Ditka's Bears - Reruns Suck!: Part 3 (1986-1987)

The 1985 Chicago Bears were one of the greatest teams in NFL history. Even those that argue they weren’t the greatest can’t deny they are on the top three of anyone’s list of the greatest teams ever (well, except maybe Forrest Gregg’s). They not only dominated the game of football, they dominated the public eye in a way unseen by sports teams until their arrival.
But sustaining success is not always as easy as achieving success. The Bears were a combustible team of youth, ego, fame, and money. Balancing this against almost impossible expectations was going to be a challenge.

And it was a challenge Ditka failed to meet.

For the next two seasons after the Bears’ sensational 18-1, Super Bowl winning 1985 season, they were bounced out of the play-offs in the first round at home by the Washington Redskins. As we all knew in the 80s, reruns suck. And as we all knew in the 80s, good teams don’t lose play-off games at home.

What happened? Were the Bears, like the Challenger space-shuttle, destined to implode? Or were there chances they missed to create a dynasty, like the 1970s Pittsburgh Steelers?

There are many reasons. But when you think of the great dynasties, you immediately think of the quarterback at the helm for all of them - Bradshaw, Montana, Aikman, Brady.

And then you have . . . the quarterbacks of the 1980s Chicago Bears. Because once Jim McMahon was turned into a medical project by Charles Martin, the Bears’ dynastic chances were all but gone.