This was the Bears' first regular season game at Riverfront, and first win over the Bengals. They'd previously met in Chicago in 1972 and 1980, with the Bengals winning both. Potential earlier meetings at Cincinnati didn't happen because of expansion in 1976-1977 (limiting most teams to 2 interconference games instead of 3 in those years) and the Bears playing a "5th place schedule" in 1983 while the rest of the NFC Central played AFC Central teams.
This was the last game of the 1986 season that McMahon played well. He was hurt early in the season against the Browns and re-aggravated in this game. The games he played after this were poor because he had no arm strength. Contrary to popular belief, it wasn't the Charles Martin cheap shot that caused the injury. That hit was the final nail in the coffin for his shoulder that season, which was already injured.
Another great point Mike... And as you know Jim had shoulder issues before this season too. Sad... But by the NFC championship game against the 49ers Jim was a shadow of his former self. No arm whatsoever. People that don't think Jim couldn't throw the ball need to watch the 85-86 season... And the Superbowl against the Patriots. Jim actually threw a very good long ball. In the Superbowl Jim threw a very good long pass to Willie Gault. Gault had 130 yds in that game. The Bears letting Willie go was a foolish move. He changed the geometry of the defense because of his ability. Therefore making it easier for the other WRs. Though McKinnon was beat to pieces by the 1989 NFC championship game against the 49ers. And the rest of the Bears WRs were pedestrian at best. McKinnon when healthy was actually a very good receiver. In the early part of the 1985 season like the first 6 games McKinnon was leading the NFC in receptions and yards.
He played well in the game the next week vs Minnesota at home. He got hit in the shoulder again wk6 at Houston, and just didn't have much arm strength after that. What he should've done is shut it down after the Cleveland game and then try and come back later in the season.
@@SECRETARIATguy224 Respectfully, I disagree about his play in the Week 5 game at home against the Vikings. He had one play - a slant pass that Ortego ran 50+ yards for a TD. Outside of that, his stats were pedestrian. He should have had surgery after the Super Bowl because his shoulder was a mess in the 1985 season (he missed three+ games late in the season), but they injected him with cortisone a few times to mask it. Eventually, though, they couldn't hide it much longer.
@@mikepetitti Okay, we're splitting hairs here, but he completed some other nice passes in that game vs Minnesota. He didn't play as well as in Cincinnati, but still played . . . well. We can agree to disagree on the semantics of what _played well_ means, but I must tell you . . . I agree with you completely about everything else. He could still put mustard on the ball before he got hit in the shoulder vs Cleveland, but never again in his career had the same zip after that, even after he got his reconstructive shoulder surgery. The problem was that the Bears didn't believe that McMahon had anything really wrong with his shoulder after the Cleveland game [McMahon told them there was . . . it ended up being a partially torn rotator-cuff]. The team thought that they'd just do the same thing they did the year before. At one point Ditka even accused McMahon of faking.
Seemed like the Bears got off to 4-0 starts every year from 85 on. Even in 89 when they ended up 6-10 started 4-0 before the wheels fell off after Dan Hampton went down.
@@YESJesusisLord100 I said “seemed like” cause I was going off memory not making a definitive statement. The point was the Bears for many years there got off to fast, hot starts and even losing in Week 2 1988 they still were one of the better teams all year in 88 and having home field advantage throughout the playoffs in the NFC Losing of course to the 49ers in the championship game.
@@rustykuntz94 Yeah, they got decimated with injuries in 1988 and limped their way to the NFC Championship game. Did you play outfield for the White Sox in the 70’s & 80’s??
If only Jim McMahon had stayed healthy this season, the Bears probably would have repeated as Super Bowl champions or at least gone at least to the Giants in the NFC title game.
Agreed with the assessment of McMahon going down. I also think the Bears may have still had a chance if Ditka didn't have that love affair with Doug Flutie. Tomczak was doing a decent job with the offense; with the possible exception of the season finale at Dallas, the offense struggled under Flutie..
