1985 Cleveland Browns season

NFL team season August 2023 March 2026 Cleveland Browns 1985 Marty Schottenheimer Joe Pendry Tom Bettis Ernie Accorsi Art Modell Cleveland Municipal Stadium 8–8 1st AFC Central Lost Divisional Playoffs(at Dolphins) 21–24 TE Ozzie NewsomeFB Kevin MackNT Bob GolicOLB Clay Matthews Jr.OLB Chip Banks Browns seasons The 1985 Cleveland Browns season was the team's 36th season with the National Football League. This was the first of three consecutive AFC Central titles for the Browns. In Marty Schottenheimer's first full year as head coach, the Browns bounced back from a 5–11 season in 1984 to make the playoffs, despite a .500 season. Rookie quarterback Bernie Kosar led the Browns' offense; Ozzie Newsome's 62 receptions earned him a trip to the Pro Bowl; Earnest Byner and Kevin Mack each rushed for over 1,000 yards. In the Divisional Playoffs, the Browns led the Miami Dolphins 21–3 in the third quarter, but in a scene that would be repeated 4 more times in the 1980s, the Browns collapsed down the stretch as the Dolphins came back to score three touchdowns to win the game 24–21. In 2004, Football Outsiders named the 1985 Browns as one of the "worst playoff teams ever":Football Outsiders: Skin of the Teeth: The Worst Playoff Teams Ever Opponents outscored them 287–294, and they were blown out in two of their last three games (31–13 by the Seahawks and 37–10 by the Jets). They took a 21–3 lead over the Dolphins in the playoffs, only to watch Dan Marino and company score 21 unanswered points to win the game. The 1985 Browns are probably best known for having two 1,000-yard rushers in Earnest Byner and Kevin Mack. Despite that impressive feat, the Browns were only fourth in the AFC in team rushing yards. They were 13th in the conference in passing yards, thanks to rookie quarterback Bernie Kosar and journeyman Gary Danielson. What that team did very well was play defense and take advantage of a weak division. The Browns swept the 5–11 Oilers and split with the 7–9 Bengals and Steelers. A 28–21 win in week 15 against the Oilers proved to be the division capper: Kosar threw three TDs to open up a 28–7 lead, and the defense withstood a comeback driven by Warren Moon. Until 2011, Cleveland's .500 winning percentage held the record for the lowest such percentage for a division winning playoff team in a non-strike season; the record was tied by the 2008 San Diego Chargers, then broken by the 2010 Seattle Seahawks.It has also been subsequently beaten by the 2014 Carolina Panthers and by Washington in 2020. (Incidentally, in 1985 and 2008, teams with 11–5 records – Denver in 1985, New England in 2008—missed the playoffs.) Personnel Staff 1985 Cleveland Browns President and Owner – Art Modell Executive Vice President of football operations – Ernie Accorsi Head coach – Marty Schottenheimer Offensive coordinator – Joe Pendry Quarterbacks – Greg Landry Running backs – Steve Crosby Receivers – Richard Mann Offensive line – Howard Mudd Defensive coordinator – Tom Bettis Defensive line – Tom Pratt Linebackers – Tom Olivadotti Special assistant – Darvin Wallis Special teams – Bill Cowher Strength and conditioning – Dave Redding All-Time Assistant Coaches http://www.clevelandbrowns.com/team/history/assistant.php ClevelandBrowns.com February 6, 2009 