Forty years ago, the Chicago Bears were off to their best start in four decades. The impressive season ended with a Super Bowl win in New Orleans.

Here’s a look back at the 1985 season, captured in 10 key moments.

Jan. 6, 1985

The Bears lost 23-0 to the San Francisco 49ers in the NFC Championship at Candlestick Park. The shutout was the first against the Bears since a 10-0 loss to the New Orleans Saints on Sept. 19, 1982, in Mike Ditka’s second game as head coach. The two best teams of the regular season — the 49ers (15-1) and the Miami Dolphins (14-2) — advanced to Super Bowl XIX.

“No offense, not enough defense,” Pierson wrote in the Tribune. “It was not the kind of link to the past the Bears were trying to establish.”

Yet, 49ers coach Bill Walsh called the Bears “the team to beat next year,” with quarterback Jim McMahon expected to return from a lacerated left kidney he suffered on Nov. 4, 1984, against the Oakland Raiders.

“I appreciate that,” Ditka said. “I apologize to our fans and to the team. We’ll be back. The 49ers are a better football team than us right now. They just beat the butt off us, that’s all.”

April 30, 1985

The Bears’ top pick in the 1985 NFL draft was a surprise to just about everybody. Clemson defensive tackle William “Refrigerator” Perry was chosen by Ditka with a “gut feeling,” the coach told reporters. An ESPN commentator called Perry a 10th-rounder.

“What are we going to do with him?” Bears defensive tackle Dan Hampton said. “They must be thinking of a trade.”

But maybe the Bears were onto something. Reports said Perry could jump and even dunk a basketball. Bears defensive coordinator Buddy Ryan said Perry reminded him of middle linebacker Mike Singletary — one of the team’s most respected players. In the Bears’ “46” defense, Ryan said Perry could play left tackle — Steve McMichael’s position — and Hampton could stay over the nose.

Still, there were concerns about Perry’s conditioning and weight, which was estimated between 350-370 pounds. Despite a celebratory trip to Carson’s, where he downed four full slabs of ribs, Perry was confident he would be in shape for the season.

“I’ve been big since I’ve been little,” he said.

Summer 1985

Safety Todd Bell and linebacker Al Harris were among a dozen free agents — including offensive tackle Keith Van Horne, and tight end Emery Moorehead and McMichael — who the Bears pursued after the 1984 season.

Bell, who made $77,000 (or roughly $238,000 in today’s dollars) in 1984, was selected for the Pro Bowl team and earned other postseason honors. Harris made $145,000 (or $448,000 in today’s dollars). Both were part of the defense that ranked first in the league in 1984. Both veterans skipped Bears minicamp in May 1985. And both were still in contract talks as training camp began in Platteville, Wisconsin, in July 1985.

“Anybody who doesn’t come to camp is foolish,” Ditka said. “There’s an old saying, ‘Out of sight, out of mind.’ You can only evaluate what you see.”

To emphasize his point, Ditka said the Bears would give opportunities to Dave Duerson at safety, Ron Rivera at middle linebacker and Wilber Marshall (the team’s first-round draft pick in 1984) at outside linebacker. Otis Wilson, Bears linebacker, would also get an opportunity to play.

One by one, each holdout signed a new contract with the team — except for Bell and Harris. The Bears withdrew their final contract offers to them in early September 1985, and no communication was made after the trade deadline on Oct. 15. As of Nov. 23, neither could play for the Bears during the season.

Sept. 19, 1985

With his back aching and his right leg infected, McMahon talked his way into the game and produced one of the most dramatic quarterback performances in team history. McMahon convinced Ditka to let him replace Steve Fuller with 7 minutes, 22 seconds left in the third quarter and the Bears trailing 17-9. McMahon threw three touchdown passes in seven throws in the third quarter to lead the Bears to a 33-24 comeback victory over the Vikings in Minnesota.

What might have be more remarkable was that none of the touchdown passes were planned.

“The first play I almost fell on my face. I felt like a fool and thought, ‘What a start,'” McMahon said after the game. “It was a blitz, and luckily Willie (Gault) was looking, so I threw it up. It was supposed to be a screen pass to Matt Suhey.”

McMahon spent the previous Tuesday on the bleachers at practice chatting with his idol, ABC-TV commentator Joe Namath, while his teammates worked out.

“That’s why I wanted to play,” McMahon said. “He was doing a thing on me at halftime about me keeping healthy, and here I am sitting down. I was glad to get in and show him I could still play.”

Oct. 13, 1985

It was a rematch of the NFC championship, but this time the Bears beat the 49ers 26-10. It was the first time since 1942 that a Bears team started the season 6-0.

Nov. 3, 1985

Walter Payton’s 27-yard touchdown with 10:31 left in the game secured a 16-10 win against the Green Bay Packers at Lambeau Field and kept the Bears undefeated.