1985 New York Jets season

1985 New York Jets season
1985 New York Jets season
Owner	Leon Hess
Head coach	Joe Walton
General manager	Jim Kensil
Home field	Giants Stadium
Results
Record	11–5
Division place	2nd AFC East
Playoff finish	Lost Wild Card Playoffs (vs. Patriots) 14–26
Pro Bowlers	QB Ken O'Brien; RB Freeman McNeil; DT Joe Klecko; DE Mark Gastineau; LB Lance Mehl
	← 1984; Jets seasons; 1986 →;

The Jets playing against the New England Patriots in Week 7.

The 1985 New York Jets season was the 26th season for the team and the 16th in the National Football League. It began with the team trying to improve upon its 7–9 record from 1984 under head coach Joe Walton. Among quarterbacks, Ken O'Brien had the lowest rate of interceptions, with only eight interceptions in 488 passing attempts. The Jets finished the season with a record of 11–5, qualifying for the top Wild Card spot in the playoffs. On October 14, during a Monday Night Halftime ceremony, the Jets retired Joe Namath's number 12, and helped inspire the Jets to a 23–7 victory over the Dolphins. In the playoffs, they fell at home to the division rival, and eventual AFC champion New England Patriots in the Wild Card round.

Personnel[]

Staff[]

**1985 New York Jets staff**

	Front office Owner – Leon Hess President/General Manager – Jim Kensil Head coaches Head Coach – Joe Walton Offensive coaches Offensive Coordinator – Rich Kotite Quarterbacks – Zeke Bratkowski Running Backs – Bobby Hammond Offensive Line – Bill Austin			Defensive coaches Defensive Coordinator – Bud Carson Linebackers – Dan Radakovich Linebackers – Special teams coaches Special Teams – Larry Pasquale

Roster[]

**1985 New York Jets final roster**

	Quarterbacks 7 Ken O'Brien 10 Pat Ryan Running backs 31 Marion Barber Jr. 23 Dennis Bligen 34 Johnny Hector 24 Freeman McNeil 49 Tony Paige FB Wide receivers 22 Nick Bruckner 88 Chy Davidson 84 Bobby Humphery 87 Kurt Sohn 88 Al Toon 85 Wesley Walker Tight ends 81 Billy Griggs 89 Rocky Klever 82 Mickey Shuler		Offensive linemen 60 Dan Alexander T 63 Ted Banker G 64 Guy Bingham C 65 Joe Fields G 68 Reggie McElroy T 66 Billy Shields T 53 Jim Sweeney C Defensive linemen 95 Tom Baldwin DT 78 Barry Bennett DE 74 Ron Faurot DE 99 Mark Gastineau DE 73 Joe Klecko DT 93 Marty Lyons DE 76 Ben Rudolph DT		Linebackers 59 Kyle Clifton 50 Bob Crable 52 Jim Eliopulos 94 Rusty Guilbeau 56 Lance Mehl 57 John Woodring Defensive backs 27 Russell Carter CB 35 Kerry Glenn CB 39 Harry Hamilton FS 28 Carl Howard CB 40 Bobby Jackson CB 29 Johnny Lynn CB 20 Davlin Mullen CB 21 Kirk Springs SS Special teams 13 Dave Jennings P 5 Pat Leahy K		Reserve lists 54 Troy Benson OLB (IR) Practice squad Rookies in italics

Schedule[]

Regular season[]

Week	Date	Opponent	Result	Game site	Attendance
1	September 8	at Los Angeles Raiders	L 31–0	Los Angeles Memorial Coliseum	57,123
2	September 15	Buffalo Bills	W 42–3	Giants Stadium	63,449
3	September 22	at Green Bay Packers	W 24–3	Milwaukee County Stadium	53,667
4	September 29	Indianapolis Colts	W 25–20	Giants Stadium	61,987
5	October 6	at Cincinnati Bengals	W 29–20	Riverfront Stadium	51,785
6	October 14	Miami Dolphins	W 23–7	Giants Stadium	73,807
7	October 20	at New England Patriots	L 20–13	Sullivan Stadium	58,163
8	October 27	Seattle Seahawks	W 17–14	Giants Stadium	69,320
9	November 3	at Indianapolis Colts	W 35–17	Hoosier Dome	59,683
10	November 10	at Miami Dolphins	L 21–17	Miami Orange Bowl	73,965
11	November 17	Tampa Bay Buccaneers	W 62–28	Giants Stadium	65,344
12	November 24	New England Patriots	W 16–13 (OT)	Giants Stadium	74,100
13	November 28	at Detroit Lions	L 31–20	Pontiac Silverdome	65,531
14	December 8	at Buffalo Bills	W 27–7	Rich Stadium	23,122
15	December 14	Chicago Bears	L 19–6	Giants Stadium	74,752
16	December 22	Cleveland Browns	W 37–10	Giants Stadium	59,073

