Chicago Bears Countdown to Kickoff: 50 Days with Mike Singletary

Mike Singletary helps the Chicago Bears win their only Super Bowl

By 1985, the Chicago Bears and Singletary were on a path of revenge following their loss deep in the previous year's playoffs and were also able to add another starting within the front seven in nose tackle William Perry. Both the defense and their middle linebacker enjoyed the best season with one another, as the 1985 Chicago Bears not only went down as one of the league's best units of all time, but Singletary finished the year as the NFL's Defensive Player of the Year following a season that featured four forced turnovers and three sacks. He was also named to the Pro Bowl and All-Pro team following the year.

After finishing the season with a 15-1 record, the team entered the following postseason with a nearly insurmountable defense, and the unit, led by Singletary, stifled teams throughout their Super Bowl run, including the game against the Patriots itself. In Super Bowl XX, the Bears helped their opponents to just seven total rushing yards, the lowest in any Super Bowl ever. Throughout the season and the team's playoff run, the Bears' defense finished with 64 sacks and 64 turnovers, which are ranked first and second, respectively, in NFL history for teams who also won the Super Bowl.

Following the team's historic Super Bowl run, the Chicago Bears as a whole were unable to reach their highs in the postseason, but Singletary remained a dominant force at the top of the NFL. Dating back to his fourth year in the league in 1984, Singletary had an eight-year stretch of being named to the Pro Bowl and an All-Pro nomination, all but one of which was First-Team. After winning Defensive Player of the Year in 1985, Singletary repeated with the award in 1988, where he was also fourth in the league in MVP voting.

Singletary's dominant All-Pro run ended before his final year with the team in 1992. In his last season, the middle linebacker was still a Pro Bowl-caliber player and was voted as such for the 10th consecutive time. Following his 12th professional season, Singletary retired from the NFL and Chicago Bears in 1993. At the time of his retirement, Singletary had recorded 1,488 tackles, 19 sacks, and 29 total turnovers in 179 games.