1985 New England Patriots season

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 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.^[3]

1985 New England Patriots season
Owner	Billy Sullivan
General manager	Patrick Sullivan
Head coach	Raymond Berry
Home field	Sullivan Stadium
Results
Record	11–5
Division place	3rd AFC East
Playoff finish	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
Pro Bowlers	8^[1] CB Raymond Clayborn KR Irving Fryar G John Hannah T Brian Holloway RB Craig James FS Fred Marion LB Steve Nelson LB Andre Tippett
AP All-Pros	4^[2] G John Hannah (1st team) LB Andre Tippett (1st team) T Brian Holloway (2nd team) WR Irving Fryar (2nd team)
Uniform
← 1984 Patriots seasons 1986 →

Craig James rushes the ball past the Dolphins' defense in the AFC Championship game.

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 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 quarterback and that was my fault. I couldn't come up with a system to handle the Bears' pass rush," head coach Raymond Berry acknowledged.^[4]

Personnel

Staff

1985 New England Patriots staff

	Front office 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 Head coaches Head coach – Raymond Berry Offensive coaches Quarterbacks/receivers – Les Steckel Quarterbacks/special assistant to the head coach – John Polonchek Offensive backfield – Bobby Grier 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 Special teams/tight ends – Dante Scarnecchia Strength and conditioning Strength and conditioning – Dean Brittenham

Roster

1985 New England Patriots final roster

	Quarterbacks 11 Tony Eason 14 Steve Grogan 12 Tom Ramsey Running backs 33 Tony Collins 32 Craig James 30 Mosi Tatupu FB 24 Robert Weathers Wide receivers 80 Irving Fryar 83 Cedric Jones 86 Stanley Morgan 81 Stephen Starring 82 Derwin Williams Tight ends 87 Lin Dawson 27 Greg Hawthorne FB 88 Derrick Ramsey		Offensive linemen 58 Pete Brock C 63 Tom Condon G 66 Paul Fairchild G 73 John Hannah G 76 Brian Holloway T 67 Steve Moore T 75 Guy Morriss C 70 Art Plunkett T 61 Ron Wooten G Defensive linemen 85 Julius Adams DE 98 Dennis Owens NT 77 Kenneth Sims DE 99 Ben Thomas DE 60 Garin Veris DE 72 Lester Williams NT 90 Toby Williams DE		Linebackers 55 Don Blackmon OLB 51 Brian Ingram LB 50 Larry McGrew ILB 57 Steve Nelson ILB 52 Johnny Rembert ILB 95 Ed Reynolds LB 56 Andre Tippett OLB 54 Ed Williams LB Defensive backs 28 Jim Bowman S 26 Raymond Clayborn CB 43 Ernest Gibson CB 38 Roland James SS 42 Ronnie Lippett CB 31 Fred Marion FS 23 Rod McSwain S Special teams  3 Rich Camarillo P  1 Tony Franklin K		Reserve lists 64 Trevor Matich C/G (IR)   -- Jon Norris DE (IR)   53 Clayton Weishuhn LB (IR)   Rookies in italics

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 28–6	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 Dolphins	W 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

1 2 3 4 Total Packers 0 6 0 14 20 • Patriots 7 12 0 7 26 Date: September 8 Location: Sullivan Stadium Game start: 1:00 p.m. Game attendance: 49,488 Game weather: 74 °F (23 °C); wind 10 mph (16 km/h) Referee: 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 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

^[5][6]

Week 2

1 2 3 4 Total Patriots 0 0 0 7 7 • Bears 7 3 10 0 20 Date: September 15 Location: 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 22 Location: Rich Stadium • Orchard Park, New York Game start: 1:00 p.m. EST Game weather: 65 °F (18 °C) • Wind 7 mph (11 km/h) Referee: Jerry Seeman Television network: NBC

Scoring summary 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

^[7]

Week 4

1 2 3 4 Total • Raiders 14 0 7 14 35 Patriots 10 10 0 0 20 Date: September 29 Location: Sullivan Stadium Referee: 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 Date: October 6 Location: Cleveland Stadium Referee: Jerry Markbreit

Week 6

1 2 3 4 Total Bills 0 3 0 0 3 • Patriots 0 0 7 7 14 Date: October 13 Location: Sullivan Stadium • Foxboro, Massachusetts Game start: 1:00 p.m. EST Game weather: 50 °F (10 °C) • Wind 12 mph (19 km/h) Referee: Gene Barth TV announcers (NBC): Len Berman and Reggie Rucker

Scoring summary 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

^[8]

Week 7 vs Jets

See also: 1985 New York Jets season

Week Seven: New York Jets (5–1) at New England Patriots (3–3)

Period	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

1 2 3 4 Total • Patriots 0 13 3 16 32 Buccaneers 14 0 0 0 14 Date: October 27 Location: 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 3 Location: Sullivan Stadium Referee: 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 10 Location: Sullivan Stadium Referee: Gordon McCarter

Week 11

1 2 3 4 Total • Patriots 0 7 0 13 20 Seahawks 0 3 10 0 13 Date: November 17 Location: 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 24 Location: Giants Stadium Referee: Bob Frederic TV 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 1 Location: 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 8 Location: Sullivan Stadium Referee: 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 16 Location: 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 22 Location: Sullivan Stadium, Foxboro, Massachusetts Game start: 1:00 p.m. Game weather: 24 °F (−4 °C), wind 12 mph (19 km/h) Referee: Red Cashion TV announcers (NBC): Phil Stone and Sam Rutigliano

Scoring summary 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

^[9]

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.^[10]

Postseason

Round	Date	Opponent (seed)	Result	Record	Venue	Attendance
Wild card playoff	December 28	at New York Jets (4)	W 26–14	1–0	Giants Stadium	70,958
Divisional Playoff	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

1 2 3 4 Total • Patriots 3 10 10 3 26 Jets 0 7 7 0 14 Date: December 28, 1985 Location: 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, 1986 Location: 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, 1986 Location: 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.^[11]

Super Bowl

1 2 3 4 Total • Bears 13 10 21 2 46 Patriots 3 0 0 7 10 Date: January 26, 1986 Location: Louisiana Superdome Referee: Red Cashion

Standings

AFC East
view talk edit	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

References

1. "1985 NFL Pro Bowlers". Pro-Football-Reference.com.
2. "1985 NFL All-Pros". Pro-Football-Reference.com.
3. "Patriots Run Down Dolphins, 31-14 : Miami Can't Overcome Six Turnovers in Losing AFC Title". Los Angeles Times. January 13, 1986. Retrieved October 9, 2022.
4. Tales From The Patriots Sideline (Illinois:Sports Publishing LLC, 2006) by Michael Felger, p. 80
5. Pro-Football-Reference.com. Retrieved 2014-Aug-01.
6. Gainesville Sun. 1985 Sept 9. Retrieved 2017-Nov-01.
7. Pro-Football-Reference.com
8. Pro-Football-Reference.com
9. Pro-Football-Reference.com
10. . Archived from the original on December 28, 2017. Retrieved December 27, 2017.
11. 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