42 Comments - Louis G. Atsaves - Monday, Feb 8, 16 @ 10:41 am: Broncos defense was awesome yesterday and throughout the playoffs. The 85 Bears 46 defense was just overwhelming. - Stones - Monday, Feb 8, 16 @ 10:42 am: Denver is good but not on that level. Period. - Jaded - Monday, Feb 8, 16 @ 10:47 am: The ‘86 defense was probably too. - Anonymous - Monday, Feb 8, 16 @ 10:48 am: Cmon man. That Bears defense was so outstanding, you watched the game to watch THEM more than the offense. They were ruthless and never gave an inch - Jaded - Monday, Feb 8, 16 @ 10:48 am: probably “better” too. - thunderspirit - Monday, Feb 8, 16 @ 10:48 am: It’s not really a fair comparison, honestly, since it’s such a different NFL game than it was thirty years ago, or even fifteen (I seem to recall the 2000 Ravens were considered by some to be in that same discussion). The Broncos defense was terrific this season, and was dominant in this season’s playoffs, but ranks behind both the 2000 Ravens and the 1985 Bears in terms of dominance, in my view. - The Muse - Monday, Feb 8, 16 @ 10:51 am: The Broncos defense was great this year but it’s definitely not as good as the Seahawks’ D two years ago and the Ravens in 2000, let alone THE ‘85 Bears. That’s laughable. - Give Me A Break - Monday, Feb 8, 16 @ 10:52 am: Tell you what Denver, you replicate that D for an entire season and we can start talking about you with the 85 Bears. Until then, you had a nice run in the playoffs. - Union Leader - Monday, Feb 8, 16 @ 10:52 am: Holding most teams to 10 points or less all season and totally dominating in the Super Bowl is the mark of a truly great defense. - Century Club - Monday, Feb 8, 16 @ 10:52 am: Are you trolling us? ‘85 Bears only gave up 10 points for the entire playoffs. - Henry Francis - Monday, Feb 8, 16 @ 10:52 am: Cam Newton made it through the whole game. Tony Eason didn’t even make it out of the first quarter. No doubt Denver’s defense won the Super Bowl - but there is no comparison to the ‘85 Bears. - wordslinger - Monday, Feb 8, 16 @ 10:52 am: I could, and have on many occasions, gone off all day on why the ‘85 Bears had the best defense of all time. Quick note: in addition to the Super Bowl blowout, in the playoffs the Bears shutout the Giants 21-0 and the Rams 24-0. They went down to Dallas and beat the Cowboys 44-0 and to San Francisco and beat the defending Super Bowl champs 26-10. But I’ll let somebody who really knew what they’re talking about sum up the 46: –I had to use every bit of knowledge and experience and wisdom I had to come up with game plans to attack this defense. It’s really the most singular innovation in defensive football in the last twenty years.– — Bill Walsh, ESPN interview - LizPhairTax - Monday, Feb 8, 16 @ 10:59 am: Sacrilegious clickbait. The mere suggestion is enough to get you kicked out of every uncle’s basement in Chicago. I will say though that, like in 1985, you got the sense when the Broncos’ offense was on the field that it was a “just hold them and let the defense do its job” situation. The whole concept of offense and defense was flipped. - Nick Danger - Monday, Feb 8, 16 @ 11:00 am: What’s so obvious about all this is that the 85 Bears defense is the standard to which all others get ultimately compared. (See Seahawks, Ravens, et al) - Annonn'' - Monday, Feb 8, 16 @ 11:04 am: Denver defense very good but at keeping Newton contained…Bears smashed the S* out of everyone - Wensicia - Monday, Feb 8, 16 @ 11:05 am: 1985 Bears. Denver doesn’t come close to what they achieved. - Skeptic - Monday, Feb 8, 16 @ 11:10 am: I may get boo-ed out of the blog, but here’s my opinion…The Broncos DBs are better than the Bears’ were. The difference is that the Bears’ front 7 were so dominant no one (except Bob Griese) could take advantage of it. So I think the Broncos are more balanced top-to-bottom than the Bears were, but the Bears were certainly more fun to watch. - Yahoo - Monday, Feb 8, 16 @ 11:11 am: TJ Ward and Von Miller turned in otherworldly performances, but the refs let Denvers secondary get away with murder last night. The only hold call I saw was against Carolina when Peyton sailed a stinker 20ft over the heads of his receivers in the end zone. Overall it was an ugly boring game. - Mongo - Monday, Feb 8, 16 @ 11:13 am: Bears, with Denver, Seattle, and Ravens fighting for 2nd. Bears had dominant linemen, linebackers, and corners and safeties. That said, congratulations to Denver for a great season and playoff run. - LizPhairTax - Monday, Feb 8, 16 @ 11:21 am: Skeptic, Booooo! Get out of my uncle’s basement. Also, I think you mean Dan