Season of National Football League team the New England Patriots; first Super Bowl appearance
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 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 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 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.
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. The Patriots were held to a Super Bowl record of just 7 rushing yards and their quarterbacks, Tony Eason and Steve Grogan, were sacked a combined 7 times by the powerful Bears defense.
"We couldn't protect the 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]
Personnel [ ] Staff [ ]
New England Patriots 1985 staff
Front office
Head coaches
Head coach – Raymond Berry Offensive coaches
Quarterbacks/receivers – Les Steckel
Quarterbacks/special assistant to the head coach –
Offensive backfield –
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 –
Roster [ ]
New England Patriots 1985 roster
Quarterbacks
Running backs
Wide receivers
Tight ends
Offensive Linemen
Defensive linemen
Linebackers
Defensive backs
Special teams
Reserve lists
Schedule [ ] Regular season [ ]
Week
Date
Opponent
Result
Game site
Record
Attendance
1
September 8, 1985
Green Bay Packers W 26–20Sullivan Stadium 1–0
49,488
2
September 15, 1985
at Chicago Bears
L 20–7Soldier Field 1–1
60,533
3
September 22, 1985
at Buffalo Bills
W 17–14Rich Stadium 2–1
40,334
4
September 29, 1985
Los Angeles Raiders L 35–20Sullivan Stadium 2–2
60,686
5
October 6, 1985
at Cleveland Browns
L 24–20Cleveland Municipal Stadium 2–3
62,139
6
October 13, 1985
Buffalo Bills W 28–6Sullivan Stadium 3–3
40,462
7
October 20, 1985
New York Jets W 20–13Sullivan Stadium 4–3
58,163
8
October 27, 1985
at Tampa Bay Buccaneers
W 32–14Tampa Stadium 5–3
34,661
9
November 3, 1985
Miami Dolphins W 17–13Sullivan Stadium 6–3
58,811
10
November 10, 1985
Indianapolis Colts W 34–15Sullivan Stadium 7–3
54,176
11
November 17, 1985
at Seattle Seahawks
W 20–13The Kingdome 8–3
60,345
12
November 24, 1985
at New York Jets
L 16–13The Meadowlands 8–4
74,100
13
December 1, 1985
at Indianapolis Colts
W 38–31Hoosier Dome 9–4
56,740
14
December 8, 1985
Detroit Lions W 23–6Sullivan Stadium 10–4
59,078
15
December 16, 1985
at Miami Dolphins
L 30–27Miami Orange Bowl 10–5
69,489
16
December 22, 1985
Cincinnati Bengals W 34–23Sullivan Stadium 11–5
57,953
Game summaries [ ] Week 1 [ ]
1
2 3 4 Total
Packers
0
6 0 14
20
• Patriots
7
12 0 7
26
Date: September 8Location: Sullivan Stadium Game start: 1:00 p.m. Game attendance: 49,488Game weather: 74°F; wind 10Referee: Bob McElwee TV announcers (CBS): Jim Hill and John Dockery Scoring summary 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 zoneNE 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
[4] [5]
Week 2 [ ]
1
2 3 4 Total
Patriots
0
0 0 7
7
• Bears
7
3 10 0
20
Date: September 15Location: Soldier Field Referee: Tom Dooley TV announcers (NBC): Don Criqui and Bob Trumpy
Week 3 [ ]
1
2 3 4 Total
• Patriots
3
7 7 0
17
Bills
0
7 0 7
14
Date: September 22Location: Rich Stadium • Orchard Park, New York Game start: 1:00 p.m. EST Game weather: 65°F • Wind 7Referee: Jerry Seeman Television network: NBC Scoring summary 1 NE Tony Franklin 32-yard field goalPatriots 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
[6]
Week 4 [ ]
1
2 3 4 Total
• Raiders
14
0 7 14
35
Patriots
10
10 0 0
20
Date: September 29Location: Sullivan StadiumReferee: Gordon McCarter TV announcers (NBC): Marv Albert and Bob Griese
Week 5 [ ]
1
2 3 4 Total
Patriots
0
13 7 0
20
• Browns
7
7 3 7
24
Week 6 [ ]
1
2 3 4 Total
Bills
0
3 0 0
3
• Patriots
0
0 7 7
14
Date: October 13Location: Sullivan Stadium • Foxboro, Massachusetts Game start: 1:00 p.m. EST Game weather: 50°F • Wind 12Referee: Gene Barth TV announcers (NBC): Len Berman and Reggie Rucker Scoring summary 2 BUF Scott Norwood 47-yard field goalBills 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
[7]
Week 7 vs Jets [ ]
Week Seven: New York Jets (5–1) at New England Patriots (3–3)
1
2
3 4 Total
Jets
0
3
3 7 13
Patriots 3
3
0 14 20
at Sullivan Stadium , Foxboro, Massachusetts
Date : October 20Game time : 4:00 p.m. ESTGame weather : 54 °F (12 °C)Game attendance : 58,163Referee : Fred Silva TV announcers (NBC) : Marv Albert & Bob GrieseBox Score , Box Score
