THESE BEARS GAMES WERE ACTION-PACKED
FROM ‘WORLD WAR III’ GAME TO ROBINSON’S BLOCK, LAMBEAU FIELD HAS PROVIDED PLENTY OF DRAMA
1985: ‘WORLD WAR III WITHOUT NUCLEAR WEAPONS’
The long-standing Bears-Packers rivalry boiled over at Lambeau Field in 1985, when the middling Packers under Forrest Gregg took particular umbrage at the Mike Ditka-fueled Bears’ brash, in-your-face style as they became the scourge of the NFL.
After bad feelings were stoked in the Bears’ 23-7 victory over the Packers at Soldier Field on Oct. 21, 1985 — “Remember this game,” Gregg told his team afterward — the rematch 13 days later at Lambeau quickly degenerated into a series of cheap shots, penalties and altercations.
Packers rookie cornerback Ken Stills leveled Matt Suhey well after the whistle.
Packers safety Mark Lee was ejected for driving Walter Payton over the Bears’ bench as the two players battled heading out of bounds.
There were other battles: Keith Van Horne vs. Robert Brown. Charles Martin vs. Jimbo Covert. Otis Wilson vs. Rob Hallstrom. There were 136 yards in penalties in the game, and that seemed like light punishment. “It was just nasty,” linebacker Mike Singletary said after the game. “This was World War III without nuclear weapons,” Ditka said. “It was fun to play. I’m sure it was more fun to win.”
The Bears did that, but barely. Payton rushed for 192 yards, including a 27-yard touchdown with 10:31 to play to make the difference in a literally hard-fought 16-10 victory. The Bears were 9-0 and on their way to the Super Bowl. Ditka ended up 7-1 against Forrest Gregg and 15-5 against the Packers as the Bears coach.