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The Monsters of the Midway is most widely known as the nickname for the National Football League’s Chicago Bears—particularly the dominant teams of 1940 and 1941. The name underwent something of a renewal when the 1985 edition of the Bears proved to be similarly dominant and has been used as a nickname for the Bears, in particular their intimidating defenses and linebackers, ever since.
The name got another renaissance in 2006 when the Bears went back to the Super Bowl thanks to their dominant defense and again in the 2018 season, when the dominant Chicago defense led the team to an NFC North championship.
Although the Monsters of the Midway nickname is sometimes applied to the Bears team as a whole it is primarily applied to the defensive side of the ball. This is due to the Bears having a long tradition of tough and intimidating defenses that date back to the beginning of the franchise.
The popularity of “Monsters of the Midway” was renewed by the dominant Chicago Bears defense of 1985. That year the Bears went 15–1 in the regular season. In the playoffs the Bears posted two shutouts against the New York Giants (21–0) and the Los Angeles Rams (24–0). This culminated in the Super Bowl, wherein they defeated the New England Patriots 46–10.
The 1985 Bears defense was ranked first in the NFL in points allowed and yards allowed. That year defensive end Richard Dent led the league in sacks and linebacker Mike Singletary won the Defensive Player of the Year Award.
Both the initial association of the nickname to the Bears and its 1980s revival were due mainly to the Bears’ strong defensive performances. Founder George Halas primarily played defensive end and the Bears have been credited with as defensive innovators with schemes such as the 46 Defense and the Tampa 2. Over the years ten of the Bears’ defenses being ranked among the 100 stingiest defenses of all time by Cold Hard Football Facts, more than any other franchise.