Of course! He owned the Bears on Monday Night!
Pffffttt... THIS Brett Favre is a shell of his former self. Lovie Smith OWNS Favre. From Tampa to St. Louis to Chicago. Favre is Lovie's personal beoatch.Jim McMahon's game up in Minnesota was better than Favre's BS game against the Raiders - and Mac did it coming off the bench in a portion of a game. Too bad it was a THURSDAY night football game though. THREE TD passes in 7 attempts. THAT is getting the job done - it catapulted the Bears onto the national spotlight, and the rest (as they say) is history.
McMahon`s magic saves Bears
By Don Pierson
September 20, 1985
MINNEAPOLIS -- Jim McMahon talked his way into the game and played his way into America`s football consciousness Thursday night in one of the most dramatic quarterback performances in Bears` history.
McMahon threw three touchdown passes in seven throws in the third quarter to lead the Bears to a 33-24 comeback victory over the Minnesota Vikings, who thought they had a pretty good quarterback themselves in Tommy Kramer.
With his back aching and his right leg infected, an angry McMahon convinced coach Mike Ditka to let him replace Steve Fuller with 7 minutes 22 seconds left in the third period and the Bears trailing 17-9.
First play: 70-yard touchdown pass to Willie Gault.
An interception by linebacker Wilber Marshall five plays later gave McMahon the ball on the Vikings` 25.
Second play: 25-yard touchdown pass to Dennis McKinnon.
``After the first two plays, I told him, `Third time`s the charm,` `` said Walter Payton.
The Bears got the ball back on a punt and McMahon completed two of four passes before hitting McKinnon for a 43-yard touchdown.
In the span of 6:40, McMahon had completed five of seven passes for three touchdowns.
``I must have been blessed tonight,`` McMahon said. ``I can`t remember the last time I threw three TDs like that.``
Most amazing was that none of the touchdown passes was planned.
``The first play I almost fell on my face. I felt like a fool and thought, `What a start,` `` McMahon said. ``It was a blitz, and luckily Willie was looking, so I threw it up. It was supposed to be a screen pass to Matt Suhey.``
The second and third scores were versions of the same crossing patterns that McMahon and McKinnon turned into touchdowns in the first two games of the season.
``The receivers said they were open downfield, so when I got in there, I was looking downfield,`` said McMahon.
McMahon had not started because he had not practiced and Ditka said he feared risking further injury.
``I don`t know how you write scripts for the kind of game you saw out there,`` said Ditka, who turned and shook his head in disbelief on the sidelines after McMahon`s third touchdown pass.
Gault finished with 6 catches for 146 yards, his most productive day as a pro. McKinnon finished with 4 catches for 133 yards, his most productive day as a pro.
The whole thing even tickled the sore ribs of Payton, who struggled his way for 62 yards on 15 carries and said he never had seen anything like McMahon`s performance.
``It was like one of those Notre Dame old-time movies,`` said Payton.
The victory put the 3-0 Bears in sole possession of first place in the National Football Conference`s Central Division, which threw a new and modern image onto an unsuspecting public.
``This was an AFC West game,`` said safety Gary Fencik.
Kramer completed 28 of 55 passes for 436 yards and 3 touchdowns against the proud Bears` defense, which finally sacked him 4 times and intercepted 3 of his passes.
``He`s got eyes in the back of his head,`` said Bears` defensive coordinator Buddy Ryan.
But McMahon turned the nationally televised show into his own private showcase. He finished with 8 completions in 15 attempts for 236 yards and a renewed image as a miracle worker.
``I haven`t played on national television for so long I wanted to show my friends I could still play,`` McMahon said.
``I was praying he was coming in,`` said McKinnon. ``He is known to have miracles happen.``
McMahon had not practiced all week because of a mysterious kink in his back and an even more threatening infection in his right leg.
``Looks like gangrene to me,`` McMahon said.
The leg flared up on Wednesday. McMahon said doctors told him it was the result of an open wound on the back of his passing hand that has not healed.
McMahon spent Tuesday afternoon sitting in the bleachers at the Bears` Lake Forest practice site chatting with his idol, ABC-TV commentator Joe Namath, while his teammates worked.
``That`s why I wanted to play. He was doing a thing on me at halftime about me keeping healthy, and here I am sitting down. I was glad to get in and show him I could still play,`` McMahon said.
Fuller completed 13 of 18 passes for 124 yards, but the Bears managed to score only three of Kevin Butler`s four field goals with Fuller at the helm. They had the ball in Viking territory seven straight times under Fuller, but sacks and a costly interception in the end zone had them behind 10-9.
Kramer was magically eluding the Bear pass rush and moving the Vikings downfield. When he hit wide receiver Anthony Carter for the first of his two touchdown catches, the Vikings were ahead 17-9 and Ditka turned to McMahon.
``I got in his ear during warmups and told him I felt ready. I stayed in his ear at halftime and then after the first series of the third quarter, I said, `Let me go, I`m ready,` `` said McMahon.
``We just needed a spark. We were moving, but we just couldn`t get it into the end zone.``
Did the game plan change?
``I didn`t see much of the game plan because I didn`t practice,`` McMahon said.
Even after McMahon`s third touchdown pass, Kramer wasn`t through. He hit Carter for a 57-yard touchdown bomb to bring the Vikings within 6 points at 30-24 with 9:19 left in the game.
So McMahon struck again. After the referee had to stop the 30-second clock because of crowd noise, McMahon hit a streaking McKinnon down the sideline for 46 yards to quiet the place down.
An 18-yard scramble by McMahon set up a 31-yard field goal by Butler with 5:35 left that put Kramer more than a touchdown away.
McMahon had been angry all week about his physical condition and Ditka`s insistence on seeing him practice before allowing him to play.
``I wasn`t in a good mood,`` said McMahon. ``I think the reason they didn`t start me was they wanted to make sure I`d be healthy the rest of the year. That`s what Mike told me before the game. I said: `I`ll be ready. Don`t hesitate to use me.` ``
