The Chicago Bears Super Bowl Preseasons: Why Not to Trust the Records
With the 2017 NFL preseason in full swing, it’s time to remember that the preseason doesn’t necessarily count when it comes to what happens during the regular season. Records for preseason action are generally thrown out and forgotten. But there are still some that stick to the notion that the preseason does make a difference in the regular season. Some think it can “foreshadow” what will happen when the games are for real.
The 1985-86 Chicago Bears may be one of the best examples of why the preseason won’t tell you how a team is going to do in the regular season. The Chicago Bears had one of the best teams in league history and won the Super Bowl. But their start was not a good one. They ended their preseason with a record of 1-3 and looked a shaky heading into the 1985 regular season.
Chicago’s first loss came in a close 10-3 contest against the then St. Louis Rams. The Rams ended the 1985 season in good shape and met the Bears in the playoffs. Chicago shut them down, however, 20-0 on their way to the Super Bowl.
The next preseason game the Bears played was against the Indianapolis Colts. The Colts beat the Bears 24-13 at Soldier field dropping the Bears to 0-2. Indianapolis went on to post a 5-11 record that year.
In their third preseason game, the Bears went up against the Dallas Cowboys. The Cowboys beat the Bears 15-13. Dallas and Chicago had a nice rivalry going in the 80’s. The two teams played each other twice in 1985 including a big contest during the regular season. In the regular season game, the Bears pummeled the Cowboys 44-0. With that victory, the Bears made a name for themselves by beating “America’s Team.”
The final game of the 1985 preseason saw the Bears earn their only win. This time the offense lit up the scoreboard while the defense kept the Buffalo Bills in check allowing just two touchdowns. The final score was 45-14. Perhaps the Bears finally got everything put together and gave fans a sneak peek of how it would be for the regular season.
Chicago Bears
If you look at the preseason record of the 2006 Chicago Bears, the last Bears team to go to the Super Bowl, you will see that they split their four games. They started out with a 28-14 loss to the San Francisco 49ers. The two teams would play again in the regular season, and Chicago would beat them soundly, 41-10.
The Bears turned around and beat the San Diego Chargers 24-3 the next week to earn their first win of the preseason.
Chicago would get their second loss of the preseason at the hands of the Arizona Cardinals by the score of 23-16. Their second meeting against the Cardinals, during the regular season is still one of the most talked about games in Bears’ history. The late Dennis Green, head coach of the Cardinals at the time will forever be remembered for his remarks following the Bears win in that game. It was one of the greatest games in Bears’ history.
The Bears would win their final preseason game of 2006 beating the Cleveland Browns 20-7. From there, they would roll to a 13-3 record and represent the NFC in the Super Bowl. But they would not find the same success that the 1985 Bears did. Instead, they lost to the Indianapolis Colts in Super Bowl XLI 29-17. Even though their defense had pretty much run the table all year, they struggled against Peyton Manning and the Colts high-powered offense. But their offense didn’t do them any favors and couldn’t help keep them in the game.
Don’t fear Bears’ fans; the preseason won’t have any effect on how the season plays out for the Bears, good or bad.
Just about the only thing that the preseason has a big impact on are injuries. Sometimes teams can lose their best player for an extended of time. Remember Rex Grossman’s injury to his ankle in a preseason game years ago? Injuries have been a big problem for the Bears during the preseason. But we will look at that at another time.