Today in Sports History: January 26th

In Super Bowl XX, the Chicago Bears defeated the New England Patriots the same way they beat every other team that year: decimating them. The Bears crushed the AFC-Champion Patriots 46-10, setting Super Bowl records in margin of victory, most sacks, and most points. New England produced positive yardage on just one of their first 16 plays and didn’t get a first down until the second quarter; their quarterback, Tony Eason, had all six of his passes go incomplete before he was hauled to the bench.

The win culminated the Bears’ incredible season, which included just a single regular season loss. Featuring what many experts believed to be the best defensive unit of all time, the Bears held teams under double-digits seven times in the regular season and were even better in the playoffs, winning their three games by a combined score of 91-10. As a result, the 1985 Chicago Bears are frequently referred to as one of, if not the greatest team of all time.

Without question, the highlight of the game came in the third quarter, when Bears lineman William “Refrigerator” Perry was put in to rush the ball. Chicago coach Mike Ditka had utilized the Fridge’s 300-pound girth to his advantage before -- in the regular season, he ran for a pair of touchdowns after being inserted with his team at the goal line. In this game, he was again subbed in with his team close to the end zone; it took him two tries, but the Fridge finally got in and raised the score to 44-3.

Years later, Ditka said he deeply regretted not giving the ball to running back Walter Payton instead. Perry and quarterback Jim McMahon both rushed for touchdowns, while Payton, then the all-time leading rusher in NFL history, was not given the chance to get a touchdown. Payton retired just one year later.

The anticipation to see the Patriots play the heavily-favored Bears -- who had become ingrained in popular culture -- was palpable. And even though the game was a one-sided beatdown, NBC still drew a record television audience for the big game. It wasn’t until 2008, when the New York Giants upset the undefeated Patriots, that a Super Bowl would draw more viewers than Super Bowl XX. (And just imagine how much more it could have drawn had the game been any good.)