https://web.archive.org/web/20080522125743/http://www.clevelandbrowns.com/team/history/assistant.php May 22, 2008 dead Roster 1985 Cleveland Browns 16 Paul McDonald American football 18 Gary Danielson 19 Bernie Kosar y 28 Herman Fontenot y 30 Boyce Green 33 Curtis Dickey 34 Kevin Mack 38 Johnny Davis American football 44 Earnest Byner 83 Fred Banks American football y 84 Glen Young wide receiver 85 Clarence Weathers 86 Brian Brennan 88 Reggie Langhorne y 82 Ozzie Newsome 87 Travis Tucker 61 Mike Baab C 62 George Lilja G 63 Cody Risien T 68 Robert Jackson guard G 69 Dan Fike G 74 Paul Farren T 75 Bill Contz T 77 Rickey Bolden G/T 72 Dave Puzzuoli NT 78 Carl Hairston DE 79 Bob Golic NT 91 Sam Clancy DE 96 Reggie Camp DE 99 Keith Baldwin DE 50 Tom Cousineau ILB 51 Eddie Johnson linebacker ILB 55 Curtis Weathers OLB 56 Chip Banks OLB 57 Clay Matthews OLB 58 Scott Nicolas ILB 20 Don Rogers safety FS 22 Felix Wright SS 27 Al Gross American football SS 29 Hanford Dixon CB 31 Frank Minnifield CB 37 Chris Rockins FS 47 Larry Braziel CB  7 Jeff Gossett P  9 Matt Bahr K 80 Willis Adams WR IR 26 Greg Allen American football y RB IR 81 Harry Holt gridiron football TE IR 97 Dave Morrill y NT IR 24 Stanley Shakespeare y WR IR 70 Larry Williams American football y G IR https://www.pro-football-reference.com/teams/cle/1985_roster.htm 1985 Cleveland Browns Starters, Roster, & Players Pro-Football-Reference.com Schedule Week Date Opponent Result Record Venue Attendance Recap 1 September 8 St. Louis Cardinals L 24–27 0–1 Cleveland Municipal Stadium 62,107 Recap 2 September 16, 1985 Pittsburgh Steelers W 17–7 1–1 Cleveland Municipal Stadium 79,042 Recap 3 September 22 at Dallas Cowboys L 7–20 1–2 Texas Stadium 61,456 Recap 4 September 29 at San Diego Chargers W 21–7 2–2 Jack Murphy Stadium 52,107 Recap 5 October 6 New England Patriots W 24–20 3–2 Cleveland Municipal Stadium 62,139 Recap 6 October 13 at Houston Oilers W 21–6 4–2 Houston Astrodome 38,386 Recap 7 October 20 Los Angeles Raiders L 20–21 4–3 Cleveland Municipal Stadium 77,928 Recap 8 October 27 Washington Redskins L 7–14 4–4 Cleveland Municipal Stadium 78,540 Recap 9 November 3 at Pittsburgh Steelers L 9–10 4–5 Three Rivers Stadium 51,976 Recap 10 November 10 at Cincinnati Bengals L 10–27 4–6 Riverfront Stadium 57,293 Recap 11 November 17 Buffalo Bills W 17–7 5–6 Cleveland Municipal Stadium 54,478 Recap 12 November 24 Cincinnati Bengals W 24–6 6–6 Cleveland Municipal Stadium 74,439 Recap 13 December 1 at New York Giants W 35–33 7–6 Giants Stadium 66,482 Recap 14 December 8 at Seattle Seahawks L 13–31 7–7 Kingdome 58,477 Recap 15 December 15 Houston Oilers W 28–21 8–7 Cleveland Municipal Stadium 50,793 Recap 16 December 22 at New York Jets L 10–37 8–8 Giants Stadium 59,073 Recap Note: Intra-division opponents are in bold text. Postseason 1985–86 NFL playoffs Round Date Opponent (seed) Result Record Venue Attendance Recap Divisional January 4, 1986 at Miami Dolphins (2) L 21–24 0–1 Miami Orange Bowl 75,128 Recap Standings Notes References External links 1985 Cleveland Browns at Pro Football Reference 1985 Cleveland Browns Statistics at jt-sw.com 1985 Cleveland Browns Schedule at jt-sw.com 1985 Cleveland Browns at DatabaseFootball.com Cleveland Category:Cleveland Browns seasons Category:AFC Central championship seasons Cleveland