'89 was a real tough year...guess I had gotten spoiled by success after so many years of mediocrity and just bad play. Bears started out 4-0 that year and then the wheels fell off. I think the slide started with the Tampa Bay game...Bucs grabbed an early lead, Bears could not recover. Lost the game 42-35. Rest of the league took note. Bears were not competitive for the rest of the year..
ua-cam.com/video/fr7UcrLLybo/v-deo.html it was Charles Martin body slamming mcmahon that cost the bears a 2nd super bowl. and fyi the bears would have destroyed the giants just like we did in 85 and 87 by a score of 55-19
It's easy to talk about the Bears but it was the Bengals that went to the Super Bowl twice in the 80's. And challenged the 49's more in those 2 Super Bowls than any other Super Bowl team the 49's played. And those losing teams had QB's named Marino and Elway too.
Ross Stanger The NFC dominated the Super Bowl from ‘84 through ‘96 - and it wasn’t even close. So yes, you’re correct in saying the Bears would have blown out the AFC participants ... however, so would any of the NFC’s top 5 or 6 teams. The NFC was so far superior to the AFC from the mid-80’s to mid-90’s that it was a joke!
My favorite part is when the old man, Kenny Anderson came in and then was taken out! All 3 QBs played for the Bengals in this game. Lol. Today Anderson would have been fined and possibly not even allowed to play due to his grey facemask. Everyone else has black. It's league policy now that EVERY player have matching uniforms. Not like arm pads, but team supplied equipment.
McMahon has a bad shoulder and Ditka is calling GL QB sneaks, and Walter Payton is on the team. SMFH. Any good coach wins 3 Super Bowls with those teams.
But seriously folks the Bears' downfall started at the end of the Super Bowl with the McCaskeys ending the Honey Bears cheerleaders and the departure of Buddy Ryan and his 46 defense.
Miami game in '85 was the beginning of the end for the 46...Slot guy had a field day. Isolate the LB's, pick up the blitz and the slot receiver is wide open. I know you remember that game!!!!!
Scooby Carr the end started before the first half of Super Bowl XX when Leslie Fraizer went down never to return. The defense in 86 was actually better statistically but Washington exposed that corner in the playoffs, no excuse the should have easily beaten the Skins to go to NY.
There are some who say the '84 defense was better than '85. Again, lack of a QB turned out to be the Achilles heel. Going back to that Washington game, think it was LA Mike Richardson who got burned. Never thought of him or Reggie Phillips as good secondary players
Correct - they were good corners if the pass rush was working. But with the offenses adapting with quicker drops the corners were exposed. Frazier was their best corner by far during this era.
If Jim McMahon were healthy we'd of won at least another one! Probably 3. In '85, '86 & '87. Maybe '88 instead of '87. Imagine the Steelers without Bradshaw! The Cowboys without Staubach or Aikman! The 49ers without Montana or Young! The Patriots without Brady! Brady is the only Hall Of Fame guy from all those Super Bowl's. I can't think of one other guy that will be in the Hall of Fame that was a Patriot during this dynasty other than Tom Brady. Belichek too, but he's a coach.
2:45 McMahon’s value shows in the 1st 2 plays. Speed receiver Willie Gault catches 2 passes/50 yards while spreading the defense, creating easy yards for everyone else. With weak-armed Steve Fuller under center, the rest of the offense could not benefit from Gault’s speed. After Super Bowl XX, McMahon’s shoulder was hurting & Doug Flutie available, cheap, and offered the arm strength/mobility of a healthy McMahon. In hindsight, it’s surprising the Bears didn’t protect themselves by signing Flutie much sooner than they did.
Gary Fencik - far and away the best safety that Chicago probably will never have again. They've tried many different people in the safety position with always mediocre results.
I recall a game...want to say against Buffalo...where Conte was coming up for a tackle (may have been on a blitz) and was just flattened by a RB...think it was Fred Jackson??? And let's not forget how he got burned in the Green Bay game where Rogers throws that closing seconds TD pass (Trestmans first year) The whole world knew Green Bay needed a TD to win...how do you let anybody get behind the secondary!!!
I did not get to watch the super bowl and these teams until 1990. But Ditka was the reason they did not win more super bowls. And Richard Dent agrees. Ditka could never unscrew his mind off the qb position. He may have been the reason they won the first but he is the reason they never won again.
31:40 a great play and then John Madden gives his opinion on Jim McMahon. This is also one of the most annoying crowds I've ever heard. Bunch of whining crybabies!
