Matt Suhey, the rugged fullback who spent his entire 10-year NFL career blocking for Walter Payton and scored the opening touchdown in Super Bowl XX, died over Labor Day weekend at age 68, according to confirmation from the Chicago Bears.
Matt Suhey, a beloved figure in Chicago sports history and the relentless lead blocker for Hall of Fame running back Walter Payton, died over Labor Day weekend at the age of 68, the Chicago Bears confirmed. A person familiar with the situation confirmed Suhey’s death to USA TODAY Sports under conditions of anonymity due to the sensitivity of the matter, while The Daily Herald reported that he passed away in his sleep Saturday night.
Penn State Roots and the 1980 NFL Draft
Born on July 7, 1958, in Pennsylvania, Suhey followed a family athletic lineage, tracking the footsteps of his father, former Penn State star Steve Suhey, and his paternal grandfather, Bob Higgins. Suhey played high school football at State College and then played for the Nittany Lions from 1976 through 1979. Across his college career, he rushed for 2,818 yards and 26 touchdowns, while also catching 39 passes for 328 yards and two touchdowns.
The Chicago Bears selected Suhey in the second round, 46th overall, of the 1980 NFL Draft. That selection set the foundation for a decade-long partnership in the offensive backfield that would define an era of Chicago football.
Protecting Walter Payton and Defining the 1985 Championship Season
Suhey played a decade with the Bears in the 1980s, playing in every game as a rookie and appearing in 148 games across his 10 seasons. He finished his career with 2,946 rushing yards and 20 touchdowns. While Suhey was mostly known for his toughness and blocking ability, he did carve out a role as a secondary runner to Payton, getting over 100 carries in four of his 10 NFL seasons. Payton rushed for 9,800 yards and 51 touchdowns in the eight years in which he ran behind Suhey, and following Payton’s retirement, Suhey blocked for Neal Anderson, who gained over 1,100 yards running behind Suhey in 1988.
I felt like my dad and (Suhey) really got close because they had to be on the same page,
Jarrett Payton, Walter’s son, said in A Football Life,
an NFL Network docuseries. Matt watched my dad's back, kinda like being a bodyguard or protector. He blocked for him, he took a lotta hits, making sure that my dad would get the glory. Matt kinda sat back in the background, very unselfish.
That selflessness crystallized on January 26, 1986, during Super Bowl XX in New Orleans, where Suhey scored the first touchdown on an 11-yard run, helping the Chicago Bears defeat the New England Patriots 46-10 to capture the only Lombardi Trophy in franchise history. In the team’s three playoff games that postseason, he carried the ball 23 times, picking up seven first downs. He was also a key piece during their best run in modern history with five consecutive playoff appearances from 1984 through ’88.
Character and Legacy Beyond the Gridiron
Teammates remembered Suhey as much for his steady professionalism as his punishing blocks. Former Bears defensive tackle Dan Hampton told The Daily Herald, “I am shocked.” Hampton added regarding Suhey’s play in the championship matchup, “Matt had an awful lot of great runs early in that game when it was still in question. All through the year, when it was third-and-4, everybody would be thinking Walter was going to get it and then — pop — there goes Suhey for 8 right up the middle.”
Payton, who died in 1999, 12 years after he retired as the NFL’s all-time leading rusher, was the godfather of Suhey’s son, Scott. Former Sun-Times columnist Rick Telander wrote that they were “best buds” and that Their affection for each other would become clearest when Payton was dying of liver cancer and Suhey was there to soothe his friend and run interference for him against the swarming media horde.
Suhey also remained fiercely loyal to Payton off the field by supporting him through his illness and later serving as the executor of the Payton estate.
Suhey was named to the Pennsylvania Football All-Century Team and was selected as one of the 100 Greatest Bears of All Time.
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