I'm with BeenThere.
If you look at the rosters (below) you will see it would not be close. New England in 2008 would smash the 1985 Bears. The NE DBs are as big or bigger than Chicago's LBs. The NE OL outweigh Bears DL by 25-30 lbs per man. Chicago did not have a QB worthy of the name, McMahon was all hat and no cattle. They had Payton, all 205 lbs and 4.6 40 of him, who would have trouble against 250 lb LBs who run 4.5 40s and benchpress 450 lbs, or 210 lb safeties who are about the same as the LBs in speed and strength.
There simply is no comparison between the athletes on the 2008 Pats and those on the 1985 Bears in terms of size, speed, and strength. The Bears might not score from the offensive side, though they could score by taking the ball away from NE through a fumble return or such. They could not counter Randy Moss, nor could their WRs (excepy maybe Willie Gault) run away from the Pat's DBs. Tom Brady would pick the Bears apart methodically and surely.
By the same token, the 1985 Bears would destroy the 1972 Dolphins for all the same reasons. The 1972 Dolphins would have matched up against the 1967 Packers, probably beat them, although the differences between late-1960s and 1970s athletes was not as large as between 1970s and 1980s, and so forth.
The best matches would be the 1990s Cowboys or late 1970s Steelers versus the 1985 Bears. Those teams may have been close athletically and size-wise.
In any case, the NFL has never been tougher, meaner, and more athletic as it is today.
1985 Chicago Bears Roster
Age Pos G GS Wt Ht College/Univ BirthDate Yrs Drafted (tm/rnd/yr)
Brad Anderson 24 WR 14 0 198 6-2 Arizona,BYU 1/12/1961 1 Chicago Bears / 8th / 1984
Tom Andrews 23 T-C 14 0 265 6-4 Louisville 1/11/1962 1 Chicago Bears / 4th / 1984
Kurt Becker 27 G 3 3 271 6-5 Michigan 12/22/1958 3 Chicago Bears / 6th / 1982
Mark Bortz 24 G 16 16 282 6-6 Iowa 2/12/1961 2 Chicago Bears / 8th / 1983
Maury Buford 25 P 16 0 191 6-1 Texas Tech 2/18/1960 3 San Diego Chargers / 8th / 1982
Kevin Butler+ 23 K 16 0 215 6-0 Georgia 7/24/1962 Rook Chicago Bears / 4th / 1985
Brian Cabral 29 LB 1 0 233 6-1 Colorado 6/23/1956 6 Atlanta Falcons / 4th / 1978
Jimbo Covert*+ 25 T 15 15 277 6-4 Pittsburgh 3/22/1960 2 Chicago Bears / 1st / 1983
Richard Dent*+ 25 DE 16 16 265 6-5 Tennessee State 12/13/1960 2 Chicago Bears / 8th / 1983
Dave Duerson* 25 DB 15 15 207 6-1 Notre Dame 11/28/1960 2 Chicago Bears / 3rd / 1983
Gary Fencik+ 31 DB 16 16 194 6-1 Yale 6/11/1954 9 Miami Dolphins / 10th / 1976
Leslie Frazier 26 DB 16 16 189 6-0 Alcorn State 4/3/1959 4
Andy Frederick 31 T 16 1 257 6-6 New Mexico 7/25/1954 8 Dallas Cowboys / 5th / 1977
Steve Fuller 28 QB 16 5 198 6-4 Clemson 1/5/1957 6 Kansas City Chiefs / 1st / 1979
Willie Gault 25 WR 16 16 181 6-0 Tennessee 9/5/1960 2 Chicago Bears / 1st / 1983
Shaun Gayle 23 DB 16 0 202 5-11 Ohio State 3/8/1962 1 Chicago Bears / 10th / 1984
