1985 Los Angeles Rams season

The 1985 Los Angeles Rams season was the franchise's 48th season in the National Football League, their 38th overall, and their 40th in the Greater Los Angeles Area.

1985 Los Angeles Rams season
Head coachJohn Robinson
(3rd season)
General managerJohn Shaw
(Since 1985)
OwnerGeorgia Frontiere
(Since 1979)
Home fieldAnaheim Stadium
Results
Record11–5
Division place1st NFC West
Playoff finishWon Divisional playoffs (Cowboys) 20–0
Lost NFC Championship (at Bears) 0–24
40th Anniversary in Los Angeles

In the playoffs, the Rams shutout the Dallas Cowboys 20–0 in the Divisional playoffs, advancing to the NFC Championship Game, but were shutout themselves by the eventual Super Bowl champion Chicago Bears 0–24. Eric Dickerson rushed for 1,234 yards in 1985 while missing the first two games while in a contract dispute. He missed the Pro Bowl for the first time in his short NFL career. He did, however, go on to rush for a playoff record 248 yards against the Dallas Cowboys in post-season play.[1]

It was also the last time the Rams would win an NFC West divisional title when based in Los Angeles until 2017, and the last NFC West title until 1999 while they were in St. Louis.

Offseason

NFL Draft
1985 Los Angeles Rams draft
Round Pick Player Position College Notes
1 21 Jerry Gray *  CB Texas
2 50 Chuck Scott  WR Vanderbilt
3 77 Dale Hatcher  P Clemson
5 113 Kevin Greene * †  OLB Auburn
6 161 Mike Young  WR UCLA
      Made roster    †   Pro Football Hall of Fame    *   Made at least one Pro Bowl during career

[2]

Personnel

Staff
1985 Los Angeles Rams staff
Front office

Head coaches

Offensive coaches

 Defensive coaches

Special teams coaches

Roster
1985 Los Angeles Rams roster
Quarterbacks

Running backs

Wide receivers

Tight ends

 Offensive linemen

Defensive linemen

 Linebackers

Defensive backs

Special teams

 Reserve lists


Practice squad



Rookies in italics

Regular season

The Los Angeles Rams got off to a surprisingly successful start in 1985, winning their first seven games. However, the team struggled somewhat during the second half of the season. After suffering humiliating losses to the 1–9 Atlanta Falcons and the 4–8 New Orleans Saints, the Rams upset their main rival, the San Francisco 49ers on the road in a prime time Monday-Night match-up, despite being 10-point underdogs going into the game. This crucial victory helped the Rams redeem their season and the team went on to clinch their first NFC West division title in six years, finishing the regular season with an 11–5 record.