Game information
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
Week 8 [ ]
1
2 3 4 Total
• Patriots
0
13 3 16
32
Buccaneers
14
0 0 0
14
Date: October 27Location: Tampa Stadium Referee: Tom Dooley Television network: NBC
Week 9 [ ]
1
2 3 4 Total
Dolphins
7
3 3 0
13
• Patriots
0
3 0 14
17
Date: November 3Location: Sullivan StadiumReferee: Fred Wyant TV announcers (NBC): Jay Randolph and Bob Griese
Week 10 [ ]
1
2 3 4 Total
Colts
0
6 0 9
15
• Patriots
0
7 17 10
34
Date: November 10Location: Sullivan StadiumReferee: Gordon McCarter
Week 11 [ ]
1
2 3 4 Total
• Patriots
0
7 0 13
20
Seahawks
0
3 10 0
13
Date: November 17Location: Kingdome Referee: Jerry Markbreit TV announcers (NBC): Dick Enberg and Merlin Olsen
Week 12 [ ]
1
2 3 4 OT Total
Patriots
0
3 0 10 0
13
• Jets
6
0 7 0 3
16
Date: November 24Location: Giants Stadium Referee: Bob FredericTV announcers (NBC): Charlie Jones and Merlin Olsen
Week 13 [ ]
1
2 3 4 Total
• Patriots
7
17 0 14
38
Colts
7
10 0 14
31
Date: December 1Location: Hoosier Dome Referee: Bob McElwee Television network: NBC
Week 14 [ ]
1
2 3 4 Total
Lions
3
0 3 0
6
• Patriots
7
10 0 6
23
Date: December 8Location: Sullivan StadiumReferee: Gene Barth TV announcers (CBS): Jim Hill and John Dockery
Week 15 [ ]
1
2 3 4 Total
Patriots
7
0 3 17
27
• Dolphins
7
10 3 10
30
Date: December 16Location: Orange Bowl Game start: 9:00 EST Referee: Dick Jorgensen TV announcers (ABC): Frank Gifford, Joe Namath, OJ Simpson
Week 16 [ ]
1
2 3 4 Total
Bengals
3
3 7 10
23
• Patriots
10
10 0 14
34
Date: December 22Location: Sullivan Stadium , Foxboro, Massachusetts Game start: 1:00 p.m. Game weather: 24°F, wind 12 mphReferee: Red Cashion TV announcers (NBC): Phil Stone and Sam Rutigliano Scoring summary 1 NE Tony Franklin 25 yard field goalPatriots 3–0 1 CIN Jim Breech 42 yard field goalTie 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
[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 Round
Date
Opponent
Result
Game site
Record
Attendance
Wild Card Playoff
December 28, 1985
at New York Jets
W 26–14Meadowlands Stadium 12–5
70,958
Divisional Playoff
January 5, 1986
at Los Angeles Raiders
W 27–20Los Angeles Memorial Coliseum 13–5
88,936
AFC Championship
January 12, 1986
at Miami Dolphins
W 31–14Orange Bowl 14–5
74,978
Super Bowl XX January 26, 1986
N Chicago Bears
L 46–10Louisiana Superdome 14–6
73,818
Wild Card [ ]
1
2 3 4 Total
• Patriots
3
10 10 3
26
Jets
0
7 7 0
14
Date: December 28, 1985Location: The Meadowlands Referee: Jerry Seeman
This was only the second postseason win in Patriots history, and the first since 1963 .
Divisional [ ]
1
2 3 4 Total
• Patriots
7
10 10 0
27
Raiders
3
17 0 0
20
Date: January 5, 1986Location: Los Angeles Memorial Coliseum Referee: Jerry Markbreit TV announcers (NBC): Dick Enberg and Merlin Olsen
Conference Championship [ ]
1
2 3 4 Total
• Patriots
3
14 7 7
31
Dolphins
0
7 0 7
14
Date: January 12, 1986Location: Orange Bowl Referee: Gene Barth TV announcers (NBC): Dick Enberg and Merlin Olsen
In the 1986 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. [10]
Super Bowl [ ]
1
2 3 4 Total
• Bears
13
10 21 2
46
Patriots
3
0 0 7
10
Date: January 26, 1986Location: Louisiana Superdome Referee: Red Cashion
Standings [ ] References [ ]
^ "1985 NFL Pro Bowlers" . Pro-Football-Reference.com.^ "1985 NFL All-Pros" . Pro-Football-Reference.com.^ Tales From The Patriots Sideline (Illinois:Sports Publishing LLC, 2006) by Michael Felger, p. 80^ Pro-Football-Reference.com . Retrieved 2014-Aug-01.^ Gainesville Sun. 1985 Sept 9. Retrieved 2017-Nov-01.
^ Pro-Football-Reference.com ^ Pro-Football-Reference.com ^ Pro-Football-Reference.com ^ "Archived copy" . Archived from the original on December 28, 2017. Retrieved December 27, 2017 .{{cite web }}: CS1 maint: archived copy as title (link )^ 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
New England Patriots
Franchise Stadiums Culture Lore Rivalries Division championships (22) Conference championships (11) League championships (6) Retired numbers Media Current league affiliations Former league affiliation
League: American Football League (1960–1969)
Formerly the Boston Patriots (1960–1970)
Bold indicates AFL Championship or Super Bowl victoryItalics indicates AFL Championship or Super Bowl appearance
