The Bears’ league-leading defense tied the Super Bowl record for sacks (7) and limited the Patriots to a record-low seven rushing yards.

New England took the quickest lead in Super Bowl history when Tony Franklin kicked a 36-yard field goal with 1:19 elapsed in the first period. The score came about because of Larry McGrew’s fumble recovery at the Chicago 19-yard line.However, the Bears rebounded for a 23-3 first-half lead, while building a yardage advantage of 236 total yards to New England’s minus 19.

Running back Matt Suhey rushed eight times for 37 yards, including an 11-yard touchdown run, and caught one pass for 24 yards in the first half.

After the Patriot’s first drive of the second half ended with a punt to the Bears’ 4-yard line, Chicago marched 96 yards in nine plays with quarterback Jim McMahon’s 1-yard scoring run capping the drive. McMahon became the first quarterback in Super Bowl history to rush for a pair of touchdowns.

The Bears completed their scoring via a 28-yard interception return by reserve cornerback Reggie Phillips, a 1-yard run by defensive tackle/fullback William Perry, and a safety when defensive end Henry Waechter tackled Patriots quarterback Steve Grogan in the end zone.

Bears defensive end Richard Dent became the fourth defender to be named the game’s most valuable player after contributing 1 ½ sacks.

The Bears’ victory margin of 36 points was the largest in Super Bowl history, bettering the previous mark of 29 by the Los Angeles Raiders when they topped Washington 38-9 in Game XVIII.

McMahon completed 12 of 20 passes for 256 yards before leaving the game in the fourth period with a wrist injury. The NFL’s all-time leading rusher, Bears running back Walter Payton, carried 22 times for 61 yards.

Wide receiver Willie Gault caught four passes for 129 yards, the fourth-most receiving yards in a Super Bowl.

Chicago coach Mike Ditka became the second man (Tom Flores of the Raiders was the other) to win a Super Bowl ring as a player and a coach.