The Chicago Bears have a funny habit.
Every year since 1985, they have won a big game at Soldier Field to start the season.
Every year since 1985, they have lost a big game at Soldier Field to end it.
This time, they start with the Cincinnati Bengals, who happened to come within 34 seconds of winning the NFL title last season.
Since Joe Montana hit John Taylor in the end zone to win the Super Bowl for San Francisco last January, the Bengals have been beset with problems _ Stanley Wilson's drug suspension, holdouts, Boomer Esiason's sore shoulder, Tim Krumrie's broken ankle and the post-victory general malaise.
"It's a powerful thing," Coach Sam Wyche says. "Every team that goes to the Super Bowl warns each team the following year about this thing. You end up losing a sense of urgency about it. You're not neglecting anything. There's just a different urgency to get things done."
In Cincinnati's case, the letdown extended to the front office, which has never been liberal with its money. Guard Max Montoya, tight end Rodney Holman and wide receiver Eddie Brown were holdouts up to the final week of training camp.
Krumrie, the All-Pro nose tackle who broke his ankle in the Super Bowl, will play for the first time Sunday.
Chicago, meanwhile, enters the season free of quarterback controversy for the first time since its Super Bowl year. Jim McMahon's trade to San Diego took care of that, leaving Mike Tomczak to stand on his own.
Only 18 of the 47 Bears who will dress Sunday were on the 1985 team and 18 are in either their first or second years. Mike Ditka and Bill Tobin have rebuilt well _ with the help of a 24-0 record over Green Bay, Tampa Bay and Detroit, they're 52-11 in regular-season games since the title in 1985.
But they're also 1-3 in playoff games and Ditka was unhappy about the preseason, in which Chicago was 2-2. But he's also reasonably confident about his team.
"We stunk in the preseason, but we won't stink once the season begins," he says. San Francisco at Indianapolis The 49ers, of course, finished strong last year, winning seven of their last eight, including two playoff games handily and that 20-16 Super Bowl. But the Colts were almost as good, going 8-2 after a 1-5 start and were 9-4 in games in which Chris Chandler started at quarterback.
Chandler, in his second year, is now the full-time starter. But Eric Dickerson is complaining about his offensive line, hurt by holdouts and injury.
The 49ers are trying to break precedent _ they've lost the opener following their last two Super Bowl victories and are seeking to become the first team in a decade to repeat. One of the incentives is that they consider themselves a new team without Bill Walsh, who turned over the head coaching job to George Seifert.
"I think we have a fresh attitude this season. We don't have that carryover," says Joe Montana, who has been through the post Super-Bowl letdown twice before. N.Y. Giants at Washington
Joe Gibbs has been planning for this game since last April, viewing it as the first step back from Washington's post-Super Bowl slide. He was planning, however, to have a healthy Doug Williams instead of Mark Rypien, who is the third different quarterback in three years to start the season for Washington.
The Redskins also unveil the two new heavy-duty backs acquired in the off-season, Gerald Riggs from Atlanta and Earnest Byner from Cleveland.
The Giants have beaten the Redskins five of their last six non-strike games, including twice last year, once in the Monday night opener. This is the fourth straight time the Giants open on Monday night.
They open without Joe Morris, lost for the season with a broken foot _ the only Morris on the field will be his brother Jamie, who plays for the Redskins. Ottis Anderson, resurrected at 31, will do a lot of the work in a new one-back set backed up by Lee Rouson with George Adams and Maurice Carthon at fullback when the Giants move to two backs.
"We have some great backs," Adams says. "Everyone was prepared to do the same things Joe could do." Dallas at New Orleans
"We have a long way to go," says Jimmy Johnson, who took over America's Team in the coup that toppled Tom Landry, the only other coach in Dallas' 30-year history.
Johnson has spent two weeks sifting through other teams' rejects in an effort to find defensive linemen and linebackers who can stop someone and offensive linemen to protect Troy Aikman. If Aikman lasts the season he looks like he might be worth the $11 million he got for being the No. 1 pick.
He gets one break _ New Orleans' best pass rusher, Pat Swilling, just signed and may not be in top form. But if the Saints can run at all, they should keep the ball away from Aikman and Herschel Walker, who may play fullback in the absence of the injured Broderick Sargent. Houston at Minnesota
Perhaps the two most talented teams in the league and certainly the two most enigmatic. This could be a preview of the Super Bowl, or a meeting between perennial wild-card teams.
This one may turn on whether Wade Wilson is on _ Aikman, who's still learning, riddled the Houston secondary last week, atlhough Jerry Glanville was trying different combinations. Bubba McDowell, a rookie who has won the free starting job, is a terror on the blitz, but vulnerable in the air. Seattle at Philadelphia
The Eagles enter the season as a team with expectations, which was verified by Coach Buddy Ryan, who said after making his final cuts: "This is the first time that we've had to cut anybody since I've been here that I've thought could go somewhere and play and play well."
The Seahawks have some expectations themselves _ in an AFC West that's relatively weak, they're the favorites to repeat. Rookies Elroy Harris and Derrick Fenner help the running game, but the defense is suspect, which may be a delight to Randall Cunningham, although Cunningham says he doesn't feel quite ready yet. Cleveland at Pittsburgh
Until 1986, the Browns had never won at Three Rivers Stadium. Now they've beaten the Steelers three straight games there and have won six straight overall against Pittsburgh.
The Steelers may have had their best draft since 1974, when they got the nucleus for four Super Bowl winners. They'll start three or four rookies _ running back Tim Worley, safety Carnell Lake, guard Tom Ricketts and, if he's healthy, wide receiver Derek Hill. "Do I feel stronger about this team than I did last year? Yes," says Coach Chuck Noll.
Cleveland was 1-4 in preseason and has new coach Bud Carson believing he may have inherited a dog for Cleveland Stadium's Dog Pound. One move he may have to make is putting Hanford Dixon back at cor