I also think the Bears' downfall was when Walter Payton never scored one touchdown in the Super Bowl. Plus the failure of Willie Gault might also have contributed. This all led up to the failures of Wannstedt, Jauron, Lovie Smith, Trestman and John Fox. Now with Matt Nagy at the helm and a former assistant with the Chiefs, will the Bears finally respond or will the McCaskeys interfere with him and they falter again? Only time will tell.
Goodness gracious, let the whole Payton-not-scoring-in-Super-Bowl thing go! It was totally meaningless, and Walter acted like a petulant child [and I grew up in Chicago during his entire career and wept uncontrollably when he died].
i was there got few bears autographs in the hotel payton hampton dent gault suhey phillips and even met madden and summer, mcmahon and fridge would not sign
The two greatest commentators of all time, calling a match featuring my beloved Chicago Bears - it doesn't get any better!
I loved this game when I was a kid.
thanks for the posting you're great with these
I remember this game like it was yesterday.
Da Bears.
Madden-Summerall....best booth ever.
I remember watching this game live. I was 12.
This was the Bears' first regular season game at Riverfront, and first win over the Bengals. They'd previously met in Chicago in 1972 and 1980, with the Bengals winning both. Potential earlier meetings at Cincinnati didn't happen because of expansion in 1976-1977 (limiting most teams to 2 interconference games instead of 3 in those years) and the Bears playing a "5th place schedule" in 1983 while the rest of the NFC Central played AFC Central teams.
This was the last game of the 1986 season that McMahon played well. He was hurt early in the season against the Browns and re-aggravated in this game. The games he played after this were poor because he had no arm strength. Contrary to popular belief, it wasn't the Charles Martin cheap shot that caused the injury. That hit was the final nail in the coffin for his shoulder that season, which was already injured.
The Martin "hit" was still a criminal battery, far outside the scope of the game.
Another great point Mike...
And as you know Jim had shoulder issues before this season too.
Sad... But by the NFC championship game against the 49ers Jim was a shadow of his former self. No arm whatsoever.
People that don't think Jim couldn't throw the ball need to watch the 85-86 season... And the Superbowl against the Patriots. Jim actually threw a very good long ball. In the Superbowl Jim threw a very good long pass to Willie Gault. Gault had 130 yds in that game. The Bears letting Willie go was a foolish move. He changed the geometry of the defense because of his ability. Therefore making it easier for the other WRs. Though McKinnon was beat to pieces by the 1989 NFC championship game against the 49ers. And the rest of the Bears WRs were pedestrian at best. McKinnon when healthy was actually a very good receiver. In the early part of the 1985 season like the first 6 games McKinnon was leading the NFC in receptions and yards.
He played well in the game the next week vs Minnesota at home. He got hit in the shoulder again wk6 at Houston, and just didn't have much arm strength after that. What he should've done is shut it down after the Cleveland game and then try and come back later in the season.
@@SECRETARIATguy224 Respectfully, I disagree about his play in the Week 5 game at home against the Vikings. He had one play - a slant pass that Ortego ran 50+ yards for a TD. Outside of that, his stats were pedestrian. He should have had surgery after the Super Bowl because his shoulder was a mess in the 1985 season (he missed three+ games late in the season), but they injected him with cortisone a few times to mask it. Eventually, though, they couldn't hide it much longer.
@@mikepetitti Okay, we're splitting hairs here, but he completed some other nice passes in that game vs Minnesota. He didn't play as well as in Cincinnati, but still played . . . well. We can agree to disagree on the semantics of what _played well_ means, but I must tell you . . . I agree with you completely about everything else.
He could still put mustard on the ball before he got hit in the shoulder vs Cleveland, but never again in his career had the same zip after that, even after he got his reconstructive shoulder surgery.
The problem was that the Bears didn't believe that McMahon had anything really wrong with his shoulder after the Cleveland game [McMahon told them there was . . . it ended up being a partially torn rotator-cuff]. The team thought that they'd just do the same thing they did the year before. At one point Ditka even accused McMahon of faking.
Seemed like the Bears got off to 4-0 starts every year from 85 on. Even in 89 when they ended up 6-10 started 4-0 before the wheels fell off after Dan Hampton went down.
They lost in week 2 to Minnesota in 1988.
@@YESJesusisLord100 I said “seemed like” cause I was going off memory not making a definitive statement. The point was the Bears for many years there got off to fast, hot starts and even losing in Week 2 1988 they still were one of the better teams all year in 88 and having home field advantage throughout the playoffs in the NFC Losing of course to the 49ers in the championship game.
