1985 New England Patriots season

The 1985 New England Patriots season was the franchise's 16th season in the National Football League and 26th 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 three playoff games on the road, defeating the New York Jets 26–14, the Los Angeles Raiders, 27–20, and the Miami Dolphins 31–14, in the AFC Championship game. The Patriots' win in Miami was their first victory in that stadium since 1966 and while they did defeat Miami on the road in 1969 that game was played in Tampa Bay. 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.

1985 New England Patriots season
Head coachRaymond Berry
(2nd season)
General managerPatrick Sullivan
(Since 1983)
OwnerBilly Sullivan
(Since 1960)
Home fieldSullivan Stadium
Results
Record11–5
Division place3rd AFC East
Playoff finishWon 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.

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

  • Defensive coordinator – Rod Rust
  • Defensive line – Eddie Khayat
  • Assistant defensive line – Ray Hamilton
  • Linebackers – Don Shinnick
  • Defensive backfield – Jim Carr

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
  • Date: September 8
  • Location: Sullivan Stadium
  • Game start: 1:00 p.m.
  • Game attendance: 49,488
  • Game weather: 74°F; wind 10
  • Referee: Bob McElwee
  • TV announcers (CBS): Jim Hill and John Dockery

[4] [5]

Week 2
1 234Total
Patriots 0 007 7
• Bears 7 3100 20
  • Date: September 15
  • Location: Soldier Field
  • Referee: Tom Dooley
  • TV announcers (NBC): Don Criqui and Bob Trumpy

Week 3
1 234Total
• Patriots 3 770 17
Bills 0 707 14
  • Date: September 22
  • Location: Rich Stadium • Orchard Park, New York
  • Game start: 1:00 p.m. EST
  • Game weather: 65°F • Wind 7
  • Referee: Jerry Seeman
  • Television network: NBC

[6]

Week 4
1 234Total
• Raiders 14 0714 35
Patriots 10 1000 20
  • Date: September 29
  • Location: Sullivan Stadium
  • Referee: Gordon McCarter
  • TV announcers (NBC): Marv Albert and Bob Griese

Week 5
1 234Total
Patriots 0 1370 20
• Browns 7 737 24

Week 6
1 234Total
Bills 0 300 3
• Patriots 0 077 14
  • Date: October 13
  • Location: Sullivan Stadium • Foxboro, Massachusetts
  • Game start: 1:00 p.m. EST
  • Game weather: 50°F • Wind 12
  • Referee: Gene Barth
  • TV announcers (NBC): Len Berman and Reggie Rucker

[7]

Week 7
1 2 34Total
Jets 0 3 3713
Patriots 3 3 01420

at Sullivan Stadium, Foxboro, Massachusetts

  • Date: October 20
  • Game time: 4:00 p.m.
  • Game weather: 54°F, wind 12 mph
  • Referee: Fred Silva
  • TV announcers (NBC): Marv Albert and Bob Griese
  • Pro-Football-Reference.com

Week 8
1 234Total
• Patriots 0 13316 32
Buccaneers 14 000 14
  • Date: October 27
  • Location: Tampa Stadium
  • Referee: Tom Dooley
  • Television network: NBC

Week 9
1 234Total
Dolphins 7 330 13
• Patriots 0 3014 17
  • Date: November 3
  • Location: Sullivan Stadium
  • Referee: Fred Wyant
  • TV announcers (NBC): Jay Randolph and Bob Griese

Week 10
1 234Total
Colts 0 609 15
• Patriots 0 71710 34
  • Date: November 10
  • Location: Sullivan Stadium

Week 11
1 234Total
• Patriots 0 7013 20
Seahawks 0 3100 13
  • Date: November 17
  • Location: Kingdome
  • Referee: Jerry Markbreit
  • TV announcers (NBC): Dick Enberg and Merlin Olsen

Week 12
1 234OTTotal
Patriots 0 30100 13
• Jets 6 0703 16
  • Date: November 24
  • Location: Giants Stadium
  • Referee: Bob Fredric
  • TV announcers (NBC): Charlie Jones and Merlin Olsen

Week 13
1 234Total
• Patriots 7 17014 38
Colts 7 10014 31
  • Date: December 1
  • Location: Hoosier Dome
  • Referee: Bob McElwee
  • Television network: NBC

Week 14
1 234Total
Lions 3 030 6
• Patriots 7 1006 23
  • Date: December 8
  • Location: Sullivan Stadium
  • Referee: Gene Barth
  • TV announcers (CBS): Jim Hill and John Dockery

Week 15
1 234Total
Patriots 7 0317 27
• Dolphins 7 10310 30
  • Date: December 16
  • Location: Orange Bowl
  • Game start: 9:00 EST
  • Referee: Dick Jorgensen
  • TV announcers (ABC): Frank Gifford, Joe Namath, OJ Simpson

Week 16
1 234Total
Bengals 3 3710 23
• Patriots 10 10014 34
  • Date: December 22
  • Location: Sullivan Stadium, Foxboro, Massachusetts
  • Game start: 1:00 p.m.
  • Game weather: 24°F, wind 12 mph
  • Referee: Red Cashion
  • TV announcers (NBC): Phil Stone and Sam Rutigliano

[8]

After winning against the Bengals, fans stormed the field and tore down the goal posts. 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 Los Angeles 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

Wild Card
1 234Total
• Patriots 3 10103 26
Jets 0 770 14

This was only the second postseason win in Patriots history, and the first since 1963.

Divisional
1 234Total
• Patriots 7 10100 27
Raiders 3 1700 20

Conference Championship
1 234Total
• Patriots 3 1477 31
Dolphins 0 707 14
  • Date: January 12
  • Location: Orange Bowl

Super Bowl
1 234Total
• Bears 13 10212 46
Patriots 3 007 10
  • Date: January 26
  • Location: Louisiana Superdome

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. "Archived copy". Archived from the original on December 28, 2017. Retrieved December 27, 2017.CS1 maint: archived copy as title (link)
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