1985 Detroit Lions season

NFL team season August 2023 March 2026 Detroit Lions 1985 7–9 4th NFC Central Darryl Rogers Russ Thomas William Clay Ford Sr. Pontiac Silverdome Did not qualify None None Lions seasons thumb | right | alt=New England Patriots free safety Fred Marion attempting to tackle Detroit Lions' running back James Jones during a 1985 home game. | New England Patriots free safety Fred Marion attempting to tackle Detroit Lions' running back James Jones during a 1985 home game. The 1985 Detroit Lions season was their 56th in the National Football League. In Darryl Rogers first year as head coach, the team improved upon their previous season's output of 4–11–1, winning seven games. The Lions beat four playoff teams at home, Dallas, San Francisco, Miami, and the New York Jets, but lost to Tampa Bay and Indianapolis on the road. The Lions stood at 5–3 at the halfway point of the season. However, despite their overall improvement, the Lions went winless in December (0–3) and missed the playoffs for the second straight year with a 7–9 record. Offseason NFL draft 1985 NFL draft 1985 Detroit Lions 1 6 Lomas Brown Offensive tackle Florida yes yes 2 34 Kevin Glover Center Maryland yes yes 3 62 James Johnson Linebacker San Diego State no 4 90 Kevin Hancock Linebacker Baylor no 5 118 Joe McIntosh Running back NC State no 6 146 Stan Short Guard Penn State no 7 174 Tony Staten Cornerback Angelo State no 8 202 Scott Caldwell Running back Texas–Arlington no 9 230 June James Linebacker Texas yes 10 258 Clayton Beauford Wide receiver Auburn no 11 286 Kevin Harris Safety Georgia no 12 314 Mike Weaver Guard Georgia no yes no Undrafted free agents + 1985 undrafted free agents of notePlayerPositionCollegeScott AlwardTight endFerris StateScott BarrowsGuardWest VirginiaJim BrowneFullbackBoston CollegeRich CapolongoGuardRhode IslandAlan ChriteLinebackerColoradoJeff ColvinTight endColoradoRon CrossSafetyFresno StateKen GraeberNose tackleNebraskaJason GrimesWide receiverTennesseeDoug IsbellTacklePurdueJeff JacksonDefensive endToledoJack KeslarTackleWest VirginiaJoe MasaniaiDefensive endKansasBurt MuenhlingTight endKearney StateGary MullenWide receiverWest VirginiaMike NorthcultWide receiverAngelo StateJeff PierzynskiLinebackerEastern MichiganDwayne RogersLinebackerYoungstown StateMark RoysterSafetyWichita StateKevin SpitzigLinebackerIowaMike WhiteTackleArizona State Personnel Staff 1985 Detroit Lions Owner – William Clay Ford Sr. General manager – Russ Thomas Head coach – Darryl Rogers Assistant Head Coach – Don Doll Offensive coordinator – Bob Baker Running backs – Ivy Williams Wide receivers – Paul Lanham Tight ends – Don Doll Offensive line – Bill Muir Defensive coordinator – Wayne Fontes Defensive assistant coach – Don Clemons Defensive line – Rex Norris Linebackers – Mike Murphy Defensive backs – Willie Shaw Special teams – Carl Battershell Strength and Conditioning Coordinator – Don Clemons Roster 1985 Detroit Lions 12 Joe Ferguson 17 Eric Hipple 34 A. J. Jones 30 James Jones running back, born 1961 32 Rick Kane 36 Mike Meade 24 Alvin Moore American football 80 Carl Bland 82 Pete Mandley 39 Leonard Thompson American football 87 David Lewis American football 81 Reese McCall 84 Rob Rubick 75 