Editing Jim McMahon (section)

====1986–1988====
{{Further|Charles Martin (American football)#1986 McMahon incident}}
In week 12 of the 1986 NFL regular season, McMahon was playing against the Green Bay Packers, while dealing with an existing rotator cuff injury to his right shoulder. After throwing a third down interception and at least two seconds after his pass was thrown, Green Bay nose tackle [[Charles Martin (football player)|Charles Martin]] grabbed McMahon from behind and body-slammed him to the turf, exacerbating his existing rotator cuff injury. McMahon briefly returned to the game, but it soon became apparent that he couldn't throw effectively, and he left the game in the third quarter, never to play again in 1986. Martin was immediately ejected from the game and later suspended for two additional games — the first multi-game suspension for an on-field incident in modern NFL history. Without McMahon, and despite finishing tied for the league's best record at 14–2, the Bears were unable to defend their Super Bowl championship and lost in the Divisional Playoff round to the [[1986 Washington Redskins season|Washington Redskins]].

McMahon battled injuries for the rest of his career, although at one point between the 1984 and [[1987 Chicago Bears season|1987]] seasons, he won 22 consecutive regular-season (25 including playoffs and the Super Bowl) starts, the longest "regular season winning streak" by an NFL quarterback at the time, now held by [[Peyton Manning]], who won 23 in 2008 to 2009 (but lost a wildcard playoff game to the Chargers during his "winning streak").

In 1987, McMahon came right back from a head injury and brought the Bears back in the first game following the [[1987 NFL strike|NFL players strike]] to defeat the Buccaneers, 27–26. The Bears went on to an 11–4 record, with many expecting McMahon to start and lead the Bears back to the Super Bowl. However, 1987 ended exactly the same way 1986 had, with the Bears being eliminated by the [[1987 Washington Redskins season|eventual Super Bowl champion Redskins]].

McMahon returned for the [[1988 Chicago Bears season|1988]] season with a much more serious attitude. His main offensive weapon in [[Walter Payton]] had retired and McMahon publicly expressed his desire to win a Super Bowl again. The Bears looked strong all season and went 12–4, again winning the NFC Central, and finishing with the NFC's top seed, ensuring they would host the NFC Championship Game at Soldier Field if they advanced that far. McMahon was unable to get the Bears back to the Super Bowl, as they were routed by the eventual Super Bowl champion [[1988 San Francisco 49ers season|San Francisco 49ers]] in the NFC Championship which saw McMahon benched in favor of [[Mike Tomczak]] in the fourth quarter.

During the offseason, McMahon and Bears president [[Michael McCaskey]] had a major falling out. He also fell out of favor with head coach [[Mike Ditka]], and after spending his first seven seasons in the league with Chicago, McMahon was traded to the [[1989 San Diego Chargers season|San Diego Chargers]].

As of 2017's NFL off-season, McMahon held at least 15 Bears franchise records, including:
* Completions: playoffs (70)
* Passing Yards: playoffs (967), playoff season (636 in 1985)
* Passing TDs: playoffs (4), playoff season (3 in 1985; with [[Rex Grossman]]), playoff game (2 on 1986-01-05 NYG; with [[Steve Walsh (American football)|Steve Walsh]] and [[Jay Cutler]]), rookie season (9 in 1982; with [[Kyle Orton]])
* Passer Rating: playoffs (77.1), playoff season (106.6 in 1985), rookie season (79.9 in 1982)
* Sacked: playoffs (10), rookie game (7 on 1982-11-28 @MIN)
* Yds/Pass Att: playoffs (7.61), playoff season (9.64 in 1985)
* Pass Yds/Game: rookie season (187.6 in 1982)