With the L.A. Rams coming to Soldier Field, for the NFC Divisional playoff on Sunday night, we re-up our exclusive with Eric Dickerson, the greatest Los Angeles Rams player ever. Dickerson discussed the last time these two teams met in the playoffs, the 1985 NFC championship game, with us in November of 2021.
No matter what happens, the ’85 Bears will never actually go away. We’ll never stop hearing about them. “We get it already,” said Pro and now Collegiate Hall of Famer Eric Dickerson during our in-depth exclusive conversation.
It’s kind of understandable, given the playoff history of the Chicago Bears franchise since then. In the 38 years since they won Super Bowl XX, they have only been back to the big game just once, the NFC title game only twice and they haven’t claimed another championship.
No wonder this city, as a collective, treats the ’85 Bears like Al Bundy fancies his Polk High School football days. Our exclusive with Dickerson began with a whole lot of laughter, as we discussed how Chicago will just never let go of this team.
I mentioned that even if the 2006 NFC champion team had somehow upset Indianapolis in Miami, in Super Bowl XLI, the 1985 edition would still come first.
“Oh they would, no doubt, because that team was so dominant, and the things they did- the Super Bowl Shuffle,” Dickerson said.
“Even if they won this year ‘but the ’85 Bears….’most definitely.” (much more laughter ensued).
Arguably the most accomplished and high profile L.A. Ram of all time, Dickerson’s side lost 24-0 to the ’85 Shufflin’ Crew at Soldier Field in that season’s conference title game.
“It was tough, we were a running football team, but I always tell my friend (Bears DE and Super Bowl XX MVP) Richard Dent, I would have liked to have seen us have a quarterback and see how that would have worked out.”
It was a match-up of two teams who recorded boastful rap music videos as a team in the 1980s. A lot of NFL teams recorded these songs, but “Ram It” stands out due to its politically incorrect and overt sexual innuendo while the “Super Bowl Shuffle” is considered the first and most notable video of this genre.
While almost everybody feared the ’85 Bears, Dickerson said the Rams did not.
“We were one of the few teams that weren’t afraid of them, us and the Redskins because we had the big offensive linemen and big tight ends that could block them,” he said.
“But if you don’t have the quarterback in place, you’re gonna get swallowed up and that’s what happened to us, we couldn’t move the ball. We had a receiver open twice, once he (Rams QB Brock Dieter) threw it behind him, and the other time, he overthrew him.
“And you just can’t squander the opportunities against that defense.”
The Bears were in control the whole time, as the 24 point shutout conveys, but the final box score doesn’t really tell the story.
The two teams combined for a whopping 21 punts but only 367 yards of total offense. Chicago’s total yardage advantage over L.A. was less than 100, with the two teams even on rushing yards with 91.
On this unseasonably warm, but exceedingly windy day, the Bears at least had some semblance of a passing game, while Los Angeles had none at all.
In a match-up of two dominant defenses, Chicago was the stronger, as they limited the Rams to just 2.1 yards per offensive play.
Chicago’s offense averaged more than triple that, at 6.6 yards per play.
“We had a good defense too, just not as well known as the Bears,” Dickerson said of that meeting on Jan. 12, 1986, which saw snow flurries develop in the fourth quarter.
A key turning point was an early 3rd-and-short situation, which saw Dickerson get smacked and dropped back behind the line of scrimmage. He thought he was concussed on Mike Singletary’s hit
Dent would later tell Dickerson the story of how his unit knew what was coming because they saw the Rams HB go in motion before the snap.
Dent’s assignment in this defensive call was to cade in the up back so that Singletary could take a direct shot at Dickerson.
“He hit me on, I think it was a third and 1,” said Dickerson.
“And he came blitzing up the middle and we just POW! stuck together, and sent me back. I’ll never forget that.
“When I got up I saw two rainbows crossing stars.”
When Dickerson got back to the sideline, the team medical staff asked him if he was okay. They asked him his name, where he was and who they were playing. He answered all three questions correctly. Then they asked him his birthday and he said “I have no idea.”
That was as close to the Super Bowl as Dickerson ever came. He joined the Colts midway through the 1987 season, and he helped lead the team to their first playoff bid since they moved to Indianapolis, with an AFC East title. They lost to the best team that the Cleveland Browns have had in modern times in the Divisional Playoff.
Eric Dickerson Exclusives:
Part 1 NFL Material/Exposing the League’s Hypocrisy Part 2 Re-examining His Records (Tue Aug 20)
Part 3 College Football Content/Hitting Out at the NCAA Part 4 ’85 NFC Title Game/His NFL Records
Paul M. Banks is the Founding Editor of The Sports Bank. He’s also the author of “Transatlantic Passage: How the English Premier League Redefined Soccer in America,” and “No, I Can’t Get You Free Tickets: Lessons Learned From a Life in the Sports Media Industry.”
He currently contributes to USA Today’s NFL Wires Network, RG.org and Ratings.org. His past bylines include the New York Daily News, Sports Illustrated and the Chicago Tribune. His work has been featured in numerous outlets, including the Wall Street Journal, Forbes and the Washington Post.