Season summary[]

Week 7 at Patriots[]

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 20
Game time: 4:00 p.m. EST
Game weather: 54 °F (12 °C)
Game attendance: 58,163
Referee: Fred Silva
TV announcers (NBC): Marv Albert & Bob Griese
Box 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

NYJ – Wesley Walker – 6 receptions, 140 yards
NE – Stanley Morgan – 3 receptions, 71 yards

Week 8 vs Seahawks[]

Week Eight: Seattle Seahawks (4–3) at New York Jets (5–2)

	1	2	3	4	Total
Seahawks	0	14	0	0	14
Jets	0	0	7	10	17

at Giants Stadium • East Rutherford, New Jersey

Date: October 27
Game time: 1:00 p.m. EDT
Game weather: Sunny • 69 °F (21 °C) • Wind SW 11 miles per hour (18 km/h; 9.6 kn) to 16 miles per hour (26 km/h; 14 kn)
Game attendance: 69,320
Referee: Jerry Seeman
TV announcers (NBC): Dick Enberg and Merlin Olsen
Gamebook

Game information

Seahawks

Dave Krieg
9/20, 148 Yds, TD, 2 INT
Randall Morris
23 Rush, 88 Yds
Daryl Turner
2 Rec, 78 Yds, TD

Jets

Ken O'Brien
13/25, 182 Yds, 2 TD, INT
Freeman McNeil
22 Rush, 151 Yds
Rocky Klever
3 Rec, 43 Yds

Scoring summary

Quarter	Time	Drive			Team	Scoring information	Score
Quarter	Time	Plays	Yards	TOP	Team	Scoring information	SEA	NYJ
2	9:08	6	80	2:26	Seahawks	Daryl Turner 45-yard touchdown reception from Dave Krieg, Norm Johnson kick good	7	0
2	0:46				Seahawks	Fumble recovery returned 79 yards for touchdown by Jacob Green, Norm Johnson kick good	14	0
3	4:10	9	69	6:02	Jets	Freeman McNeil 16-yard touchdown reception from Ken O'Brien, Pat Leahy kick good	14	7
4	12:47	3	2	1:28	Jets	41-yard field goal by Pat Leahy	14	10
4	5:11	7	91	4:02	Jets	Wesley Walker 15-yard touchdown reception from Ken O'Brien, Pat Leahy kick good	14	17
"TOP" = time of possession. For other American football terms, see Glossary of American football.							14	17

Standings[]

AFC East
view talk	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

Playoffs[]

Week	Date	Opponent	Result	Game site	Attendance
WC	December 28, 1985	New England Patriots	L 26–14	The Meadowlands	70,958

v t New York Jets
Founded in 1960 Formerly the New York Titans (1960–1962) Based in East Rutherford, New Jersey Headquartered in Florham Park, New Jersey
Franchise	Franchise History Seasons Players Coaches Logos and uniforms First-round draft picks Quarterbacks Flight Crew
Stadiums	Polo Grounds Shea Stadium Giants Stadium MetLife Stadium
Culture	Fireman Ed Alex Anthony Flash Gordon The Wonder Years West Side Stadium Generation Jets The King of Queens
Lore	Heidi Game The Guarantee Announcerless game New York Sack Exchange Clock Play The Monday Night Miracle Spygate Butt Fumble
Rivalries	Buffalo Bills Miami Dolphins New England Patriots New York Giants
Key personnel	Owner: Woody Johnson Chairman/CEO: Christopher Johnson President: General manager: Joe Douglas Head coach: Robert Saleh
Division championships (4)	1968 1969 1998 2002
League championships (1)	1968 (III)
Media	Broadcasters WEPN WEPN-FM WCBS-TV SportsNet New York
Current league affiliations	League: National Football League (1970–present) Conference: American Football Conference Division: East Division
Former league affiliation	League: American Football League (1960–1969)

v t New York Jets seasons
Formerly the New York Titans (1960–1962)
1960 1961 1962 1963 1964 1965 1966 1967 1968 1969 1970 1971 1972 1973 1974 1975 1976 1977 1978 1979 1980 1981 1982 1983 1984 1985 1986 1987 1988 1989 1990 1991 1992 1993 1994 1995 1996 1997 1998 1999 2000 2001 2002 2003 2004 2005 2006 2007 2008 2009 2010 2011 2012 2013 2014 2015 2016 2017 2018 2019 2020 2021
Bold indicates Super Bowl victory