1985 New England Patriots season

NFL team season November 2013 March 2026 New England Patriots 1985 11–5 3rd AFC East Raymond Berry Rod Rust Patrick Sullivan Billy Sullivan Sullivan Stadium Won Wild Card Playoffs(at Jets) 26–14 Won Divisional Playoffs(at Raiders) 27–20 Won AFC Championship(at Dolphins) 31–14 Lost Super Bowl XX(vs. Bears) 10–46 8https://www.pro-football-reference.com/years/1985/probowl.htm 1985 NFL Pro Bowlers Pro-Football-Reference.com CB Raymond Clayborn KR Irving Fryar G John Hannah T Brian Holloway RB Craig James FS Fred Marion LB Steve Nelson LB Andre Tippett 4https://www.pro-football-reference.com/years/1985/allpro.htm 1985 NFL All-Pros Pro-Football-Reference.com G John Hannah (1st team) LB Andre Tippett (1st team) T Brian Holloway (2nd team) WR Irving Fryar (2nd team) Patriots seasons thumb|right|Craig James rushes the ball past the Dolphins' defense in the AFC Championship game. The 1985 New England Patriots season was the franchise's 16th season in the National Football League (NFL) and 26th overall. The Patriots had a record of eleven wins and five losses and finished third 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 in the AFC Wild Card Game, the Los Angeles Raiders 27–20 in the AFC Divisional Game and the Miami Dolphins 31–14 in the AFC Championship Game. The Patriots' win in Miami was their first victory at the Miami Orange Bowl since 1966.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 (the only team to defeat the Chicago Bears that year) were heavily favored.1986-01-13 Patriots Run Down Dolphins, 31-14 : Miami Can't Overcome Six Turnovers in Losing AFC Title https://www.latimes.com/archives/la-xpm-1986-01-13-sp-27708-story.html 2022-10-09 Los Angeles Times 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 46–10 in what was at the time the most lopsided defeat in Super Bowl history. The Patriots were held to a Super Bowl record of just seven rushing yards and their quarterbacks, Tony Eason and Steve Grogan, were sacked a combined seven times by the Bears defense. Offseason NFL draft 1985 NFL draft 1985 New England Patriots 1 28 Trevor Matich Center BYU yes 2 48 Garin Veris Defensive end Stanford yes 2 52 Jim Bowman Cornerback Central Michigan yes 2 56 Ben Thomas Defensive end Auburn yes 3 84 Audray McMillian Cornerback Houston yes no yes no Personnel Staff 1985 New England Patriots President – Billy Sullivan Executive vice president – Chuck Sullivan Vice president – Bucko Kilroy General manager – Patrick Sullivan Director of player development – Dick Steinberg Director of college scouting – Joe Mendes Director of pro scouting – Bill McPeak Special assistant to the head coach – John Polonchek Head coach – Raymond Berry Assistant head coach-offense/offensive line – Rod Humenuik Quarterbacks/receivers – Les Steckel Offensive backfield – Bobby Grier Assistant receivers – Harold Jackson Defensive coordinator – Rod Rust Defensive line – Eddie Khayat Assistant defensive line – Ray Hamilton Linebackers – Don Shinnick Defensive backfield – Jim Carr Special teams/tight ends – Dante Scarnecchia Strength and conditioning – Dean Brittenham Roster 1985 New England Patriots 14 Steve Grogan 11 Tony Eason 12 Tom Ramsey 33 Tony Collins 32 Craig James 30 Mosi Tatupu 24 Robert Weathers 80 Irving Fryar 83 Cedric Jones 86 Stanley Morgan 81 Stephen Starring 82 Derwin Williams 87 Lin Dawson 27 Greg Hawthorne 88 Derrick Ramsey 58 Pete Brock C 66 Paul Fairchild G 73 John Hannah G 76 Brian Holloway T 67 Steve Moore T 75 Guy Morriss C/LS 70 Art Plunkett T 61 Ron Wooten G 85 Julius Adams DE 92 Smiley Creswell DE 98 Dennis Owens NT 99 Ben Thomas DE 60 Garin Veris DE 72 Lester Williams NT 55 Don Blackmon OLB 51 Brian Ingram OLB 50 Larry McGrew ILB 57 Steve Nelson ILB 52 Johnny Rembert ILB 95 Ed Reynolds ILB 56 Andre Tippett OLB 54 Ed Williams OLB 28 Jim Bowman FS/SS 26 Raymond Clayborn CB 43 Ernest Gibson CB 38 Roland James SS 42 Ronnie Lippett CB 31 Fred Marion FS 23 Rod McSwain CB  3 Rich Camarillo P  1 Tony Franklin K 14 Steve Grogan QB (IR) 7px 68 Darryl Haley T (NF-Ill.) 7px 36 Eric Jordan RB (NF-Inj.) 7px 64 Trevor Matich C/G (IR) 7px 18 Gerard Phelan WR (IR) 7px 41 Bo Robinson RB (IR) 7px 77 Kenneth Sims DE (IR) 7px 74 Tom Toth T (IR) 7px 53 Clayton Weishuhn LB (IR) 7px 44 Jon Williams RB (IR) 7px 90 Toby Williams DE (IR) 7px 48 Darryal Wilson WR (PUP) 7px Schedule Week Date Opponent Result Record Venue Attendance 1 September 8 Green Bay Packers W 26–20 1–0 Sullivan Stadium 49,488 2 September 15 at Chicago Bears L 7–20 1–1 Soldier Field 60,533 3 September 22 at Buffalo Bills W 17–14 2–1 Rich Stadium 40,334 4 September 29 Los Angeles Raiders L 20–35 2–2 Sullivan Stadium 60,686 5 October 6 at Cleveland Browns L 20–24 2–3 Cleveland Municipal Stadium 62,139 6 October 13 Buffalo Bills W 14–3 3–3 Sullivan Stadium 40,462 7 October 20 New York Jets W 20–13 4–3 Sullivan Stadium 58,163 8 October 27 at Tampa Bay Buccaneers W 32–14 5–3 Tampa Stadium 34,661 9 November 3 Miami DolphinsW 17–13 6–3 Sullivan Stadium 58,811 10 November 10 Indianapolis Colts W 34–15 7–3 Sullivan Stadium 54,176 11 November 17 at Seattle Seahawks W 20–13 8–3 Kingdome 60,345 12 November 24 at New York Jets L 13–16 (OT) 8–4 Giants Stadium 74,100 13 December 1 at Indianapolis Colts W 38–31 9–4 Hoosier Dome 56,740 14 December 8 Detroit Lions W 23–6 10–4 Sullivan Stadium 59,078 15 December 16 at Miami Dolphins L 27–30 10–5 Miami Orange Bowl 69,489 16 December 22 Cincinnati Bengals W 34–23 11–5 Sullivan Stadium 57,953 Note: Intra-division opponents are in bold text. Game summaries Week 1 Packers 0 6 0 14 Patriots 7 12 0 7 September 8 Sullivan Stadium 1:00 p.m. 49,488 74 F; wind 10 mph on Bob McElwee Jim Hill and John Dockery CBS yes Q1 9:33 NE Collins 11 yard run (Franklin kick) NE 7–0 Q2 11:40 NE Franklin 34 yard field goal NE 10–0 Q2 10:24 NE Dickey tackled by Blackmon in end zone NE 12–0 Q2 2:20 GB Ellis 1 yard run (kick failed) NE 12–6 Q2 0:08 NE Jones 3 yard pass from Eason (Franklin kick) NE 19–6 Q4 6:23 NE James 65 yard run (Franklin kick) NE 26–6 Q4 3:51 GB Coffman 8 yard pass from Dickey (Del Greco kick) NE 26–13 Q4 0:25 GB Clark 23 yard run (Del Greco kick) NE 26–20 yes Pro-Football-Reference.com. Retrieved 