@@rustykuntz94 Yeah, they got decimated with injuries in 1988 and limped their way to the NFC Championship game. Did you play outfield for the White Sox in the 70’s & 80’s??
If only Jim McMahon had stayed healthy this season, the Bears probably would have repeated as Super Bowl champions or at least gone at least to the Giants in the NFC title game.
Agreed with the assessment of McMahon going down. I also think the Bears may have still had a chance if Ditka didn't have that love affair with Doug Flutie. Tomczak was doing a decent job with the offense; with the possible exception of the season finale at Dallas, the offense struggled under Flutie..
Mark Broadnax I also think the Flutie affair might have led to a 6-10 finish in 1989 and the mediocrity with Jim Harbaugh.
'89 was a real tough year...guess I had gotten spoiled by success after so many years of mediocrity and just bad play. Bears started out 4-0 that year and then the wheels fell off. I think the slide started with the Tampa Bay game...Bucs grabbed an early lead, Bears could not recover. Lost the game 42-35. Rest of the league took note. Bears were not competitive for the rest of the year..
ua-cam.com/video/fr7UcrLLybo/v-deo.html
it was Charles Martin body slamming mcmahon that cost the bears a 2nd super bowl.
and fyi the bears would have destroyed the giants just like we did in 85 and 87 by a score of 55-19
Scooby Carr if we played the Giants I think we win that game. We beat then 21-0 the year before and 31-19 the year after. Lol
After this game some crazy guy started yelling at Ditka calling him Ditkus and said the Bears weren't going to win the super bowl.
Wow! They put up 44 points against a good Cincinnati team but struggled to put up 13 points against sub 500 teams
If you watch McMahon in this game he does great things but he is clearly hurt here
Yep. Shoulder ain't right. Partially torn rotator-cuff from a hit in the Cleveland game, wk1.
This is my dream Super Bowl. The Bears are without question my favorite team but I’ve always had a soft spot for the Bengals.
Almost happened in '88
It's easy to talk about the Bears but it was the Bengals that went to the Super Bowl twice in the 80's. And challenged the 49's more in those 2 Super Bowls than any other Super Bowl team the 49's played. And those losing teams had QB's named Marino and Elway too.
Boomer Esiason - probably the finest QB the Bengals will likely never have again
I was partial to Ken Anderson....
Mark Broadnax Thanks for the info
Andy Dalton's probably better than Esiason.
@@alecsanderhamilton9224 Dalton is nowhere near Boomer son!
James Hayes ok whatever
This proves to me that if the Bears had gone to more Super Bowls we'd of beaten the AFC team in it! We always beat these guys. 1986 & 1989.
Ross Stanger
The NFC dominated the Super Bowl from ‘84 through ‘96 - and it wasn’t even close.
So yes, you’re correct in saying the Bears would have blown out the AFC participants ... however, so would any of the NFC’s top 5 or 6 teams.
The NFC was so far superior to the AFC from the mid-80’s to mid-90’s that it was a joke!
Joe Gibbs figured out how to neutralize the bear attack in 1986 and 1987. otherwise the bears might have won 3 SB's in a row.
My favorite part is when the old man, Kenny Anderson came in and then was taken out! All 3 QBs played for the Bengals in this game. Lol. Today Anderson would have been fined and possibly not even allowed to play due to his grey facemask. Everyone else has black. It's league policy now that EVERY player have matching uniforms. Not like arm pads, but team supplied equipment.
McMahon has a bad shoulder and Ditka is calling GL QB sneaks, and Walter Payton is on the team. SMFH. Any good coach wins 3 Super Bowls with those teams.
But seriously folks the Bears' downfall started at the end of the Super Bowl with the McCaskeys ending the Honey Bears cheerleaders and the departure of Buddy Ryan and his 46 defense.
Miami game in '85 was the beginning of the end for the 46...Slot guy had a field day. Isolate the LB's, pick up the blitz and the slot receiver is wide open. I know you remember that game!!!!!
Scooby Carr the end started before the first half of Super Bowl XX when Leslie Fraizer went down never to return. The defense in 86 was actually better statistically but Washington exposed that corner in the playoffs, no excuse the should have easily beaten the Skins to go to NY.
