>>How often do teams shut out opponents in the playoffs in the NFL even once?
SF shut out the Bears in the ‘84 playoffs; the Rams shut out the Cowboys in the division round of ‘85; the Giants shut out the Redskins in the 1986 NFC-C game. It may not be common now, but it wasn’t exactly uncommon then.
>>roster was stacked with nine Pro Bowlers,
That Cowboys team the Bears beat 44-0 had 4 Pro bowlers that year and other perrenial pro bowlers from that era: Danny White, Ed (TT) Jones, Tony Dorsett (HOF), Tony Hill, John Dutton, Mike Downs, Dennis Thurman, and I think Mike Saxon made it a few times as well.
>>several players who were among the best of their era at their positions, and may end up with a half-dozen players in the Hall of Fame.
Other than Peyton, Dent Hampton and Singletary, who? Hampton and Dent are VERY questionable entries. Peyton, of course, is the real deal and in my opinion, probably only behind Jerry Rice as the greatest player of all time.
The Cowboys had 2 HOFers that same year — White and Dorsett. And they flamed out early.
I'd consider DT Steve McMichael and LB Wilber Marshall among the best in the NFL at their positions back then, along with kicker Kevin Butler. In fact, I always thought Butler was the best kicker in the NFL during his years on the Bears. He would have been a perennial Pro Bowler except he played half his games in the toughest NFL stadium for kickers.
Richard Dent at his best was completely un-blockable.