2014-Aug-01. Gainesville Sun. 1985 Sept 9. Retrieved 2017-Nov-01. Week 2 Patriots 0 0 0 7 Bears 7 3 10 0 September 15 Soldier Field Tom Dooley Don Criqui and Bob Trumpy NBC Week 3 Patriots 3 7 7 0 Bills 0 7 0 7 September 22 Rich Stadium • Orchard Park, New York 1:00 p.m. EST 65 F • Wind 7 mph on Jerry Seeman NBC yes 1 NE Tony Franklin 32-yard field goal Patriots 3–0 2 BUF Greg Bell 16-yard pass from Vince Ferragamo (Scott Norwood kick) Bills 7–3 2 NE Tony Collins 5-yard pass from Craig James (Tony Franklin kick) Patriots 10–7 3 NE Irving Fryar 85-yard punt return (Tony Franklin kick) Patriots 17–7 4 BUF Andre Reed 18-yard pass from Vince Ferragamo (Scott Norwood kick) Patriots 17–14 yes Pro-Football-Reference.com Week 4 Raiders 14 0 7 14 Patriots 10 10 0 0 September 29 Sullivan Stadium Gordon McCarter Marv Albert and Bob Griese NBC Week 5 Patriots 0 13 7 0 Browns 7 7 3 7 October 6 Cleveland Stadium Jerry Markbreit Week 6 Bills 0 3 0 0 Patriots 0 0 7 7 October 13 Sullivan Stadium • Foxboro, Massachusetts 1:00 p.m. EST 50 F • Wind 12 mph on Gene Barth Len Berman and Reggie Rucker NBC yes 2 BUF Scott Norwood 47-yard field goal Bills 3–0 3 NE Irving Fryar 16-yard pass from Steve Grogan (Tony Franklin kick) Patriots 7–3 4 NE Raymond Clayborn 27-yard interception return (Tony Franklin kick) Patriots 14–3 yes Pro-Football-Reference.com Week 7 vs Jets 1985 New York Jets season New England Patriots 1985 2; text-align:center collapsed Week Seven: New York Jets (5–1) at New England Patriots (3–3) October 20 4:00 p.m. EST Jets 0 3 3 7 Patriots 3 3 0 14 Sullivan Stadium, Foxboro, Massachusetts 58,163 54 F C Fred Silva NBC Marv Albert & Bob Griese Box Score, Box Score First quarter NE – Tony Franklin 19-yard field goal, 1:56. Patriots 3–0. Drive: Second quarter NYJ – Pat Leahy 53-yard field goal, 9:30. Tie 3–3. Drive: NE – Tony Franklin 44-yard field goal, 2:37. Patriots 6–3. Drive: Third quarter NYJ – Pat Leahy 52-yard field goal, 5:48. Tie 6–6. Drive: Fourth quarter NE – Irving Fryar 36-yard pass from Steve Grogan (Tony Franklin kick), 10:22. Patriots 13–6. Drive: NYJ – Tony Paige 2-yard run (Pat Leahy kick), 6:50. Tie 13–13. Drive: NE – Steve Grogan 3-yard run (Tony Franklin kick), 3:27. Patriots 20–13. Drive: Top passers NYJ – Ken O'Brien – 15/31, 246 yards, INT NE – Steve Grogan – 11/32, 171 yards, TD, INT Top rushers NYJ – Johnny Hector – 21 rushes, 80 yards NE – Craig James – 22 rushes, 94 yards Top receivers NYJ – Wesley Walker – 6 receptions, 140 yards NE – Stanley Morgan – 3 receptions, 71 yards Week 8 Patriots 0 13 3 16 Buccaneers 14 0 0 0 October 27 Tampa Stadium Tom Dooley NBC Week 9 Dolphins 7 3 3 0 Patriots 0 3 0 14 November 3 Sullivan Stadium Fred Wyant Jay Randolph and Bob Griese NBC Week 10 Colts 0 6 0 9 Patriots 0 7 17 10 November 10 Sullivan Stadium Gordon McCarter Week 11 Patriots 0 7 0 13 Seahawks 0 3 10 0 November 17 Kingdome Jerry Markbreit Dick Enberg and Merlin Olsen NBC Week 12 Patriots 0 3 0 10 0 Jets 6 0 7 0 3 November 24 Giants Stadium Bob Frederic Charlie Jones and Merlin Olsen NBC Week 13 Patriots 7 17 0 14 Colts 7 10 0 14 December 1 Hoosier Dome Bob