Dennis Gentry 26 WR-RB 16 0 181 5-8 Baylor 2/10/1959 3 Chicago Bears / 4th / 1982
Dan Hampton*+ 28 DE-DT 16 15 264 6-5 Arkansas 9/19/1957 6 Chicago Bears / 1st / 1979
Mike Hartenstine 32 DE 16 8 251 6-3 Penn State 7/27/1953 10 Chicago Bears / 2nd / 1975
Jay Hilgenberg*+ 26 C-G 16 16 259 6-3 Iowa 3/21/1959 4
Stefan Humphries 23 G 11 0 265 6-3 Michigan 1/20/1962 1 Chicago Bears / 3rd / 1984
Tyrone Keys 26 DE-LB 16 0 272 6-7 Mississippi State 10/24/1959 2 New York Jets / 5th / 1981
James Maness 22 WR 8 0 174 6-1 TCU 5/1/1963 Rook Chicago Bears / 3rd / 1985
Ken Margerum 27 WR 16 2 175 6-0 Stanford 10/5/1958 4 Chicago Bears / 3rd / 1981
Wilber Marshall 23 LB 16 15 231 6-1 Florida 4/18/1962 1 Chicago Bears / 1st / 1984
Dennis McKinnon 24 WR 14 13 185 6-1 Florida State 8/22/1961 2
Jim McMahon*+ 26 QB 13 11 195 6-1 BYU 8/21/1959 3 Chicago Bears / 1st / 1982
Steve McMichael+ 28 DT-NT 16 16 270 6-2 Texas 10/17/1957 5 New England Patriots / 3rd / 1980
Emery Moorehead 31 TE-WR 15 14 218 6-2 Colorado 3/22/1954 8 New York Giants / 6th / 1977
Jim Morrissey 23 LB 15 0 223 6-3 Michigan State 12/24/1962 Rook Chicago Bears / 11th / 1985
Keith Ortego 22 WR 7 0 180 6-0 McNeese State 8/30/1963 Rook
Walter Payton*+ 31 RB 16 16 200 5-10 Jackson State 7/25/1954 10 Chicago Bears / 1st / 1975
William Perry 23 DT-DE 16 9 235 6-2 Clemson 12/16/1962 Rook Chicago Bears / 1st / 1985
Reggie Phillips 25 DB 16 1 170 5-10 SMU 12/12/1960 Rook Chicago Bears / 2nd / 1985
Mike Richardson 24 DB 14 14 187 6-0 Arizona State 5/23/1961 2 Chicago Bears / 2nd / 1983
Ron Rivera 23 LB 16 0 239 6-3 California 1/7/1962 1 Chicago Bears / 2nd / 1984
Thomas Sanders 23 RB 15 0 203 5-11 Texas A&M 1/4/1962 Rook Chicago Bears / 9th / 1985
Mike Singletary*+ 27 LB 16 16 230 6-0 Baylor 10/9/1958 4 Chicago Bears / 2nd / 1981
Matt Suhey 27 RB 16 16 217 5-11 Penn State 7/7/1958 5 Chicago Bears / 2nd / 1980
Ken Taylor 22 DB 16 1 185 6-1 Oregon State 9/2/1963 Rook
Tom Thayer 24 G-C 16 13 271 6-4 Notre Dame 8/16/1961 Rook Chicago Bears / 4th / 1983
Calvin Thomas 25 RB 14 0 239 5-11 Illinois 1/7/1960 3
Cliff Thrift 29 LB 16 2 232 6-1 East Central (OK) 5/3/1956 6 San Diego Chargers / 3rd / 1979
Mike Tomczak 23 QB 6 0 202 6-1 Ohio State 10/23/1962 Rook
Keith Van Horne 28 T 16 16 281 6-6 USC 11/6/1957 4 Chicago Bears / 1st / 1981
Henry Waechter 26 DE-DT 13 0 270 6-5 Nebraska 2/13/1959 3 Chicago Bears / 7th / 1982
Otis Wilson*+ 28 LB 16 16 227 6-2 Louisville,Syracuse 9/15/1957 5 Chicago Bears / 1st / 1980
Tim Wrightman 25 TE 16 3 237 6-3 UCLA 3/27/1960 Rook Chicago Bears / 3rd / 1982
Team Total 25.7 16 224.9 6-1.8 3.0
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2008 New England Patriots Roster
52 Alexander, Eric LB 6'2" 240 2/8/1982 3 Louisiana State
23 Andrews, Willie CB 5'10" 190 11/2/1983 2 Baylor
88 Brady, Kyle TE 6'6" 280 1/14/1972 13 Penn State
12 Brady, Tom QB 6'4" 225 8/3/1977 8 Michigan
