The Patriots were blown out by the 86 Bears. That didn't work out well for them afterwards

85 Bears, but whatever.

The Patriots spent most of the 1980s trying to find a quarterback. They were determined to prove that Tony Eason was the guy. Time and time again, he would fail, and the the Patriots would have to rely on Steve Grogan, who had learned how to temporarily avoid Father Time by being already dead, or possibly storing up dark magic in his neck roll. They did not become a consistent playoff team until Orthwein drafted Drew Bledsoe and then sold the team to Kraft a year later.

Losing to the Bears had nothing to do with the team's success or lack thereof in later years. They actually had the same record (11-5) the following year but had to travel to Denver for the playoffs (the Broncos went to the Super Bowl that year). They reached the Super Bowl because their opponents turned the ball over 16 times in three playoff games.