Opening day for '85 Bears featured second-half comeback Nick Hut, The NorthWest Herald September 1985 The Bears' opener in 1985 did not foreshadow one of the most dominant defensive seasons of all time. The Tampa Bay Buccaneers took a 28-17 halftime lead in the Sept. 8 game at Soldier Field, shredding the Bears' defense both on the ground and through the air. This was a Bucs team that would finish 2-14 and average 18 points a game. "We couldn't really explain it," 'cornerback Leslie Frazier said. "We might have gotten a little cocky, because we were coming off such a good year and everyone was picking us to do great things. We got a little ahead of ourselves." Frazier swung the momentum on the second play of the third quarter, and the defense controlled the rest of the game – and the rest of the season. Defensive end Richard Dent tipped Tampa quarterback Steve DeBerg's pass for Frazier to pick off at the Bucs' 29. Frazier ran untouched into the end zone to bring the Bears within four points. Shaun Gayle's blocked punt set up another touchdown, and the Bears pulled away to win. "That second half set the stage for what we were going to do as a defense that season," Frazier said. "We shut them out and on top of that, we made big plays that helped decide the game." Jim McMahon, who would go on to produce the best season by a Bears quarterback since the Sid Luckman era, finished 23-of-34 passing for 274 yards. He threw for two touchdowns and ran in two more. Walter Payton was his usual self, carrying 17 times for 120 yards, although he and McMahon could not keep up with the Bucs' tandem of DeBerg and tailback James Wilder in the first half. Cornerback Mike Richardson missed a tackle on Bucs wide receiver Jerry Bell's 18-yard catch-and-run that set up Tampa's first touchdown. Richardson later was beaten on a 44-yard score from DeBerg to Kevin House, and was called for pass interference on a play that set up the Bucs' final touchdown. "I remember us making all sorts of mistakes on defense," said Frazier, the Cincinnati Bengals' defensive coordinator until getting fired after the 2004 season. "I wanted to come out in the second half and do something to get the season off and running."