Lomas Brown y T 72 Chris Dieterich G 70 Keith Dorney T/G 67 Don Greco G 52 Steve Mott C 65 Mark Stevenson American football G/C 71 Rich Strenger T 68 Steve Baack NT 66 Leon Evans DE 62 Keith Ferguson American football DE 79 William Gay defensive lineman DE 62 Curtis Green DE 63 Martin Moss American football DE 54 Roosevelt Barnes American football OLB 97 Dan Bunz ILB 50 August Curley ILB 57 Ken Fantetti ILB 96 June James American football 92 Angelo King OLB 98 Vernon Maxwell American football ILB 59 Jimmy Williams linebacker OLB 42 John Bostic y CB 26 William Frizzell SS 40 Duane Galloway CB 33 William Graham American football FS 35 Alvin Hall safety FS 21 Demetrious Johnson SS American football 29 Bruce McNorton CB 27 Bobby Watkins cornerback CB 11 Mike Black punter P  3 Eddie Murray American football K 60 Tom Turnure LS 95 Kurt Allerman LB IR -- Clayton Beauford y WR NF-Inj. 23 Arnold Brown American football y CB IR 89 Jeff Chadwick WR IR 55 Mike Cofer linebacker LB IR 44 Dave D'Addio RB IR 93 Kirk Dodge LB IR 78 Doug English NT IR 53 Kevin Glover y C IR -- Kevin Hancock y LB IR 58 James Harrell American football LB IR -- James Johnson linebacker y LB IR 51 David Jones offensive lineman G IR 73 Donald Laster T IR 14 Mike Machurek QB IR 28 Wilbert Montgomery RB IR 86 Mark Nichols American football WR IR 20 Billy Sims RB PUP 61 Ray Snell G IR 76 Eric Williams defensive lineman DE IR Schedule Week Date Opponent Result Record Attendance 1 September 8 at Atlanta Falcons W 28–271–0 37,785 2 September 15 Dallas Cowboys W 26–212–0 72,985 3 September 22 at Indianapolis Colts L 14–62–1 60,042 4 September 29 Tampa Bay Buccaneers W 30–93–1 45,023 5 October 6 at Green Bay Packers L 43–103–2 55,914 6 October 13 at Washington Redskins L 24–33–3 52,845 7 October 20 San Francisco 49ers W 23–214–3 67,715 8 October 27 Miami Dolphins W 31–215–3 75,291 9 November 3 at Minnesota Vikings L 16–135–4 58,012 10 November 10 at Chicago Bears L 24–35–5 53,467 11 November 17 Minnesota Vikings W 41–216–5 54,647 12 November 24 at Tampa Bay Buccaneers L 19–16(OT)6–6 43,471 13 November 28, 1985 New York Jets W 31–207–6 65,531 14 December 8 at New England Patriots L 23–67–7 59,078 15 December 15 Green Bay Packers L 26–237–8 49,379 16 December 22 Chicago Bears L 37–177–9 74,042Note: Intra-divisional opponents are in bold text Season summary Week 1 Lions 0 14 14 0 Falcons 14 7 0 6 September 8 Atlanta-Fulton County Stadium 1:00 p.m. EST 37,785 79 °F °C 1 or; wind 7 mph km/h knots yes Q1 10:42 ATL Riggs 1 yard run (Luckhurst kick) ATL 7–0 Q1 0:33 ATL Brown 12 yard pass from Bartkowski (Luckhurst kick) ATL 14–0 Q2 10:52 DET Jones 8 yard pass from Hipple (Murray kick) ATL 14–7 Q2 3:45 DET Chadwick 15 yard pass from Hipple (Murray kick) Tie 14–14 Q2 1:54 ATL Johnson 35 yard pass from Bartkowski (Luckhurst kick) ATL 21–14 Q3 7:29 DET Chadwick 9 yard pass from Hipple (Murray kick) Tie 21–21 Q3 4:52 DET Jones 21 yard run (Murray kick) DET 28–21 Q4 14:56 ATL Luckhurst 46 yard field goal DET 28–24 Q4 7:15 ATL Luckhurst 31 yard field goal DET 28–27 yes Gainesville Sun. 1985 Sep 9. Retrieved 2017-Nov-01. Pro-Football-Reference.com. Retrieved 2017-Nov-01. Standings References Category:Detroit Lions seasons Detroit Lions Detroit Lions