Chicago Bears Top Ten Playoff Wins of Super Bowl Era: 4. Bears Dent Washington

WASHINGTON, D.C. - DECEMBER 30: John Riggins #44 of the Washington Redskins is tackled in a game against the Chicago Bears on December 30, l984 in Washington, D.C. (Photo by Ronald C. Modra/Getty Images) | Getty Images

Number 4 on our list is a game rarely discussed. You could say this game has gotten lost in Bears history. But this is a significant win that announced to the country that the Monsters of the Midway were back.

What went into ranking these games? I think what team they beat matters. I think how they won matters. I believe individual performances within the game matter. Was it dramatic? Did they blow the opponent out? What made the game interesting or compelling from a Bears perspective? All of these factors went into determining how these games should be ranked.

Let's look at why this particular game in 1984 was so significant.

The 1984 Chicago Bears went 10-6 and won the NFC Central. The 49ers were a juggernaut, going 15-1 and cruising to the top seed. The Washington Redskins grabbed the 2 seed, and the Chicago Bears grabbed the 3 seed.

What many may not know is that the playoff format at this point only put 5 teams in the playoffs, not the 6 that we saw for several years, and certainly not 7 like it is today. That was the name for Wild Card weekend, because two non-division wild cards would play, and the winner would advance to play the top-seeded division winner. The NFL didn't add the sixth playoff team until 1990.

I bring this up to state that the the 3rd seeded Bears had a wild card weekend bye and they had two weeks to prepare for their opponent, 11-5 Washington.

This was the game where Buddy Ryan's 46 defense shone in the national spotlight. It wasn't quite ready to dominate as the 85 squad would a year later; they allowed 336 yards and 17 points and only had 1 turnover, but they gave Joe Theismann a very long afternoon.

Theismann was sacked 7 times in the game and harassed all day long. John Riggins did have 2 1-yard touchdown runs, but the Bears bottled him up all day long, allowing just 50 yards on 21 carries.

The 84 defense was ferocious, and what many may not know, the 85 Bears recorded 64 regular-season sacks. The 84 team actually recorded 72 sacks, a record that still stands today.

Why does this game stand at number four on the list? It was the Bears' first Super Bowl playoff victory despite the Super Bowl being in its 19th year. Not only that, but it was the Bears' first postseason win since their victory in the NFL Championship game in 1963. It had been 21 years since the Bears won a postseason game, and the city of Chicago was hungry for it.

The Bears lost to the eventual Super Bowl champion San Francisco 49ers the next week, but this victory was an announcement to the country that the Chicago Bears had entered the club of football elites, and they would be a force to be reckoned with for the next several years.