Marino. - Mama - Monday, Feb 8, 16 @ 11:29 am: No doubt that Denver defense is great. However the Bears in 1985 would have kicked Denver’s 2015 defense teams a*s. - siriusly - Monday, Feb 8, 16 @ 11:32 am: Da Bears If Denver repeats with Osweiler next year, ok maybe. - Skeptic - Monday, Feb 8, 16 @ 11:32 am: LizPhair…you’re right it was Marino. Obviously I’m showing my age. - Smitty Irving - Monday, Feb 8, 16 @ 11:39 am: Broncos - they’re drug tested. ‘85 Bears second only to Steelers in drug usage. - Anon - Monday, Feb 8, 16 @ 11:45 am: Interesting that we are having this discussion just after ESPN’s 30 for 30 on the 85 Bears was released. If you haven’t seen it yet, its a must watch. To the question, the 85 Bears were better. Period. I would say, however, that the Bears played at a time when many of todays rules protecting the quarterback and others were not in place. The Bears D punished quarterbacks in a way that would draw fines, suspensions, and worse in today’s NFL. Same goes for how defensive backs hit receivers. Those hits created a psychological effect where nobody ever felt safe. In todays NFL, defenses just can’t play like that. Even playing at the highest level, the outstanding Broncos could never dominate the way the 85 Bears did. - lake county democrat - Monday, Feb 8, 16 @ 12:00 pm: No comparison - you weren’t even certain yesterday that Denver might not give up a big play late in the game and let Carolina sneak-in. You had no such fears with the Bears and viewed the Miami game as a fluke. - Six Degrees of Separation - Monday, Feb 8, 16 @ 12:29 pm: The Pats got a TD in garbage time in SB XXX. The Panthers got a legitimate TD early in the game, and were only 6 points down until late in the 4th quarter of SB 50. - Mouthy - Monday, Feb 8, 16 @ 12:44 pm: Can’t blame them for feeling good. Obliviously they were downing many spirits until the wee hours of the morning. Better that the 85′ Bears? Better than Singletary, Marshall, Wilson, and Rivera at linebacker? Better than McMichael, Dent, Perry, and the Danimal? Better than Fencik and the crew? That’s a awful lot of barking being done after the game but they’ll sober up soon enough… - Flynn's mom - Monday, Feb 8, 16 @ 12:52 pm: The Bears were on another level. They were incredible individually and as a group. - View from cheap seats - Monday, Feb 8, 16 @ 12:53 pm: The comment by Bill Walsh puts this debate to bed. End of story. He created the west coast offense to compete against the Bears. But give these Bronco’s credit - they shut down a team nobody could stop all year. - Elway is Boss - Monday, Feb 8, 16 @ 1:19 pm: Season-long, clearly the ‘85 Bears were best of all time. This playoff run, I think there’s a legit question between this Broncos team, ‘85 Bears, 2000 Ravens and that Tampa team from ‘02. This Broncos team is probably 3rd behind the Bears and Ravens. Interesting thought experiment: what would the ‘85 Bears vs the ‘15 Broncos score be on a neutral field? 9-0 Bears? I think its fair to say that the Broncos defense we saw last night would have given the Bears offense fits. Yes, Walter Payton was Walter Payton but the Broncos yielded virtually no room to run which would have pushed McMahon to throw a lot, just like the Bears’ only loss against the Dolphins in ‘85. How do you like Keith Van Horne’s (Bears right tackle in ‘85) chances against Von Miller? Does Jim McMahon, who missed games in the ‘85 season with nerve damage, survive what Rosthenberger, Brady and the very mobile Newton could not? I doubt it. That being said, there’s no question that the ‘85 Bears would have taken 39 year old Manning out of the game by the 2nd quarter so maybe they call off the game at half time because neither team’s offense wants the ball in the second half? - Sillies - Monday, Feb 8, 16 @ 1:31 pm: Then Brock Osweiler would have come in and won the game, Boss. The ‘85 Bears played Dieter Brock in the NFC Championship. Broncos snuffed out Tom Brady. - Black and Yellow Forever - Monday, Feb 8, 16 @ 1:45 pm: Outcome in Denver vs Pittsburgh would have been completely different had Brown and D. Williams been playing. Cheap shot by Ravens took out Brown, and likely cost a Super Bowl appearance. Look to the regular season game Pitt. vs. Denver - outcome would have likely been the same. Denver was not overwhelming if you had a tough, skilled QB like Big Ben who could throw deep and accurately to his receiving corps, probably the best in the game. Add in the decent running game that Pitt always fields and you have yourself a dynamic offense. I wholeheartedly look forward to sweet revenge and Pittsburgh’s return to form next season. - Anonymous - Monday, Feb 8, 16 @ 1:57 pm: ==The ‘85 Bears played Dieter Brock in the NFC Championship. Broncos snuffed out Tom Brady.