However, quarterback Jim McMahon showed up to training camp 25 pounds overweight – the product of the post-Super Bowl partying he'd partaken in.
Injuries to his rotator cuff (including a flagrant late-hit by Charles Martin which exacerbated it), however, derailed his season.
A holding penalty and a missed field goal by Kevin Butler frustrated the Bears in the first quarter.
But their usually stout defense fell apart in the second half, allowing the Redskins to score 20 unanswered points.
Trailing 14–13 in the 4th quarter, the Bears' good fortune ran out, when the usually dependable Payton lost a fumble, which led to an 83-yard touchdown drive by the Redskins.
A few minutes later, the Bears muffed a punt return which set up an easy field goal for the Redskins.