Who Was Bears' Best of the Rest?

Best Bears teams who failed to make the Super Bowl ranked, with an emphasis on the postseason.

When the Super Bowl rolls around each year, the only Bears memories are the dominance of 1985 and Devin Hester's opening return in their Super Bowl XLI loss.

The Prince halftime show in their Super Bowl loss was pretty good, too.

However, they've had other teams close to making the Super Bowl or good enough to make a run if they had just made it over one or two postseason obstacles.

Only one team is going to be entirely happy at the end of each season.

Here are the top 10 Chicago Bears teams from the Super Bowl era who failed to win it all and weren't happy at season's end.

No. 10: 1991 11-6

There were a few teams close or had a better record, like the 2012 team Lovie Smith had that started 7-1 and missed the playoffs at 10-6 and the 2005 team that won the NFC North and lost 29-21 to Carolina in the playoffs at home. However, this 1991 wild card team still had remnants of the 1985 team including middle linebacker Mike Singletary, defensive tackle Steve McMichael and Neal Anderson might have been the most underrated player in Bears history, as anyone who played Tecmo Bowl could testify. They also had Tom Waddle throwing his body around like a crazy man.

No. 9: 1990, 12-6

They won the division and it was basically an extension of the 1985 team but with Jim Harbaugh at quarterback. This was the year when Harbaugh seemed to be their QB of destiny. Then, like with Jim McMahon all of the time in the 1980s, Harbaugh suffered an injury, this to his shoulder. He missed the playoffs. Mike Tomczak won a playoff game over the Saints but then was no match on the road, 31-3, for a Giants team that won the Super Bowl.

No. 8: 2001, 13-4

Ted Washington and Keith Traylor devoured ball carriers and plenty of food. Brian Urlacher was young, with the speed of a free safety, and Roosevelt Colvin and Warrick Holdman were alongside. And no one will forget Mike Brown. The Bears seemed headed for big things but their offense couldn't get untracked early and they lost 33-19 to Donovan McNabb and the Eagles in the playoffs.

No. 7: 2018, 12-5

Doink-doink. The Cody Parkey kick ended a refreshing wild run to a division title that was clinched with Eddie Jackson's interception of Aaron Rodgers in the end zone. The trade for Khalil Mack worked, at least initially, as he had 12 1/2 sacks and Vic Fangio's defense dominated until the defending Super Bowl MVP Nick Foles got a late TD drive. Still, Mitchell Trubisky put the Bears in easy range for Parkey to win it and the rest is infamy.

No. 6: 2010, 12-6

Jay Cutler's one true chance to accomplish something in Chicago after beating Seattle in a home playoff game, and he suffered a first-half knee sprain in the NFC championship game. Cutler took heavy criticism on social media for not finishing. As it was, Caleb Hanie nearly led them back to a tie game. A B.J. Raja interception return for a TD was the difference in a game when the Bears seemed to have Aaron Rodgers' number for a change, holding him to a 55.4 passer rating.

No. 5: 1988, 13-5

Otis Wilson went out, Shaun Gayle went out, Richard Dent went out and William Perry went out for the season with injuries. Even Mike Ditka was gone for a while with a heart attack. The depleted defense held its own and they even beat the 49ers when they played early in the season when most of those injured players were healthy. Later, without them, with players like Todd Krumm, Maurice Douglass and Sean Smith playing key roles on defense, the Bears lost 28-3 in the NFC championship game. For once they had Jim McMahon reasonably healthy right after winning the Fog Bowl, but they were outclassed by the eventual world champions with Jerry Rice and Joe Montana.

No. 4: 2006, 15-4

The Super Bowl losers rate down this far because they came from the free agency era. The teams of the 1980s and early 1990s were better squads. They played together longer since there was no free agency. Athletically, they were still comparable enough. The 2006 team had a defense in its prime and might have won it all if not for losing Mike Brown and Tommie Harris to injuries earlier in the year. They crushed the Saints for the George Halas Trophy and in the Super Bowl, led the Colts 14-6 after Hester's TD return and a short Rex Grossman pass to Muhsin Muhammad. But Peyton Manning directed a comeback and without the interior pass rush from Harris, the Bears had no way to get sufficient pass rush pressure while playing cover-2. Manning picked them apart underneath with passes to backs and then the pick-6 Grossman threw to Kelvin Hayden while down 22-17 sealed the loss.

No. 3: 1984 11-7

This team ranks high because of the strength of their defense and because Walter Payton was still in his prime. They also had Jim McMahon healthy for a big chunk of the season when they were first discovering how to win. They upset the defending NFL champion Redskins in Washington behind Richard Dent and Todd Bell on defense and backup QB Steve Fuller on offense. McMahon was hurt again. They were routed 23-0 by the 49ers in the NFC championship game in San Francisco, but it proved the inspiration for their next season and only Lombardi Trophy. What would have happened if McMahon could have avoided a lacerated kidney against the Raiders?

No. 2, 1986: 14-3

They had lost Buddy Ryan and the defense didn't have it when the playoffs started. Jay Schroeder tore them apart, and he hadn't exactly torn teams apart before this. The big mistake was bringing in Doug Flutie to start at quarterback after McMahon suffered a shoulder injury. Flutie didn't really know the offense and it showed when he was pressured. They also didn't adjust the attack to allow for his great mobility, forcing him to throw too much from the pocket. Mike Tomczak could have sufficed and proved it at the start of the next year. This team never really had a shot in that 27-13 playoff loss to Washington after a brilliant 14-2 season.

No.  1: 1987 11-4

This team beat Lawrence Taylor and the Giants easily in the game dubbed Super Bowl XXI 1/2. The strike that year took a lot out of them but it was essentially still the Super Bowl winning team in Payton's last season, but with Anderson as a backup running back. They even had McMahon healthy for the playoffs after he'd fought through some hamstring issues. Doug Williams that year went on to make history as the first black quarterback to win a Super Bowl and Washington was by far and away better than Denver in that game. But none of that would have happened if the Bears had just done a few little things to start the playoffs. They blew a 14-0 lead at home to Washington. Then they lost it on a 52-yard Darrell Green punt return TD, 21-17. Payton's career ended, Gary Fencik's career ended and the Bears would watch a team they had been beating by two TDs go on to dominate in Super Bowl XXII.

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