== They also had some guy named Eric Dickerson at the peak of his Hall of Fame career - A guy - Monday, Feb 8, 16 @ 2:00 pm: Bears. No supporting comment necessary. - Juvenal - Monday, Feb 8, 16 @ 3:19 pm: Regular season stats: 1985 Bears: 64 sacks 2015 Broncos: 52 Sacks 1985 Bears: 34 interceptions 2015 Broncos: 14 interceptions There is dominating, and then there is Dominating. And the Bears dominated offenses, which you see not just in the sacks but in the pressure that leads to interceptions. - G'Kar - Monday, Feb 8, 16 @ 3:48 pm: Bears. But the 1974 Steelers were better than the Bears. - JS Mill - Monday, Feb 8, 16 @ 4:01 pm: Bears. Any statement to the contrary should result in the commenters being banned. Pitched two shutouts in the playoffs. 10 total points allowed in 3 playoff games, that is a 3.3 points per game average. Best in history. - Not Even Close - Monday, Feb 8, 16 @ 5:18 pm: When one team in one season causes the rest of the league to press the reset button when it comes to defensive schemes, that pretty much says it all. Bears in a landslide. And one other thing. Talib should have been ejected after that flagrant face mask, fined a minimum of $100,000 and suspended for the first four games of next season. At a minimum. That’s the second most horrific play I’ve ever seen in football, the first being LT sending Theismann into retirement. LT’s hit was legal. Talib’s face mask could easily have resulted in paralysis, and all it cost the Bronco’s was half the distance to the goal. Ridiculous. Flagged not once, not twice but three times in a half for personal fouls and you don’t get ejected? Best argument I’ve seen for a red card rule in the NFL. He shoulda been thrown out and the Broncos forced to play short-handed on defense the rest of the game. - Jimmy0 - Monday, Feb 8, 16 @ 5:50 pm: Absolute nonsense. I’m a 23 year old kid who grew up idolizing that team. While I do believe that the Bears of old could not compete with all these new rules the comparison is absurd. Denvers front 7 is suspect at best, the only real comparison is how dominate Denvers secondary is. Roby, Chris Harris and Aqib Talib are probably one of the best group of corners to ever play in the game together and will most certainly be broken up due to money. I applaud Wade Phillips for his scheme, with Carolinas only real pass threat out for the year he was smart enough to know he can play man to man defense knowing there was no chance Carolinas WR could create anytype of separation and he would be free to send those big, top dollar pass rushers in to harass Cam Newton all game. Carolina couldn’t stay committed to the run and that’s what lost them the game. I would say the defining “what is he doing” moment came when Carolina punted on 4th down with 2 mins left and only 2 time outs. It’s the Super Bowl and you’re down by 2 scores, this is win or go home and there’s no reason he shouldn’t have went for it. - jerry 101 - Monday, Feb 8, 16 @ 6:00 pm: Not sure who really had the best defense, but the biggest millstone around the 2015 Broncos was the offense. The offense was so awful that the team really, really needed the defense to do everything. The Time of Possession was in favor of the Panthers by 6 minutes. Every stat line on the Broncos offense is anemic. 194 total yards of offense. So, the defense had to overcome that level of putrid play. The 2000 Ravens, OTOH, dominated in Time of Possession, giving the defense lots of time to rest - they held the ball for 8 minutes longer than the Giants. (The Broncos defense was on the field 14 game clock minutes longer than the Ravens defense.) The Ravens still pulled off almost 250 yards of offense. The 1985 Bears offense held the ball for almost 40 minutes! The 46 was only on the field for 20 minutes. The Bears had 400 yards of offense. What I’m saying is, is that it’s easier for a defense to look great when they spend very little time on the field. Part of that is a function of the defense - a plus 4 turnover differential helps a lot (the Broncos had a plus 2 differential). I don’t think any team has ever so thoroughly relied on its defense to win the super bowl. Whether or not that makes them the best defense ever, well, I can’t say. Mostly because I’m a Bears fan and I can’t ever acknowledge someone could be better than the 85 Bears. - cannon649 - Monday, Feb 8, 16 @ 8:44 pm: Denver played great - Bears were better and a little meaner Sorry, comments for this post are now closed.