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Chicago Bears: The 5 Best Teams That Never Won a Title

By Erik Lambert

The Bears hoist the George S. Halas trophy after winning the 2007 NFC Championship game between the Chicago Bears and New Orleans Saints at Soldier Field in Chicago, Illinois on January 21, 2007. (Photo by Al Messerschmidt/Getty Images)
The Bears hoist the George S. Halas trophy after winning the 2007 NFC Championship game between the Chicago Bears and New Orleans Saints at Soldier Field in Chicago, Illinois on January 21, 2007. (Photo by Al Messerschmidt/Getty Images) /
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WASHINGTON, DC – OCTOBER 07: Chicago Bears fan Tim Granholm, wearing a Walter Payton 34# jersey, stands during an event at the White House to honor the 1985 Super Bowl Champion Chicago Bears, on October 7, 2011 in Washington, DC. President Obama who is a Bears fan, realized the team never got to enjoy the customary ceremony given to the champions of the season, and invited the team to the White House. (Photo by Mark Wilson/Getty Images)
WASHINGTON, DC – OCTOBER 07: Chicago Bears fan Tim Granholm, wearing a Walter Payton 34# jersey, stands during an event at the White House to honor the 1985 Super Bowl Champion Chicago Bears, on October 7, 2011 in Washington, DC. President Obama who is a Bears fan, realized the team never got to enjoy the customary ceremony given to the champions of the season, and invited the team to the White House. (Photo by Mark Wilson/Getty Images) /

#2:  The 1986 Team

The single-greatest disappointment of the Super Bowl era for the Bears. This team was stacked with an embarrassing wealth of talent including a host of future Hall of Famers on defense. In fact, the defense finished the regular season giving up fewer points this year (187) than they did during their fabled 1985 campaign the year before (198). They went 14-2 and held control the playoffs.

Yet cracks were already starting to show. They began when quarterback Jim McMahon was injured in a dirty play by Green Bay Packers defensive end Charles Martin, slamming him to the Soldier Field turf after the whistle and injuring his right shoulder. This led to a quarterback controversy in which head coach Mike Ditka favored new arrival Doug Flutie while many on the team preferred Steve Fuller or Mike Tomczak.

These issues haunted the Bears at the worst possible time in the playoffs. The offense was out of sync all days and the Washington Redskins took advantage to stun then 27-13 in the divisional opener. Just like that their invincible aura was gone and the slow decline began.

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