Richard Dent thinks Mike Ditka cost Bears another Super Bowl

The 1985 Chicago Bears were one of the best teams of all time, featuring what might be the best defense of all time. They finished that season 15-1, with a win in Super Bowl XX. But if former Bears player and Hall of Famer Richard Dent is right, the Bears could have, and should have won the following Super Bowl, provided that Mike Ditka didn't make a crucial mistake.

According to ESPN Chicago, that mistake was bringing in Doug Flutie off the street for the playoffs, when quarterback Jim McMahon was injured in Week 12. According to Dent, the Bears should have stuck with Mike Tomczak and Steve Fuller, McMahon's regular season backups.

"Bringing Doug Flutie in and thinking that he's gonna come in and be on a team for three weeks and start him in a playoff game? Hell, I mean you're trying to change the name on the Super Bowl trophy to Mike Ditka (from) Vince Lombardi when you do something like that.

Dent went on to say "We had won with Tomczak and Fuller. That's all we need to do is stay with that plan. Then you bring a guy off the street." Flute ended up completing 11 of 31 passes for 134 yards, good for a touchdown and two interceptions. That game was a loss to the Washington Redskins in the playoffs.

Is Dent right? Who knows at this point, but this isn't the first time he's discussed those things. In the post from ESPN, Ditka was entirely dismissive regarding Dent's comments, and notes that he's moved on, suggesting that Dent should do the same.