Schedule
GameDateOpponentResultRams pointsOpponentsRecordSummaryVenueAttendance
1September 8, 1985Denver BroncosW20161–0Rams overcame 2 touchdown passes by John Elway with a late comeback led by "old" rookie QB Dieter Brock, who passed for 174 yards and a touchdown in his first NFL start. Backup RB Charles White ran for the winning touchdown in place of holdout Eric Dickerson.Anaheim Stadium
52,522
2September 15, 1985at Philadelphia EaglesW1762–0Rams defense sacked Randall Cunningham 5 times and picked off 4 passes and White ran for 144 yards and a touchdown. Henry Ellard added an 80-yard punt return touchdown.Veterans Stadium
60,920
3September 23, 1985at Seattle SeahawksW35243–0Dickerson celebrated the end of his holdout by rushing for 150 yards and 3 touchdowns in this Monday Night matchup.Kingdome
63,292
4September 29, 1985Atlanta FalconsW1764–0Rams continued to dominate on defense and Brock passed for two touchdowns.Anaheim Stadium
49,870
5October 6, 1985Minnesota VikingsW13105–0Rams stayed unbeaten despite being outgained in yards 306–188.Anaheim Stadium
61,139
6October 13, 1985at Tampa Bay BuccaneersW31276–0In a nip-and-tuck game, the Rams had two interception return touchdowns in the second half, by LB Carl Ekern and the winning touchdown by CB Leroy Irvin.Tampa Stadium
39,607
7October 20, 1985at Kansas City ChiefsW1607–0Dickerson ran for a touchdown and Mike Lansford kicked three FG's. Rams' opportunistic defense intercepted Todd Blackledge six times. Brock passed for only 68 yards.Arrowhead Stadium
64,474
8October 27, 1985San Francisco 49ersL14287–1Rams were knocked from the unbeaten ranks at home as their offensive failures came back to haunt them. Joe Montana passed for 3 touchdowns and led the 49ers to a 28–0 lead. Brock passed for 344 yards (most of them late) and two late touchdowns.Anaheim Stadium
65,939
9November 3, 1985New Orleans SaintsW28108–1Rams were totally dominant at home as Brock passed for 2 touchdowns and Dickerson (108 yards rushing) and White each had a touchdown run. Rams picked off 3 passes and had nine QB sacks.Anaheim Stadium
49,030
10November 10, 1985at New York GiantsL19248–2Giants fought back from a 16–7 early 2nd half deficit behind 2 touchdown runs by Joe Morris.Giants Stadium
74,663
11November 17, 1985at Atlanta FalconsL14308–3Surprising blowout by the 1–9 Falcons behind three rushing touchdowns by Gerald Riggs and a Falcons' defense that held the Rams to only 45 yards rushing.Atlanta–Fulton County Stadium
29,960
12November 24, 1985Green Bay PackersW34179–3Dickerson had 150 yards and a touchdown, but the real hero was Olympic sprinter-turned-WR Ron Brown. Brown returned two kickoffs for touchdowns and caught a touchdown pass.Anaheim Stadium
52,710
13December 1, 1985at New Orleans SaintsL3299–4Saints got their revenge for the earlier blowout by sacking Brock nine times and recovering 3 fumbles. Bobby Hebert passed for a touchdown and LB Jack Del Rio returned a fumble for another.Louisiana Superdome
44,122
14December 9, 1985at San Francisco 49ersW272010–4In this road Monday Night matchup, the 49ers looked to be in control until Henry Ellard scored on a tipped pass and CB Gary Green returned an interception for the winning points. Montana passed for 328 yards and 3 touchdowns.Candlestick Park
60,581
15December 15, 1985St. Louis CardinalsW461411–4Brock picked the right time to have his best game as a Ram as the Rams clinched their first NFC West Division crown since 1979. Brock passed for 4 touchdowns, Dickerson ran for 124 yards and two more, and the Rams rolled up 425 yards of offense.Anaheim Stadium
52,052
16December 23, 1985Los Angeles RaidersL61611–5In a somewhat lackluster performance at home on Monday Night, the Rams could only muster two FG's and Brock was sacked 6 times.Anaheim Stadium
66,676
Divisional PlayoffJanuary 4, 1986Dallas CowboysW20012–5Anaheim Stadium66,351
Conference ChampionshipJanuary 12, 1986at Chicago BearsL02412–6Soldier Field65,522

[3]

Game summaries

Week 1
1 234Total
Broncos 0 1600 16
• Rams 3 7010 20
  • Date: September 8
  • Location: Anaheim Stadium

Week 2
1 234Total
• Rams 10 007 17
Eagles 3 300 6
  • Date: September 15
  • Location: Veterans Stadium
  • Referee: Jerry Markbreit
  • TV announcers (CBS): Jack Buck and Hank Stram

Week 3
1 234Total
• Rams 7 01414 35
Seahawks 0 7314 24
  • Date: September 23
  • Location: Kingdome
  • Referee: Fred Wyant
  • TV announcers (ABC): Frank Gifford, Joe Namath, and O.J. Simpson

Week 4
1 234Total
Falcons 0 330 6
• Rams 0 1070 17
  • Date: September 29
  • Location: Anaheim Stadium

Week 5
1 234Total
Vikings 0 073 10
• Rams 0 670 13
  • Date: October 6
  • Location: Anaheim Stadium
  • Referee: Red Cashion
  • TV announcers (CBS): Tom Brookshier and Dick Vermeil

Week 6
1 234Total
• Rams 0 14107 31
Buccaneers 7 1307 27
  • Date: October 13
  • Location: Tampa Stadium
  • Referee: Ben Dreith
  • TV announcers (CBS): Jim Hill and John Dockery

Week 7
1 234Total
• Rams 0 1330 16
Chiefs 0 000 0

Week 8
1 234Total
• 49ers 14 1400 28
Rams 0 077 14
  • Date: October 27
  • Location: Anaheim Stadium
  • Game start: 1:00 PST
  • Referee: Gene Barth
  • TV announcers (CBS): Tom Brookshier and Dick Vermeil

Week 9
1 234Total
Saints 0 073 10
• Rams 7 777 28
  • Date: November 3
  • Location: Anaheim Stadium

Week 10
1 234Total
Rams 7 633 19
• Giants 0 7107 24

Week 11
1 234Total
Rams 0 0014 14
• Falcons 10 1037 30
  • Date: November 17
  • Location: Atlanta-Fulton County Stadium

