Windy City Gridiron
There’s been a lot of downs, but there have been some great ups!
For decades, we have heard about the Chicago Bears in the 1980s and how great those teams were. And they certainly were great. The Bears probably had as many great seasons in the 1980s as they have from 1990 to the present.
There have been way too many losing seasons and not enough joy for Bears fans over the last 30+ years, but some of the highs have been pretty great. A couple of days ago, we lost former Chicago Bears head coach Dick Jauron who was the head coach for one of those great seasons, the magical season of 2001.
How does that 2001 season compare to the other great seasons the Chicago Bears have had? We take back at the five best seasons the Bears have had since 1990.
It may seem weird to have an 8-8 season in the top five. The Bears have certainly had better seasons in terms of their records than this one, but I don’t know if Bears fans had five seasons where they had more fun than this one.
Marc Trestman’s first season in Chicago didn’t result in a great record, but it did result in an offense that the Bears haven’t matched over the last quarter century. The Bears had the second-highest-scoring offense in the entire NFL. Jay Cutler and Josh McCown combined for 32 touchdown passes, Brandon Marshall and Alshon Jeffery both had over 1,000 yards receiving, and Matt Forte was just shy of 2,000 yards from scrimmage.
The fact that Bears fans got to sit back and watch an elite offense score points, even if it didn’t result in wins, makes this season one of the most enjoyable ones Bears fans have had since Walter Payton retired.
Lovie Smith is the only Bears coach who puts two of his seasons on the list. This one wasn’t the most exhilarating season. The Bears started 4-3 as they hit their bye week and I don’t think Bears fans had incredible expectations at that point, but the Bears ripped off wins in seven of their next eight games, catapulted themselves to an 11-5 record, and won the NFC North. That streak earned them the division championship and a bye into the Divisional Round.
The Bears at that point knocked off the Seahawks and found themselves in the NFC Championship game and were a Caleb Haine away from reaching another Super Bowl. I don’t think this team is remembered with much love because the offense was one of the bottom ten in the leagues, but Lovie’s defense had an excellent season and when you’re an eyelash away from the Super Bowl, you have to look back on it fondly.
We all remember this season well, probably too well. The bitter end of the “double-doink” is what resonates when people look back on...
