Super Bowl XX - Chicago Bears 46 New England Patriots 10 - MVP Bears DE Richard Dent
Super Bowl XX: Bears 46 New Patriots 10 - MVP Bears DE Richard Dent

A team as famous for its 'Super Bowl Shuffle' music video as it was for its 15-1 regular-season record, the 1985 Chicago Bears rattled off 44 unanswered points in their championship win over the Patriots (46-10). Dent accounted for 1.5 of the Bears' record-breaking seven sacks and caused two fumbles on the day. With Dent leading the charge, Chicago limited New England to seven yards rushing. Playing alongside defensive greats such as linebacker Mike Singletary and defensive lineman William Perry, Dent and the Bears made the '46 Defense' famous.

A team as famous for its "Super Bowl Shuffle" music video as it was for its 15-1 regular-season record, the '85 Chicago Bears rattled off 44 unanswered points in their championship win over the Patriots (46-10).

Dent accounted for 1.5 of the Bears' record-breaking seven sacks and caused two fumbles on the day. With Dent leading the charge, Chicago limited New England to seven yards rushing. Playing alongside defensive greats such as linebacker Mike Singletary and defensive lineman William Perry, Dent and the Bears made the "46 Defense" famous.

The NFC champion Chicago Bears, seeking their first NFL title since 1963, scored a Super Bowl-record 46 points in downing AFC champion New England 46-10 in Super Bowl XX. The previous record for most points in a Super Bowl was 38, shared by San Francisco in Super Bowl XIX and the Los Angeles Raiders in Super Bowl XVIII.

The Bears' league-leading defense tied the Super Bowl record for sacks (7) and limited the Patriots to a record-low seven rushing yards.

New England took the quickest lead in Super Bowl history when Tony Franklin kicked a 36-yard field goal with 1:19 elapsed in the first period. The score came about because of Larry McGrew's fumble recovery at the Chicago 19-yard line.

However, the Bears rebounded for a 23-3 first-half lead, while building a yardage advantage of 236 total yards to New England's minus 19.

Running back Matt Suhey rushed eight times for 37 yards, including an 11-yard touchdown run, and caught one pass for 24 yards in the first half.

After the Patriot's first drive of the second half ended with a punt to the Bears' 4-yard line, Chicago marched 96 yards in nine plays with quarterback Jim McMahon's 1-yard scoring run capping the drive. McMahon became the first quarterback in Super Bowl history to rush for a pair of touchdowns.

The Bears completed their scoring via a 28-yard interception return by reserve cornerback Reggie Phillips, a 1-yard run by defensive tackle/fullback William Perry, and a safety when defensive end Henry Waechter tackled Patriots quarterback Steve Grogan in the end zone.

Bears defensive end Richard Dent became the fourth defender to be named the game's most valuable player after contributing 1.5 sacks.

The Bears' victory margin of 36 points was the largest in Super Bowl history, bettering the previous mark of 29 by the Los Angeles Raiders when they topped Washington 38-9 in Super Bowl XVIII.

McMahon completed 12 of 20 passes for 256 yards before leaving the game in the fourth period with a wrist injury. The NFL's all-time leading rusher, Bears running back Walter Payton, carried 22 times for 61 yards.

Wide receiver Willie Gault caught four passes for 129 yards, the fourth-most receiving yards in a Super Bowl.

Chicago coach Mike Ditka became the second man (Tom Flores of Raiders was the other) to win a Super Bowl ring as a player and as a coach.

Super Bowl XX - Chicago Bears 46 New England Patriots 10 - MVP Bears DE Richard Dent
Super Bowl XX Logo

Super Bowl XX MVP: Bears DE Richard Dent

Super Bowl XX MVP: Bears DE Richard Dent
Super Bowl XX MVP: Bears DE Richard Dent

For keying one of the most dominant performances in Super Bowl history, defensive end Richard Dent became only the fifth member of a defense to be named Most Valuable Player.

The Bears came into the game perhaps more well-known for their off-field "Super Bowl Shuffle" singing, dancing and rapping, but their performance in a 46-10 victory over New England proved they were one of the top championship teams of their time.

Dent's 1.5 sacks were part of Chicago's Super Bowl record seven sacks, but he added to his day by forcing two fumbles.

The Bears' defense held New England to a record-low 7 yards rushing while also contributing an interception return for a touchdown and a safety. Defensive end William "The Refrigerator" Perry also scored a 1-yard touchdown on offense. Only one of New England's first 16 offensive plays gained yardage, and it didn't record a first down until the second quarter.

Dent, Dallas linebacker Chuck Howley (Super Bowl V), Miami safety Jake Scott (Super Bowl VII), and Dallas defensive end Harvey Martin and defensive tackle Randy White (Super Bowl XII) were the only defensive players named MVP until Dallas cornerback Larry Brown earned the honor in Super Bowl XXX.

