This year marks the 40th anniversary of one of the greatest Super Bowl runs and teams in NFL history – the 1985 Chicago Bears. All season long, we’ll go week by week, documenting the Chicago Bears‘ dominating run from Week 1 through the Super Bowl XX win in New Orleans.
Week 1: Bears 38, Buccaneers 28
The Bears kicked off their 1985 season with high expectations after a 1984 NFC Championship game loss to the San Francisco 49ers. Were they ready to take the next step as the up-and-coming team in the NFC?
Their Week 1 matchup against the Tampa Bay Buccaneers started a bit slow before the best defense of all time flipped a switch. Tampa came into Soldier Field and put up 28 first-half points on the Monsters of the Midway. The Bears offense kept the team in it with two scores from Jim McMahon – one passing and one rushing – and a Kevin Butler field goal. But the Bucs took a 28-17 lead into the half.
Man, to be a fly on the wall in that locker room at halftime! I can only imagine the words (and possibly chairs) being thrown around in those halftime meetings.
Buddy Ryan’s defense came out and flexed its muscles in a big way in the second half. They shut out Tampa in the final 30 minutes of the ball game, and cornerback Leslie Frazier had an early pick-six to cut the deficit to 28-24. From there on out, it was all Bears. Fullback Matt Suhey would score on a pass from Jim McMahon in the third, then McMahon scored his fourth touchdown of the game in the fourth, giving the Bears a 38-28 home win.
While star running back Walter Payton didn’t find the endzone on that Sunday afternoon, he had a big day on the ground, going for 120 yards on just 17 carries.
The 28 points allowed were the second-highest total they gave up all season. It was just one of three performances in which they let a team score over 20 points on them in the 1985 campaign.
Final Score: Bears 38, Buccaneers 28 | Box Score Bears Record: 1-0Highlights | Full Game
Score by Quarter
Buccaneers: 14 | 14 | 0 | 0=28 Bears: 7 | 10 | 14 | 7=38Scoring Plays
TB – 1Q: Calvin Magee 1-yard pass from Steve DeBerg (Igwebuike kick) — TB 7, CHI 0 CHI – 1Q: Dennis McKinnon 21-yard pass from Jim McMahon (Butler kick) — Tied 7–7 TB – 1Q: Kevin House 44-yard pass from Steve DeBerg (Igwebuike kick) — TB 14, CHI 7 TB – 2Q: Jerry Bell 11-yard pass from DeBerg (Igwebuike kick) — TB 21, CHI 7 CHI – 2Q: Jim McMahon 1-yard run (Butler kick) — TB 21, CHI 14 CHI – 2Q: Kevin Butler 38-yard field goal — TB 21, CHI 17 TB – 2Q: James Wilder 3-yard run (Igwebuike kick) — TB 28, CHI 17 CHI – 3Q: Leslie Frazier 29-yard interception return (Butler kick) — TB 28, CHI 24 CHI – 3Q: Matt Suhey 9-yard pass from McMahon (Butler kick) — CHI 31, TB 28 CHI –-4Q: Jim McMahon 1-yard run (Butler kick) — CHI 38, TB 28Team Stats
Tampa BayChicagoFirst Downs1727Rush-Yds-TDs29-166-134-185-2Cmp-Att-Yd-TD-INT13-21-160-3-223-34-274-2-1Sacked-Yards2-193-23Net Pass Yards141251Total Yards307436Fumbles-Lost0-02-2Turnovers23Penalties-Yards12-808-78Time of Possession26:4133:19Key Bears Performers
Jim McMahon (CHI): 23-for-34, 274 passing yards, 18 rushing yards, 4 Total TD Walter Payton (CHI): 17 carries, 120 rushing yards, 6 receptions, 37 receiving yards Leslie Frazier (CHI): 29-yard INT return for a TD to shift momentum Richard Dent (CHI): 2 sacks Gary Fencik (CHI): INT (Photo by Jonathan Daniel/Getty Images)Hence then, the article about shuffling through 85 bears earn comeback win in week 1 at soldier field was published today ( ) and is available on Bleacher Nation ( Middle East ) The editorial team at PressBee has edited and verified it, and it may have been modified, fully republished, or quoted. You can read and follow the updates of this news or article from its original source.
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