fearsome defense that included the likes of Richard Dent, Steve McMichael and William Perry.

This was truly a defense that struck fear into the hearts of opposing players.

Over the course of a 16-game season, the Chicago Bears defense allowed just 198 points. The next closest team, the New York Jets, allowed an additional 66 points.

The Buddy Ryan led defense of the Bears allowed just 4,135 total offensive yards, which was first in the league.

Their rushing defense was stingy, to say the least, allowing just 1,319 rushing yards over the entire season. In addition, opposing offenses managed just 6 rushing touchdowns over the course of 16 games.

The Bears defense managed to force 54 turnovers over the course of the season, of which 34 were interceptions.

Offenses managed just 236 first downs against the Bears over the course of the season, which was also the best in the league.

The Bears posted an astonishing 64 sacks, with Richard Dent leading the way with 17 of his own.

In short - the Bears had opposing quarterbacks running for their lives.

-

The destruction of opposing offenses continued into the playoffs, with the Bears three opponents - Giants, Rams and Patriots - managing to post a total of just 10 points.

After shutting out the Giants and Rams in the Divisional Round and Conference Championship respectively, the Bears destroyed the New England Patriots in the Super Bowl by a score of 46-10.

The Patriots gave up 7 sacks, turned the ball over 6 times and managed just 123 total yards on offense.

It was truly a masterful defensive performance that had people talking about a dynasty.

In 1986, however, injuries derailed what was a promising season, and the potential dynasty came to a crashing end.