Super Bowl XX
Super Bowl XX Logo.svg
Chicago Bears
(NFC) New England Patriots
(AFC)
46 10
1 2 3 4 Total
CHI 13 10 21 2 46
NE 3 0 0 7 10
Date January 26, 1986
Stadium Louisiana Superdome, New Orleans, Louisiana
MVP Richard Dent, Defensive end
Favorite Bears by 10[1][2]
Referee Red Cashion
Attendance 73,818[3]
Future Hall of Famers
Bears: Mike Ditka‡ (coach), Dick Stanfel‡ (assistant coach), Richard Dent, Dan Hampt
… Moreon, Walter Payton, Mike Singletary
Patriots: Raymond Berry‡ (coach), John Hannah, Andre Tippett
‡ elected as a player.
Ceremonies
National anthem Wynton Marsalis
Coin toss Bart Starr representing previous Super Bowl MVPs
Halftime show Up with People presents "Beat of the Future"
TV in the United States
Network NBC
Announcers Dick Enberg, Merlin Olsen, and Bob Griese
Nielsen ratings 48.3[4]
(est. 92.57 million viewers)[5]
Market share 70
Cost of 30-second commercial $550,000
← XIX Super Bowl XXI →
Super Bowl XX was an American football game between the National Football Conference (NFC) champion Chicago Bears and the American Football Conference (AFC) champion New England Patriots to decide the National Football League (NFL) champion for the 1985 season. The Bears defeated the Patriots by the score of 46–10, capturing their first NFL championship (and Chicago's first overall sports victory) since 1963, three years prior to the birth of the Super Bowl. Super Bowl XX was played on January 26, 1986 at the Louisiana Superdome in New Orleans.
This was the fourth Super Bowl where both teams were making their Super Bowl debuts. The Bears entered the game after becoming the second team in NFL history to win 15 regular season games. With their then-revolutionary 46 defense, Chicago led the league in several defensive categories, outscored their opponents with a staggering margin of 456–198, and recorded two postseason shutouts. The Patriots were considered a Cinderella team during the 1985 season, and posted an 11–5 regular season record, but entered the playoffs as a wild card because of tiebreakers. But defying the odds, New England posted three road playoff wins to advance to Super Bowl XX.
In their victory over the Patriots, the Bears set or tied Super Bowl records for sacks (seven), fewest rushing yards allowed (seven), and margin of victory (36 points). At the time, New England broke the record for the quickest lead in Super Bowl history, with Tony Franklin's 36-yard field goal 1:19 into the first quarter after a Chicago fumble. But the Patriots were eventually held to negative yardage (−19) throughout the entire first half, and finished with just 123 total yards from scrimmage, the second lowest total yards in Super Bowl history, behind the Minnesota Vikings (119 total yards) in Super Bowl IX. Bears defensive end Richard Dent, who had 1.5 quarterback sacks, forced two fumbles, and blocked a pass, was named the game's Most Valuable Player (MVP).[6]
The telecast of the game on NBC was watched by an estimated 92.57 million viewers.[5] To commemorate the 20th Super Bowl, all previous Super Bowl MVPs were honored during the pregame ceremonies. Less
