The game was played on January 26, 1986, at the Louisiana Superdome in New Orleans, Louisiana.
Super Bowl 20 was the last time the Chicago Bears were in a Super Bowl. Their 46-10 victory over the New England Patriots came after a near-perfect season where the Bears went 15-1, losing only to the Miami Dolphins.
The game was played on January 26, 1986, at the Louisiana Superdome in New Orleans, Louisiana.
Editor’s note: This column was written after an NBC re-air of Super Bowl XX on June 7, 2020. It is written as if the game was being covered on Jan. 26, 1986.
A Walter Payton fumble on the second play from scrimmage led to an early Patriots field goal that spoiled the defense’s bid for its third straight shutout, but the Bears responded by scoring 44 straight points.
No one will care that Buddy Ryan’s unit failed to get the shutout, as the defense couldn’t have played better. The Bears sacked the Patriots seven times. It felt like 14. The Bears forced six turnovers. It felt like 12. The defense scored, too.
Safety Reggie Phillips returned an interception 28 yards for a touchdown in the third quarter, while defensive tackle Henry Waechter – yes, Henry Waechter – delivered the final points of the game with a safety in the fourth quarter.
At times, it seemed like the Patriots didn’t even have an offensive line on the field. If you took the field for the Bears’ defense Sunday, you probably got near the quarterback. Otis Wilson, Richard Dent, Dan Hampton, Steve McMichael, Wilber Marshall and Waechter were all credited with sacks in the game.
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Poor Tony Eason had a quarterback line that will live in Super Bowl infamy. He was 0-for-6 with three sacks before getting benched. Perhaps there’s an 8-year-old boy living in San Mateo, Calif, who will rescue the Patriots someday, but backup quarterback Steve Grogan couldn’t do that Sunday. He was sacked four times and threw two interceptions while completing 17-of-30 passes for 177 yards.
Dent was particularly unblockable, earning Super Bowl XX MVP honors with two forced fumbles and 1.5 sacks.
Considering Dent was locked in a contract squabble with the Bears this season, he should be rewarded with plenty of new toys after Sunday’s dominating performance.
Jim McMahon also had a case for MVP honors, as his own concerns about playing through a sore rear end were apparently overblown. He received a pain-killing shot before the game and looked as mobile as he ever has, delivering two rushing touchdowns while only getting sacked once.
After a shaky first drive in which McMahon nearly threw two interceptions and was flipped upside down on a third-down scramble, the quarterback settled down and finished the game 12-of-20 for 256 yards, averaging 12.8 yards per attempt.
Sticking with the gloves on both hands and rotating through several headbands, McMahon delivered completions of 60 yards, 43 yards, 29 yards, 27 yards, and 24 yards throughout the game. He also scored two rushing touchdowns, one of which came after a Super Bowl-recording-setting 96-yard drive that still stands as of 2024.
From the first play of the game, the Patriots keyed in on Payton, swarming him every time he got the football. Payton finished the game with just 61 yards on 22 rushing attempts and did not score, but that does not mean the future Hall-of-Famer didn’t have an enormous impact on the game.
With all of New England’s resources focusing on stopping Payton, the rest of the Bears’ offense was unlocked. One of McMahon’s two rushing touchdowns came on an option play at the goal line in which the quarterback faked a straight handoff to William Perry before sprinting left with the option to pitch to Payton.
McMahon correctly kept the ball for an easy score. Fullback Matt Suhey also benefitted, gaining 52 yards on 11 carries while scoring an 11-yard touchdown.
With the game well out of reach in the fourth quarter, fans inside the Superdome could be heard chanting “Walter, Walter,” as the only business left incomplete was getting Payton into the end zone.
That never happened, and it’s fair to wonder if head coach Mike Ditka will regret not giving Payton the ball on the Bears’ last touchdown, which came late in the third quarter. The vision of Perry barreling into the end zone and spiking the football feels like it will live on forever, but it’s still unfortunate that Payton wasn’t rewarded with a touchdown in a blowout, largely possible by his presence on the field.