Super Bowl XX Scoring

Teams Q1 Q2 Q3 Q4 Final
Source: NFL
Chicago Bears131021246
New England Patriots300710

 

1st Quarter

Patriots: Franklin 36-yard Field Goal, 1:19

Bears: Butler 28-yard Field Goal, 5:40

Bears: Butler 24-yard Field Goal, 13:34

Bears: Suhey 11-yard TD run (Butler PAT), 14:37

2nd Quarter

Bears: McMahon 2-yard TD run (Butler PAT), 7:36

Bears: Butler 24-yard Field Goal, 15:00

3rd Quarter

Bears: McMahon 1-yard TD run (Butler PAT), 7:38

Bears: Phillips 28-yard TD interception return (Butler PAT), 8:44

Bears: Perry 1-yard TD run (Butler PAT), 11:38

4th Quarter

Patriots: Fryar 8-yard TD pass from Grogan (Franklin PAT),1:46

Bears: Safety Waechter 0, 9:24

 

Super Bowl XX: Chicago Bears Team Statistics

Source: NFL
Total First Downs23
Rushing First Downs13
Passing First Downs9
Penalty First Downs1
Total Net Yardage408
Total Offensive Plays76
Avg. Gain per Offensive Play5.4
Rushes49
Yards Gained Rushing (Net)167
Average Yards per Rush3.4
Passes Attempted24
Passes Completed12
Had Intercepted0
Tackled Attempting to Pass3
Yards Lost Attempting to Pass15
Yards Gained Passing (Net)241
Punts4
Average Distance43.3
Punt Returns2
Punt Return Yardage20
Kickoff Returns4
Kickoff Return Yardage49
Interception Return Yardage75
Fumbles3
Own Fumbles Recovered1
Opponent Fumbles Recovered4
Penalties7
Yards Penalized40
Total Points Scored46
Touchdowns 5
Rushing4
Passing0
Returns1
Extra Points5
Field Goals3
Fields Goals Attempted3
Safeties1
Third-Down Efficiency7/14
Fourth-Down Efficiency0/1
Time of Possession39:15

 

Super Bowl XX: New England Patriots Team Statistics

Source: NFL
Total First Downs12
Rushing First Downs1
Passing First Downs10
Penalty1
Total Net Yardage123
Total Offensive Plays54
Avg. Gain per Offensive Play2.3
Rushes11
Yards Gained Rushing (Net)7
Average Yards per Rush0.6
Passes Attempted36
Passes Completed17
Had Intercepted2
Tackled Attempting to Pass7
Yards Lost Attempting to Pass61
Yards Gained Passing (Net)116
Punts6
Average Distance43.8
Punt Returns2
Punt Return Yardage22
Kickoff Returns7
Kickoff Return Yardage153
Interception Return Yardage0
Fumbles4
Own Fumbles Recovered0
Opponent Fumbles Recovered2
Penalties5
Yards Penalized35
Total Points Scored 10
Touchdowns1
Rushing0
Passing1
Returns0
Extra Points1
Field Goals1
Fields Goals Attempted1
Safeties0
Third-Down Efficiency1/10
Fourth-Down Efficiency1/1
Time of Possession20:45

 

Super Bowl XX: Chicago Bears Player Stats

Source: NFL
PassingComp / AttYardsTDINT
McMahon12/2025600
Fuller0/4000
Ferry0/0000
RushingCarriesYardsTDLong
Payton 226170
Suhey 115211t1
Sanders415100
Gentry31580
McMahon 51472
Thomas 2870
Fuller 1110
Perry 111t1
ReceivingCatchesYardsTDLong
Gault4129060
Gentry 241027
Margerum 236029
Moorehead222014
Suhey124024
Thomas1404
InterceptionsINTYardsLongTD
Morrissey147470
Phillips 12828t1
Punting#AVGLongBlocked
PuntingNOAVGLGBLK
Buford443.3520
Punt Returns#/FCYardsLongTD
Ortego2/120120
Kickoff Returns#YardsLongTD
Gault449180

 

Super Bowl XX: New England Patriots Player Stats

Source: NFL
PassingComp / AttYardsTDINT
Grogan17/3017712
Eason0/6000
RushingCarriesYardsTDLong
Collins3403
Grogan1303
Weathers1303
C. James5103
Hawthorne1-404
ReceivingCatchesYardsTDLong
Morgan651060
Starring239024
Fryar224116
Collins 219011
D. Ramsey216011
Jones219019
C. James1606
Weathers1303
InterceptionsINTYardsLongTD
None
Punting#AVGLongBlocked
Camarillo643.8620
Punt Returns#/FCYardsLongTD
Fryar2/022120
Kickoff Returns#YardsLongTD
Starring7153360

January 26, 1986

Louisiana Superdome (New Orleans, Louisiana)

Attendance: 73,818

National Anthem: Wynton Marsalis

Coin Toss: Bart Starr representing previous Super Bowl MVPs

Halftime Show: Up with People presents "Beat of the Future"

Network: NBC

Announcers: Dick Enberg, Merlin Olsen, and Bob Griese

Nielsen ratings: 48.3 (est. 92.57 million viewers)

Cost of 30-second commercial: $550,000

Super Bowl XX: Bears vs Patriots Highlights

 

Super Bowl XX: Ticket & Championship Ring

Super Bowl XX Championship Ring and Game Ticket

NFL Football: "Super Bowl XX - Chicago Bears 46 New England Patriots 10 - MVP Bears DE Richard Dent"

 

 

 

Super Bowl History