1985 New England Patriots season

1985 New England Patriots season
Head coach Raymond Berry
(2nd season)
General manager Patrick Sullivan
(Since 1983)
Owner Billy Sullivan
(Since 1960)
Home field Sullivan Stadium
Results
Record 11–5
Division place 3rd AFC East
Playoff finish Won Wild Card Playoffs (Jets) 26–14
Won Divisional Playoffs (Raiders) 27–20
Won Conference Championship (Dolphins) 31–14
Lost Super Bowl XX (Bears) 10–46
Pro Bowlers
AP All-Pros
Craig James rushes the ball past the Dolphins' defense in the AFC Championship game.

The 1985 New England Patriots season was the 16th season for the team in the National Football League and 26th season overall. The Patriots had a record of eleven wins and five losses, and finished tied for second in the AFC East Division. They then became the first team in NFL history ever to advance to the Super Bowl by winning 3 playoff games on the road, defeating the New York Jets 26–14, the Los Angeles Raiders, 27–20, and then they went on to stun the football world and did the impossible as they pulled out a massive and stunning upset over the Miami Dolphins 31–14, in the AFC Championship game. The Patriots' win in Miami was their first victory in that stadium since 1969. The win over the Dolphins in the game has gone down as one of the greatest upsets in NFL history, as the Dolphins were heavily favored.

But despite the Patriots' success in the playoffs, they proved unable to compete with the acclaimed 15–1 Chicago Bears in Super Bowl XX, losing 10–46 in what was at the time the most lopsided defeat in Super Bowl history.

"We couldn't protect the quarterback, and that was my fault. I couldn't come up with a system to handle the Bears' pass rush," head coach Raymond Berry acknowledged.[3]

Staff

New England Patriots 1985 staff
Front office

Head coaches

Offensive coaches

  • Quarterbacks/receivers – Les Steckel
  • Quarterbacks/special assistant to the head coach – John Polonchek
  • Offensive backfield – Bobby Grier
  • Receivers – Harold Jackson
  • Assistant head coach/offensive line – Rod Humenuik
  

Defensive coaches

Special teams coaches

Strength and conditioning

  • Strength and conditioning – Dean Brittenham

Schedule

Regular season

WeekDateOpponentResultGame siteRecordAttendance
1September 8, 1985Green Bay PackersW 26–20Sullivan Stadium1–049,488
2September 15, 1985at Chicago BearsL 20–7Soldier Field1–160,533
3September 22, 1985at Buffalo BillsW 17–14Rich Stadium2–140,334
4September 29, 1985Los Angeles RaidersL 35–20Sullivan Stadium2–260,686
5October 6, 1985at Cleveland BrownsL 24–20Cleveland Municipal Stadium2–362,139
6October 13, 1985Buffalo BillsW 28–6Sullivan Stadium3–340,462
7October 20, 1985New York JetsW 20–13Sullivan Stadium4–358,163
8October 27, 1985at Tampa Bay BuccaneersW 32–14Tampa Stadium5–334,661
9November 3, 1985Miami DolphinsW 17–13Sullivan Stadium6–358,811
10November 10, 1985Indianapolis ColtsW 34–15Sullivan Stadium7–354,176
11November 17, 1985at Seattle SeahawksW 20–13The Kingdome8–360,345
12November 24, 1985at New York JetsL 16–13The Meadowlands8–474,100
13December 1, 1985at Indianapolis ColtsW 38–31Hoosier Dome9–456,740
14December 8, 1985Detroit LionsW 23–6Sullivan Stadium10–459,078
15December 16, 1985at Miami DolphinsL 30–27Miami Orange Bowl10–569,489
16December 22, 1985Cincinnati BengalsW 34–23Sullivan Stadium11–557,953

Game summaries

Week 1

1 234Total
Packers 0 6014 20
• Patriots 7 1207 26

[4] [5]

Week 3

1 234Total
• Patriots 3 770 17
Bills 0 707 14

[6]

Week 6

1 234Total
Bills 0 300 3
• Patriots 0 077 14

[7]

Week 7

1 2 34Total
Jets 0 3 3713
Patriots 3 3 01420

at Sullivan Stadium, Foxboro, Massachusetts

Week 16

1 234Total
Bengals 3 3710 23
• Patriots 10 10014 34

[8]

After winning against the Bengals, fans stormed the field and tore down the goal posts. Unfortunately fans proceeded to walk down Route 1 with the goalposts, accidentally hitting an overhead wire and nearly electrocuting themselves.[9]

Postseason

Playoff RoundDateOpponentResultGame siteRecordAttendance
Wild Card PlayoffDecember 28, 1985at New York JetsW 26–14Meadowlands Stadium12–570,958
Divisional PlayoffJanuary 5, 1986at LA RaidersW 27–20Los Angeles Memorial Coliseum13–588,936
AFC ChampionshipJanuary 12, 1986at Miami DolphinsW 31–14Orange Bowl14–574,978
Super Bowl XXJanuary 26, 1986N Chicago BearsL 46–10Louisiana Superdome14–673,818

Standings

AFC East
W L T PCT DIV CONF PF PA STK
Miami Dolphins(2) 12 4 0 .750 6–2 9–3 428 320 W7
New York Jets(4) 11 5 0 .688 6–2 9–3 393 264 W1
New England Patriots(5) 11 5 0 .688 6–2 8–4 362 290 W1
Indianapolis Colts 5 11 0 .313 1–7 2–10 320 386 W2
Buffalo Bills 2 14 0 .125 1–7 2–12 200 381 L6

Roster

New England Patriots 1985 roster
Quarterbacks


Running backs

Wide receivers

Tight ends

 Offensive Linemen

Defensive linemen

 Linebackers

Defensive backs

Special teams

References

  1. ↑ "1985 NFL Pro Bowlers". Pro-Football-Reference.com.
  2. ↑ "1985 NFL All-Pros". Pro-Football-Reference.com.
  3. ↑ Tales From The Patriots Sideline (Illinois:Sports Publishing LLC, 2006) by Michael Felger, p. 80
  4. ↑ Pro-Football-Reference.com. Retrieved 2014-Aug-01.
  5. ↑ Gainesville Sun. 1985 Sept 9. Retrieved 2017-Nov-01.
  6. ↑ Pro-Football-Reference.com
  7. ↑ Pro-Football-Reference.com
  8. ↑ Pro-Football-Reference.com
  9. ↑ http://www.patriots.com/news/2001/10/29/foxboro-stadium-history-1985
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