Will this week's MNF game produce epic air and ground performances like their past matchups?
The San Diego Chargers host the Chicago Bears at Qualcomm Stadium on Monday night.
Monday Night Football history lesson
Bears vs. Chargers on Monday Night Football:
» Total matchups: 1. The Chargers won the two teams' only previous meeting on "Monday Night Football."
» Notable matchup:Chargers 20, Bears 7 (Week 14, 1984)
In a late-season showdown, the Chargers dispatched a Bears team that would go on to the NFC championship game. Rusty Lisch played the majority of the game at quarterback for the Bears (Jim McMahon had suffered a season-ending injury earlier in the season against the Los Angeles Raiders), and his performance included throwing a game-breaking pick six in the fourth quarter. Lisch's counterpart that evening was Ed Luther, who was playing in place of Pro Football Hall of Famer Dan Fouts. Luther's favorite target that night was Bobby Duckworth, who had 179 yards and a touchdown receiving. Pro Football Hall of Famer Walter Payton rushed for 92 yards and the Bears' lone score.
One notable passing performance in series: In a 31-20 Bears win over the Chargers in 2011, quarterback Jay Cutler threw for 286 yards and a touchdown, and also rushed for a touchdown. The Bears improved to 7-3 with that win, but a five-game losing streak followed this victory and Chicago wound up finishing the season 8-8 and missing the playoffs a year after it hosted the NFC championship.
One notable rushing performance in series: In a 20-17 Bears win over the Chargers in 1981, Payton rushed for 107 yards and a touchdown to fuel the upset at Soldier Field. Payton's fellow backfield mate, Matt Suhey, added another touchdown on the ground. The Chargers went on to play in two of the most famous playoff games in NFL history that year. First, the Chargers prevailed in the "Epic in Miami" over the Miami Dolphins in an AFC divisional playoff game. Then, the Chargers fell to the Cincinnati Bengals in the AFC championship game in what became known as "The Freezer Bowl."
One famous MNF game
Bears: The Bears played in two famous Monday night games during their run toward Super Bowl glory in 1985. First, in a Week 7 Monday night showdown with the division-rival Green Bay Packers, the Bears unleashed "The Refrigerator" -- defensive tackle William Perry -- as a short-yardage running back. Perry scored his first rushing touchdown; later, in Super Bowl XX, he would score another. Six weeks later, the 12-0 Bears went into the Orange Bowl to face the Miami Dolphins in one of the most memorable Monday nighters in the series' history. With many members from the Dolphins' 1972 undefeated team looking on, the Dolphins ended any hopes that the Bears had of pulling off the same sort of feat.
Chargers: The Chargers exacted a small amount of revenge for that aforementioned defeat at the hands of the Cincinnati Bengals in the previous season's AFC Championship Game, a devastating 27-7 setback in a game that would be known as the "Freezer Bowl." The Chargersdump-trucked the Bengals, 50-34, on a Monday night at Jack Murphy Stadium during Week 7 of the 1982 season. Chargers receiver Wes Chandler had 260 yards and two touchdowns receiving. Running back James Brooks rushed for 105 yards and three touchdowns. At the time, the 84 combined points made this the highest-scoring Monday Night Football game ever. However, it was toppled just a year later when the Green Bay Packersdefeated the Washington Redskins, 48-47, on a Monday night at Lambeau Field.
Follow Jim Reineking on Twitter @jimreineking.