65 Britt, Wesley T 6'8" 320 11/21/1981 2 Alabama
80 Brown, Troy WR 5'10" 196 7/2/1971 15 Marshall
54 Bruschi, Tedy ILB 6'1" 247 6/9/1973 12 Arizona
16 Cassel, Matt QB 6'4" 230 5/17/1982 3 USC
59 Colvin, Rosevelt* OLB 6'3" 250 9/5/1977 9 Purdue
38 Eckel, Kyle RB 5'11" 237 12/30/1981 1 Navy
44 Evans, Heath FB 6'0" 250 12/30/1978 7 Auburn
33 Faulk, Kevin RB 5'8" 202 6/5/1976 9 Louisiana State
10 Gaffney, Jabar WR 6'1" 200 12/1/1980 6 Florida
21 ***, Randall CB 5'11" 190 5/5/1982 4 Louisiana State
3 Gostkowski, Stephen K 6'1" 210 1/28/1984 2 Memphis
97 Green, Jarvis DE 6'3" 285 1/12/1979 6 Louisiana State
7 Gutierrez, Matt QB 6'4" 230 6/9/1984 0 Idaho State
6 Hanson, Chris P 6'2" 202 10/25/1976 8 Marshall
37 Harrison, Rodney SS 6'1" 220 12/15/1972 14 Western Illinois
27 Hobbs, Ellis CB 5'9" 195 5/16/1983 3 Iowa State
71 Hochstein, Russ G 6'4" 305 10/7/1977 7 Nebraska
53 Izzo, Larry LB 5'10" 228 9/26/1974 12 Rice
17 Jackson, Chad WR 6'1" 215 3/6/1985 2 Florida
77 Kaczur, Nick T 6'4" 315 7/28/1979 3 Toledo
67 Koppen, Dan C 6'2" 296 9/12/1979 5 Boston College
72 Light, Matt T 6'4" 305 6/23/1978 7 Purdue
49 Lua, Oscar* LB 6'1" 240 5/9/1984 0 USC
70 Mankins, Logan G 6'4" 310 3/10/1982 3 Fresno State
39 Maroney, Laurence RB 5'11" 220 2/5/1985 2 Minnesota
31 Meriweather, Brandon DB 5'11" 200 1/14/1984 0 Miami (Fla.)
24 Mitchell, Mel* DB 6'1" 225 2/10/1979 6 Western Kentucky
95 Moore, Rashad DT 6'3" 325 3/16/1979 4 Tennessee
34 Morris, Sammy* RB 6'0" 220 3/23/1977 8 Texas Tech
81 Moss, Randy WR 6'4" 210 2/13/1977 10 Marshall
61 Neal, Steve G 6'4" 305 10/9/1976 6 Cal State-Bakersfield
68 O'Callaghan, Ryan T 6'7" 330 7/19/1983 2 California
66 Paxton, Lonie LS 6'2" 260 3/13/1978 8 Sacramento State
35 Richardson, Mike* DB 5'11" 190 2/18/1984 0 Notre Dame
22 Samuel, Asante CB 5'10" 185 1/6/1981 5 Central Florida
36 Sanders, James FS 5'10" 210 11/11/1983 3 Fresno State
30 Scott, Chad* CB 6'1" 205 9/6/1974 11 Maryland
55 Seau, Junior ILB 6'3" 250 1/19/1969 18 USC
93 Seymour, Richard DE 6'6" 310 10/6/1979 7 Georgia
90 Smith, Le Kevin DT 6'1" 308 7/21/1982 2 Nebraska
82 Spach, Stephen TE 6'4" 250 7/18/1982 2 Fresno State
28 Spann, Antwain DB 6'0" 195 2/22/1983 2 Louisiana-Lafayette
18 Stallworth, Donte' WR 6'0" 200 11/10/1980 6 Tennessee
96 Thomas, Adalius ILB 6'2" 270 8/18/1977 8 Southern Mississippi
86 Thomas, David* TE 6'3" 248 7/5/1983 2 Texas
41 Ventrone, Raymond DB 5'10" 200 10/21/1982 2 Villanova
50 Vrabel, Mike OLB 6'4" 261 8/14/1975 11 Ohio State
94 Warren, Ty DE 6'5" 300 2/6/1981 5 Texas A&M
15 Washington, Kelley WR 6'3" 215 8/21/1979 5 Tennessee
84 Watson, Benjamin TE 6'3" 255 12/18/1980 4 Georgia
83 Welker, Wes WR 5'9" 185 5/1/1981 4 Texas Tech
75 Wilfork, Vince NT 6'2" 325 11/4/1981 4 Miami (Fla.)
26 Wilson, Eugene FS 5'10" 195 8/17/1980 5 Illinois
58 Woods, Pierre LB 6'5" 250 1/6/1982 2 Michigan
99 Wright, Mike* DE 6'4" 295 3/1/1982 3 Cincinnati