The 1986 Chicago Bears season was their 67th regular season and 17th post-season completed in the National Football League. The Bears entered the season looking to repeat as Super Bowl champions, as they had won in 1985. Chicago managed to finish 14–2, one game off of their 1985 record of 15–1. Although the Bears had an equal 14–2 record as the New York Giants for the league's best record, the Giants were seeded number one in the NFC for the playoffs due to the Giants having a better conference record (11–1) than that of the Bears (10–2). In going 14–2, the Chicago Bears were the first team in NFL history to have consecutive seasons with 14 or more victories.
After winning the championship in 1985, the Bears seemed like a dynasty in the making. However, quarterback Jim McMahon showed up to training camp 25 pounds overweight – the product of the post-Super Bowl partying he'd partaken in. Nonetheless, he was once again named as the starter. Injuries to his rotator cuff (including a flagrant late-hit by Charles Martin which exacerbated it), however, derailed his season. McMahon played in only six of the team's first 12 games.
Aided by a strong offensive line, the Bears were once again led on offense by Walter Payton. Payton remained his usual stellar self, posting his 10th and final 1,000-yard season. With McMahon's poor play, as well as the equally poor play of backups Mike Tomczak, Steve Fuller and Doug Flutie, Payton was the sole spark on offense, which ranked 13th in the NFL.
As had been the case the year before, the Bears were once again led by their explosive defense. Any shortcomings on the offensive side of the ball were more than made up for on the defensive side. They once again were ranked 1st in the NFL. The Bears' defense became the third defense in the history of the NFL to lead the league in fewest points allowed and fewest total yards allowed for two consecutive seasons.The Best Show in Football: The 1946–1955 Cleveland Browns, p. 294, Andy Piascik, Taylor Trade Publishing, 2007, The Bears' 187 points allowed is the fewest surrendered by any team in the 1980s (other than the strike-shortened 1982 season) – even fewer than the 198 points the Bears allowed in their historic 1985 season. The 187 points allowed set the all-time NFL record for fewest points allowed in a 16-game regular season at the time, which would not be broken until the 2000 Baltimore Ravens allowed a mere 165 points 14 years later.
However, the Bears were not able to recapture their magic from the season before and were bounced from the playoffs in their first game by the Washington Redskins.
Offseason 1986 NFL draft
Personnel Coaches / Staff Coaching Staff of 1986 season Front office Virginia Halas McCaskey – Owner Michael McCaskey – Team president Jerry Vainisi – General manager Ray Earley – Equipment manager Gary Haeger – Assistant equipment manager Rod Graves – Director of player personnel Coaches Mike Ditka – Head coach Steve Kazor – Assistant head coach Ed Hughes – Offensive coordinator Vince Tobin – Defensive coordinator Position coaches Greg Landry – Quarterbacks Johnny Roland – Running backs Dick Stanfel – Offensive line John Levra – Defensive line Dave McGinnis – Linebackers Jim LaRue – Secondary Trainers Brian McCaskey – Assistant trainer Clyde Emrich – Weightlifting/Strength Scouts Jim Dooley Pete McGrane – Video team
Roster
Preseason Game Date Opponent Result Record Venue 1 August 3 Dallas Cowboys W 17–6 1–0 Wembley Stadium 2 August 9 Pittsburgh Steelers W 33–13 2–0 Three Rivers Stadium 3 August 16 Indianapolis Colts W 38–21 3–0 Soldier Field 4 August 23 St. Louis Cardinals L 7–14 3–1 Soldier Field 5 August 30 Buffalo Bills W 31–17 4–1 Notre Dame Stadium
Regular season
Schedule Week Date Opponent Result Record Venue Attendance 1 September 7 Cleveland Browns W 41–31 1–0 Soldier Field 66,030 2 September 14 Philadelphia Eagles W 13–10 2–0 Soldier Field 65,130 3 September 22 at Green Bay Packers W 25–12 3–0 Lambeau Field 55,527 4 September 28 at Cincinnati Bengals W 44–7 4–0 Riverfront Stadium 55,146 5 October 5 Minnesota Vikings W 23–0 5–0 Soldier Field 63,921 6 October 12 at Houston Oilers W 20–7 6–0 Astrodome 46,026 7 October 19 at Minnesota Vikings L 7–23 6–1 Hubert H. Humphrey Metrodome 62,851 8 October 26 Detroit Lions W 13–7 7–1 Soldier Field 62,064 9 November 3 Los Angeles Rams L 17–20 7–2 Soldier Field 64,877 10 November 9 at Tampa Bay Buccaneers W 23–3 8–2 Tampa Stadium 70,097 11 November 16 at Atlanta Falcons W 13–10 9–2 Atlanta–Fulton County Stadium 55,520 12 November 23 Green Bay Packers W 12–10 10–2 Soldier Field 59,291 13 November 30 Pittsburgh Steelers W 13–10 (OT) 11–2 Soldier Field 61,425 14 December 7 Tampa Bay Buccaneers W 48–14 12–2 Soldier Field 52,746 15 December 15 at Detroit Lions W 16–13 13–2 Pontiac Silverdome 75,602 16 December 21 at Dallas Cowboys W 24–10 14–2 Texas Stadium 57,256
Game summaries
Week 1: vs. Cleveland Browns
Pro-Football-Reference.com. Retrieved 2014-Jun-06.
Week 2: vs. Philadelphia Eagles
Source: Pro-Football-Reference.com
Week 12: vs. Green Bay Packers
Source: Pro-Football-Reference.com
Week 15: at Detroit Lions
Source: Pro-Football-Reference.com
Week 16: at Dallas Cowboys
Source: Pro-Football-Reference.com
Playoffs
Round Date Opponent Result Record Venue Attendance Divisional January 3, 1987 Washington Redskins (4) L 13–27 0–1 Soldier Field 65,141
Game summary
The 1986 Bears earned a first round playoff bye, but in their opening playoff game, they were upset at home by the Washington Redskins. A holding penalty and a missed field goal by Kevin Butler frustrated the Bears in the first quarter. They still, however, managed to take a 13–7 lead into halftime. But their usually stout defense fell apart in the second half, allowing the Redskins to score 20 unanswered points.
"Maybe my dreams didn't come true", said Chicago Coach Mike Ditka. "The defense has to play outstanding and today they were just not up to the way the Redskins were playing."
Despite injuries to Redskins offensive linemen Joe Jacoby and Russ Grimm, the Washington offensive line was able to pick up the Bears patented blitzes. Washington quarterback Jay Schroeder was sacked only twice. He was also able to use the blitzes to his advantage, completing passes while being chased out of the pocket.
Trailing 14–13 in the 4th quarter, the Bears' good fortune ran out, when the usually dependable Payton lost a fumble, which led to an 83-yard touchdown drive by the Redskins. The long drive perpetrated against the NFL's best defense seemed to take the wind out of the Bears' sails. A few minutes later, the Bears muffed a punt return which set up an easy field goal for the Redskins. The Bears lost 27–13.
Standings
References
External links 1986 Chicago Bears Season at www.bearshistory.com