Week 12
1 234Total
Packers 0 1070 17
• Rams 7 7713 34
  • Date: November 24
  • Location: Anaheim Stadium

Week 13
1 234Total
Rams 0 300 3
• Saints 6 3020 29
  • Date: December 1
  • Location: Louisiana Superdome
  • Game weather: Indoors (dome)

Week 14
1 234Total
• Rams 0 3717 27
49ers 0 767 20

The Rams clinched a playoff spot with the win.[4]

Week 15
1 234Total
Cardinals 7 070 14
• Rams 13 2373 46
  • Date: December 15
  • Location: Anaheim Stadium
  • Referee: Chuck Heberling
  • TV announcers (CBS): Jack Buck and Hank Stram

Week 16
1 234Total
• Raiders 0 6010 16
Rams 0 330 6
  • Date: December 23
  • Location: Anaheim Stadium
  • Television network: ABC

Standings
NFC West
W L T PCT DIV CONF PF PA STK
Los Angeles Rams(2) 11 5 0 .688 3–3 8–4 340 277 L1
San Francisco 49ers(5) 10 6 0 .625 4–2 7–5 411 263 W2
New Orleans Saints 5 11 0 .313 2–4 5–7 294 401 L3
Atlanta Falcons 4 12 0 .250 3–3 4–8 282 452 W2

Statistics

Passing
PlayerGames PlayedCompletionsAttemptsYardsTouchdownsInterceptionsRating
Dieter Brock152183652658161382.0
Jeff Kemp516382140149.7

[5]

Rushing
PlayerGames PlayedAttemptsYardsTouchdownsLongest run
Eric Dickerson1429212341243
Barry Redden1487380041
Charles White1670310332
Dieter Brock152038013
Lynn Cain7114609
Mike Guman8113206
Jeff Kemp55003
Henry Ellard1638016
Ron J. Brown1321309
Steve Dils152−40−2

[5]

Receiving
PlayerReceptionsYardsTouchdownsLongest reception
Henry Ellard54811564
Tony Hunter50562447
David Hill29271137
Bobby Duckworth25422342

[5]

Playoffs

Divisional
1 234Total
Cowboys 0 000 0
• Rams 3 0107 20
Rams' running back Dickerson (29) rushing the ball through the Cowboys' defense in the 1985 NFC Divisional Playoff Game.

Running back Eric Dickerson led the Rams to a victory by scoring two touchdowns and recording a playoff record 248 rushing yards. After the first half ended with a 3–0 Los Angeles lead, Dickerson scored on a 55-yard touchdown run early in the third period. On the ensuing kickoff, Kenny Duckett fumbled, and the ball was recovered by Vince Newsome to set up kicker Mike Lansford's second field goal. In the fourth period, Tony Hunter recovered a fumbled punt to set up Dickerson's 40-yard rushing touchdown. The Rams' defense dominated the Cowboys' offense all afternoon as the Cowboys never got inside the Rams' 20-yard-line. This was the last home playoff game for the Rams in Los Angeles until 2017. This was also the last playoff game in which Tom Landry coached.[6]

Conference Championship
1 234Total
Rams 0 000 0
• Bears 10 077 24

The Bears defense dominated the game by limiting Rams running back Eric Dickerson to 46 yards rushing, and holding quarterback Dieter Brock to just 10 completions out of 31 pass attempts for 66 passing yards. Los Angeles only gained 130 yards of total offense. The Rams had a chance to get back in the game as they got inside the Bears' 15-yard line in the waning moments of the first half, but poor play calling and clock management, as well as a controversial call by the officials on the last play of the half, resulted in the clock running out. Officials' ability to review plays (via instant replay) was not made available until the following season.

Awards and records

Milestones

Gary Jeter, NFL Comeback Player of Year.

See also
Other Anaheim–based teams in 1985

References
  1. Eric Dickerson: Pro Football Hall of Fame, http://www.profootballhof.com/hof/member.jsp?PLAYER_ID=55
  2. https://www.pro-football-reference.com/draft/1985.htm
  3. "Archived copy". Archived from the original on 2018-12-17. Retrieved 2009-07-07.CS1 maint: archived copy as title (link)
  4. "Rams get rid of their bum rap." The Miami News. 1985 Dec 10.
  5. https://www.pro-football-reference.com/teams/ram/1985.htm
  6. "Rams meet Dallas Cowboys in NFL playoffs for first time in 33 years". OC Register. OC Register. Retrieved 30 July 2019.
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