McElwee NBC Week 14 Lions 3 0 3 0 Patriots 7 10 0 6 December 8 Sullivan Stadium Gene Barth Jim Hill and John Dockery CBS Week 15 Patriots 7 0 3 17 Dolphins 7 10 3 10 December 16 Orange Bowl 9:00 EST Dick Jorgensen Frank Gifford, Joe Namath, OJ Simpson ABC Week 16 Bengals 3 3 7 10 Patriots 10 10 0 14 December 22 Sullivan Stadium, Foxboro, Massachusetts 1:00 p.m. 24 F, wind 12 mph on Red Cashion Phil Stone and Sam Rutigliano NBC yes 1 NE Tony Franklin 25 yard field goal Patriots 3–0 1 CIN Jim Breech 42 yard field goal Tie 3–3 1 NE Stanley Morgan 50 yard pass from Tony Eason (Tony Franklin kick) Patriots 10–3 2 CIN Jim Breech 22 yard field goal Patriots 10–6 2 NE Tony Collins 9 yard run (Tony Franklin kick) Patriots 17–6 2 NE Tony Franklin 30 yard field goal Patriots 20–6 3 CIN Eddie Brown 33 yard pass from Boomer Esiason (Jim Breech kick) Patriots 20–13 4 CIN Jim Breech 30 yard field goal Patriots 20–16 4 NE Craig James 11 yard run (Tony Franklin kick) Patriots 27–16 4 CIN Cris Collinsworth 8 yard pass from Boomer Esiason (Jim Breech kick) Patriots 27–23 4 NE Robert Weathers 42 yard run (Tony Franklin kick) Patriots 34–23 yes Pro-Football-Reference.com 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.http://www.patriots.com/news/2001/10/29/foxboro-stadium-history-1985 Foxboro Stadium History - 1985 | New England Patriots December 27, 2017 https://web.archive.org/web/20171228054325/http://www.patriots.com/news/2001/10/29/foxboro-stadium-history-1985 December 28, 2017 dead Postseason Round Date Opponent (seed) Result Record Venue Attendance Wild card December 28 at New York Jets (4) W 26–14 1–0 Giants Stadium 70,958 Divisional January 5, 1986 at Los Angeles Raiders (1) W 27–20 2–0 Los Angeles Memorial Coliseum 88,936 AFC Championship January 12, 1986 at Miami Dolphins (2) W 31–14 3–0 Miami Orange Bowl 74,978 Super Bowl XX January 26, 1986 Chicago Bears (N1) L 10–46 3–1 Louisiana Superdome 73,818 Wild card Patriots 3 10 10 3 Jets 0 7 7 0 December 28, 1985 The Meadowlands Jerry Seeman This was only the second postseason win in Patriots history, and the first since 1963. Divisional Patriots 7 10 10 0 Raiders 3 17 0 0 January 5, 1986 Los Angeles Memorial Coliseum Jerry Markbreit Dick Enberg and Merlin Olsen NBC Conference championship Patriots 3 14 7 7 Dolphins 0 7 0 7 January 12, 1986 Orange Bowl Gene Barth Dick Enberg and Merlin Olsen NBC In the 1985 AFC Championship Game, the Patriots ran the ball on 59 out of 71 offensive plays, amassing 255 rushing yards in an upset of the favored Dolphins.100 Things Dolphins Fans Should Know and Do Before They Die, Armando Salguero, Triumph Books, Chicago, 2020, ISBN 978-1-62937-722-3, p.147 The New England Patriots became the first team in NFL history to win three playoff games on the road in the same postseason. Super Bowl Bears 13 10 21 2 Patriots 3 0 0 7 January 26, 1986 Louisiana Superdome Red Cashion Standings Notes References New England Patriots Category:American Football Conference championship seasons Category:New England Patriots seasons New England Patriots Category:Sports competitions in Foxborough, Massachusetts