"Players celebrated wildly and coach Ben Johnson danced shirtless in the postgame locker room, his team having ascended to the top-seeded position in the NFC. Hard to fault the Bears, given they're 9-3 and better than anyone expected. And it's not like their celebration was as brazen as 1985, when Chicago celebrated the impending arrival of the Lombardi Trophy six weeks before Super Bowl XX was actually played in the Louisiana Superdome."
"It's been a fun year in Chicago, but Johnson isn't Mike Ditka, Dennis Allen isn't Buddy Ryan, Caleb Williams isn't Jim McMahon and the Bears' quality running backs aren't Walter Payton. The '85 Bears gave up 198 points (the fewest in the NFL) in 16 games, going 15-1. The '25 Bears have given up 307 points in 12 games, 25th in the NFL."
The Chicago Bears celebrated a Black Friday win over the Philadelphia Eagles with exuberant locker-room scenes after ascending to the NFC's top seed at 9-3. Comparisons to the 1985 Super Bowl Shuffle era are inevitable, but the current roster and coaches lack the historical team's Hall of Fame figures and defensive dominance. The New England Patriots hold the AFC's top seed at 11-2 alongside the 49ers, making a Bears-Patriots Super Bowl rematch unlikely. The 1985 Bears allowed 198 points in 16 games; the 2025 Bears have allowed 307 in 12, rank 25th, and possess a modest plus-6 point differential entering the playoffs.
Read at www.mercurynews.com
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