Dan Fortmann team captain, he led the Bears to back-to-back NFL championships in 1940 and 1941 with records of 8–3 and 10–1. After the 1940 season, Fortmann was rated as the best lineman in the NFL. The United Press called him "the heart and soul" of the Bears' ground attack that "rolled up a vast amount of yardage overland." In the 1940 NFL Championship Game, the Bears defeated the Washington Redskins by a 73-0 score. Fortman later cited the 1940 championship game as proof of Halas' skill as a "master of psychology." The Bears had lost to the Redskins three weeks earlier,
History of the Chicago Bears so retained their status as the lone team to have ever had a perfect season. Chicago afterwards produced a music video called "The Super Bowl Shuffle". The Bears were also divided, as Head Coach Mike Ditka and Defensive Coordinator Buddy Ryan did not see eye to eye. In the Divisional Playoffs the Bears played the New York Giants, shutting them out 21–0, on a bitterly cold and windy afternoon. The Bears then faced the Los Angeles Rams in the NFC Championship Game. This game too was a shutout, the score being 24–0. The "Monsters of the Midway" advanced to the