1985 Cleveland Browns season

1985 Cleveland Browns season
Head coach Marty Schottenheimer
(2nd season)
General manager Ernie Accorsi
(Since 1985)
Owner Art Modell
(Since 1961)
Home field Cleveland Municipal Stadium
Local radio WWWE
Results
Record 8–8
Division place 1st AFC Central
Playoff finish Lost Divisional Playoffs (Dolphins 21–24)

The 1985 Cleveland Browns season was the team's 36th season with the National Football League.

In Marty Schottenheimer's first full year as head coach, the Browns bounced back from a horrible 5–11 season in 1984 to make the playoffs, despite a .500 season. Rookie quarterback Bernie Kosar led the Browns' offense; Ozzie Newsome's 62 receptions earned him a trip to the Pro Bowl; Earnest Byner and Kevin Mack each rushed for over 1,000 yards.

In the Divisional Playoffs, the Browns led the Miami Dolphins 21–3 in the third quarter, but in a scene that would be repeated 4 more times in the 1980s, the Browns collapsed down the stretch as the Dolphins came back to score three touchdowns to win the game 24–21.

In 2004, Football Outsiders named the 1985 Browns as one of the "worst playoff teams ever":[1]

Opponents outscored them 287–294, and they were blown out in two of their last three games (31–13 by the Seahawks and 38–10 by the Jets). They took a 21–3 lead over the Dolphins in the playoffs, only to watch Dan Marino and company score 21 unanswered points to win the game.

The 1985 Browns are probably best known for having two 1,000-yard rushers in Earnest Byner and Kevin Mack. Despite that impressive feat, the Browns were only fourth in the AFC in team rushing yards. They were 13th in the conference in passing yards, thanks to rookie [quarterback] Bernie Kosar and journeyman Gary Danielson. What that team did very well was play defense and take advantage of a weak division. The Browns swept the 5–11 Oilers and split with the 7–9 Bengals and Steelers. A 28–21 win in Week 15 against the Oilers proved to be the division capper: Kosar threw three TDs to open up a 28–7 lead, and the defense withstood a Warren Moon comeback.

Until 2011, Cleveland's .500 winning percentage held the record for the lowest such percentage for a division winning playoff team in a non-strike season; the record was tied by the 2008 San Diego Chargers, then broken by the 2010 Seattle Seahawks. (Incidentally, in 1985 and 2008, teams with 11–5 records – Denver in 1985, New England in 2008—missed the playoffs.)

Personnel

Staff

1985 Cleveland Browns staff
Front office

Head coaches

Offensive coaches

 Defensive coaches

Special teams coaches

Strength and conditioning

[2]

Roster

1985 Cleveland Browns roster
Quarterbacks

Running backs

Wide receivers

Tight ends

 Offensive linemen

Defensive linemen

 Linebackers

Defensive backs

Special teams

 Reserve lists

{{{reserve_lists}}}


Rookies in italics

[3]

Schedule

Week Date Opponent Result Attendance Record
1 September 8, 1985 St. Louis Cardinals L 27–24
62,107
 0–1
2 September 16, 1985 Pittsburgh Steelers W 17–7
79,042
 1–1
3 September 22, 1985 at Dallas Cowboys L 20–7
61,456
 1–2
4 September 29, 1985 at San Diego Chargers W 21–7
52,107
 2–2
5 October 6, 1985 New England Patriots W 24–20
62,139
 3–2
6 October 13, 1985 at Houston Oilers W 21–6
38,386
 4–2
7 October 20, 1985 Los Angeles Raiders L 21–20
77,928
 4–3
8 October 27, 1985 Washington Redskins L 14–7
78,540
 4–4
9 November 3, 1985 at Pittsburgh Steelers L 10–9
51,976
 4–5
10 November 10, 1985 at Cincinnati Bengals L 27–10
57,293
 4–6
11 November 17, 1985 Buffalo Bills W 17–7
54,478
 5–6
12 November 24, 1985 Cincinnati Bengals W 24–6
74,439
 6–6
13 December 1, 1985 at New York Giants W 35–33
66,482
 7–6
14 December 8, 1985 at Seattle Seahawks L 31–13
58,477
 7–7
15 December 15, 1985 Houston Oilers W 28–21
50,793
 8–7
16 December 22, 1985 at New York Jets L 37–10
59,073
 8–8

Playoffs

Week Date Opponent Result Attendance
Divisional January 4, 1986 at Miami Dolphins L 24–21
75,128

Standings

AFC Central
W L T PCT DIV CONF PF PA STK
Cleveland Browns(3) 8 8 0 .500 4–2 7–5 287 294 L1
Cincinnati Bengals 7 9 0 .438 4–2 5–7 441 437 L2
Pittsburgh Steelers 7 9 0 .438 3–3 6–6 379 355 L1
Houston Oilers 5 11 0 .313 1–3 4–8 284 412 L4

References

  1. ↑ Football Outsiders: Skin of the Teeth: The Worst Playoff Teams Ever
  2. ↑ "All-Time Assistant Coaches". ClevelandBrowns.com. Archived from the original on May 22, 2008. Retrieved February 6, 2009.
  3. ↑ https://www.pro-football-reference.com/teams/cle/1985_roster.htm
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