Bears celebrate 40th anniversary of 1985 championship team, though with notable absences

At the start of what the Bears think will be a successful era led by head coach Ben Johnson and quarterback Caleb Williams, they honored the best of their past with 42 players from the 1985 championship team on hand for their season opener Monday against the Vikings.

All of them lined up on the field at halftime as the team showed highlights of their Super Bowl XX victory and had a large ‘‘XX’’ lit up in blue and orange with fog machines out there with them.

Of the seven Hall of Famers from the ’85 team, only coach Mike Ditka and late running back Walter Payton and defensive lineman Steve McMichael weren’t there. Ditka, 85, has dealt with significant health issues the last several years.

The team played a clip of his speech in 2013, when his No. 89 jersey was retired, ending with, ‘‘Go, Bears.’’

Legendary defensive tackle William ‘‘The Refrigerator’’ Perry, who scored a rushing touchdown in that Super Bowl, also didn’t attend.

Several of their biggest stars from that team, however, were at the game, including quarterback Jim McMahon and linebacker Ron Rivera. Rivera also was the defensive coordinator for the Bears’ 2006 team that went to the Super Bowl under Lovie Smith.

Kicker Kevin Butler and linebacker Otis Wilson made appearances during timeouts, and Butler called it ‘‘a dream come true’’ to reunite with his former teammates.

‘‘When I played, I had the greatest seat in the house to watch the greatest team in NFL history,’’ he told the crowd.

The Bears honored former owner Virginia McCaskey and McMichael, both of whom died this year, with a moment of silence before the game. They also had Payton’s widow, Connie, and his children, Jarrett and Brittney, on the field before the game.

The Bears had the widows of safety Dave Duerson and McMichael stand in for them during the halftime ceremony.

The Bears are wearing a patch on their uniforms this season in tribute to McCaskey and a helmet decal featuring McMichael’s No. 76.

CBs Johnson, Gordon out

The Bears were without their two best cornerbacks as they took on the Vikings.

Jaylon Johnson, who missed all of the preseason with a groin injury the team initially said would keep him out ‘‘a few weeks,’’ was out despite showing promise in practices leading up to the game. Nickel cornerback Kyler Gordon, who was added to the injury report Sunday with a calf issue, also was inactive.

The Bears started Tyrique Stevenson and Nahshon Wright on the outside, and newcomer Nick McCloud took Gordon’s nickel spot.

Wright had a pick-six — the first of his career — against Vikings quarterback J.J. McCarthy early in the third quarter, returning the interception 74 yards for a touchdown that gave the Bears a 17-6 lead.

Moore’s ground game

Ben Johnson experimented extensively with wide receiver DJ Moore playing out of the backfield in training camp and went to that idea early. Moore ran for five yards on the Bears’ second possession.

Moore had 57 carries in seven seasons coming into the game, including a career-high 14 for 75 yards last season.

Notes

Linebacker Noah Sewell got his first career start, taking T.J. Edwards’ spot. Edwards was inactive because of a hamstring injury.

• The Bears had three tackles active: left tackle Braxton Jones, right tackle Darnell Wright and backup swing tackle Theo Benedet. Kiran Amegadjie, who has been working at guard, as well, was inactive. Benedet played early as an extra blocker on a running play.

• Vikings starting left tackle Christian Darrisaw (knee) was inactive. Justin Skule started in his place.