There are some who say the '84 defense was better than '85. Again, lack of a QB turned out to be the Achilles heel. Going back to that Washington game, think it was LA Mike Richardson who got burned. Never thought of him or Reggie Phillips as good secondary players
Yes - so few understand the significance of the Frazier injury. On such a stupid play no less.
Correct - they were good corners if the pass rush was working. But with the offenses adapting with quicker drops the corners were exposed. Frazier was their best corner by far during this era.
RIP John Madden lost a great one
Watching old Bears 🐻 games due to COVID-19 lockdown 😂😁
If Jim McMahon were healthy we'd of won at least another one! Probably 3. In '85, '86 & '87. Maybe '88 instead of '87. Imagine the Steelers without Bradshaw! The Cowboys without Staubach or Aikman! The 49ers without Montana or Young! The Patriots without Brady! Brady is the only Hall Of Fame guy from all those Super Bowl's. I can't think of one other guy that will be in the Hall of Fame that was a Patriot during this dynasty other than Tom Brady. Belichek too, but he's a coach.
Did you compare McMahon to Bradshaw, Staubach and Montana? And Brady? And others better than him? That's rich
2:45 McMahon’s value shows in the 1st 2 plays. Speed receiver Willie Gault catches 2 passes/50 yards while spreading the defense, creating easy yards for everyone else.
With weak-armed Steve Fuller under center, the rest of the offense could not benefit from Gault’s speed.
After Super Bowl XX, McMahon’s shoulder was hurting & Doug Flutie available, cheap, and offered the arm strength/mobility of a healthy McMahon.
In hindsight, it’s surprising the Bears didn’t protect themselves by signing Flutie much sooner than they did.
Wrong
I was listening to a radio show and mcmichael said flute cost him and the team 2 more superbowls
@@troyhall4039 That doesn't make any sense, since of course Flutie only played for the Bears for a small part of one season.
Gary Fencik - far and away the best safety that Chicago probably will never have again. They've tried many different people in the safety position with always mediocre results.
Chris Conte comes to mind...the absolute worst!!!!
Mark Broadnax I hear you right there sir. Mr. Conte never should have never been a Bear.
I recall a game...want to say against Buffalo...where Conte was coming up for a tackle (may have been on a blitz) and was just flattened by a RB...think it was Fred Jackson??? And let's not forget how he got burned in the Green Bay game where Rogers throws that closing seconds TD pass (Trestmans first year) The whole world knew Green Bay needed a TD to win...how do you let anybody get behind the secondary!!!
mike brown shaun gale were decent
I did not get to watch the super bowl and these teams until 1990. But Ditka was the reason they did not win more super bowls. And Richard Dent agrees. Ditka could never unscrew his mind off the qb position. He may have been the reason they won the first but he is the reason they never won again.
Holy Crap! 5 combined turnovers in only the first quarter! 3 straight in a row, that's crazy.
31:40 a great play and then John Madden gives his opinion on Jim McMahon.
This is also one of the most annoying crowds I've ever heard. Bunch of whining crybabies!
Otis Wilson 51:10. Blimey.
IMO, before Khalil Mack arrived, Otis was the best pass rushing linebacker I'd ever seen in a Bear uniform.
And the worst in coverage. One trick pony
I also think the Bears' downfall was when Walter Payton never scored one touchdown in the Super Bowl. Plus the failure of Willie Gault might also have contributed. This all led up to the failures of Wannstedt, Jauron, Lovie Smith, Trestman and John Fox. Now with Matt Nagy at the helm and a former assistant with the Chiefs, will the Bears finally respond or will the McCaskeys interfere with him and they falter again? Only time will tell.
Frazier tearing up his knee on a stupid reverse call and Buddy Ryan Leaving were the end.
Leslie Frazier career ending injury in super bowl too
Back then, we had Ditka and McMahon. Today we have Nagy and Trubisky. How low we've fallen.
over the years time has not been kind to the chicago bears.
Goodness gracious, let the whole Payton-not-scoring-in-Super-Bowl thing go! It was totally meaningless, and Walter acted like a petulant child [and I grew up in Chicago during his entire career and wept uncontrollably when he died].
As with ALL USA today
i was there got few bears autographs in the hotel payton hampton dent gault suhey phillips and even met madden and summer, mcmahon and fridge would not sign