The 1985 NFL season was the 66th regular season of the National Football League. The season ended with Super Bowl XX when the Chicago Bears defeated the New England Patriots 46–10 at the Louisiana Superdome. The Bears became the second team in NFL history (after the previous season's San Francisco 49ers) to win 15 games in the regular season and 18 including the playoffs.
Regular season | |
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Duration | September 8 – December 23, 1985 |
Playoffs | |
Start date | December 28, 1985 |
AFC Champions | New England Patriots |
NFC Champions | Chicago Bears |
Super Bowl XX | |
Date | January 26, 1986 |
Site | Louisiana Superdome, New Orleans, Louisiana |
Champions | Chicago Bears |
Pro Bowl | |
Date | February 2, 1986 |
Site | Aloha Stadium |
The 1985 NFL Draft was held from April 30 to May 1, 1985, at New York City's Omni Park Central Hotel. With the first pick, the Buffalo Bills selected defensive end Bruce Smith from Virginia Tech.
Inter-conference |
Highlights of the 1985 season included:
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Jan 4 – Anaheim Stadium | ||||||||||||||||||
3 | Dallas | 0 | ||||||||||||||||
Dec 29 – Giants Stadium | Jan 12 – Soldier Field | |||||||||||||||||
2 | LA Rams | 20 | ||||||||||||||||
NFC | ||||||||||||||||||
5 | San Francisco | 3 | 2 | LA Rams | 0 | |||||||||||||
Jan 5 – Soldier Field | ||||||||||||||||||
4 | NY Giants | 17 | 1 | Chicago | 24 | |||||||||||||
NFC Championship | ||||||||||||||||||
4 | NY Giants | 0 | ||||||||||||||||
Jan 26 – Louisiana Superdome | ||||||||||||||||||
1 | Chicago | 21 | ||||||||||||||||
Divisional playoffs | ||||||||||||||||||
Wild Card playoffs | N1 | Chicago | 46 | |||||||||||||||
Jan 5 – Los Angeles Memorial Coliseum | ||||||||||||||||||
A5 | New England | 10 | ||||||||||||||||
Super Bowl XX | ||||||||||||||||||
5 | New England | 27 | ||||||||||||||||
Dec 28 – Giants Stadium | Jan 12 – Miami Orange Bowl | |||||||||||||||||
1 | LA Raiders | 20 | ||||||||||||||||
AFC | ||||||||||||||||||
5 | New England | 26 | 5 | New England | 31 | |||||||||||||
Jan 4 – Miami Orange Bowl | ||||||||||||||||||
4 | NY Jets | 14 | 2 | Miami | 14 | |||||||||||||
AFC Championship | ||||||||||||||||||
3 | Cleveland | 21 | ||||||||||||||||
2 | Miami | 24 | ||||||||||||||||
The following players set all-time records during the season:
Most kick return yards, season | Buster Rhymes, Minnesota (1,345) |
Most punt return yards, season | Fulton Walker, Miami / Los Angeles Raiders (692) |
Points scored | San Diego Chargers (467) |
Total yards gained | San Diego Chargers (6,535) |
Yards rushing | Chicago Bears (2,761) |
Yards passing | San Diego Chargers (4,870) |
Fewest points allowed | Chicago Bears (198) |
Fewest total yards allowed | Chicago Bears (4,315) |
Fewest rushing yards allowed | Chicago Bears (1,319) |
Fewest passing yards allowed | Washington Redskins (2,746) |
Scoring | Kevin Butler, Chicago Bears (151 points) |
Touchdowns | Joe Morris, New York Giants (21 TDs) |
Most field goals made | Gary Anderson, Pittsburgh Steelers (33 FGs) |
Rushing attempts | Gerald Riggs, Atlanta Falcons (397) |
Rushing yards | Marcus Allen, Los Angeles Raiders (1,759 yards) |
Rushing touchdowns | Joe Morris, New York Giants (21 TDs) |
Passes completed | Dan Marino, Miami Dolphins (336) |
Pass attempts | John Elway, Denver Broncos (605) |
Passing yards | Dan Marino, Miami Dolphins (4,137 yards) |
Passer rating | Ken O'Brien, New York Jets (96.2 rating) |
Passing touchdowns | Dan Marino, Miami Dolphins (30 TDs) |
Pass receiving | Roger Craig, San Francisco 49ers (92 catches) |
Pass receiving yards | Steve Largent, Seattle Seahawks (1,287 yards) |
Receiving touchdowns | Daryl Turner, Seattle Seahawks (13 TDs) |
Punt returns | Irving Fryar, New England Patriots (14.1 average yards) |
Kickoff returns | Ron Brown, Los Angeles Rams (32.8 average yards) |
Interceptions | Everson Walls, Dallas Cowboys (9) |
Punting | Rohn Stark, Indianapolis Colts (45.9 average yards) |
Sacks | Richard Dent, Chicago Bears (19.0) |
Most Valuable Player | Marcus Allen, running back, LA Raiders |
Coach of the Year | Mike Ditka, Chicago |
Offensive Player of the Year | Marcus Allen, running back, LA Raiders |
Defensive Player of the Year | Mike Singletary, linebacker, Chicago |
Offensive Rookie of the Year | Eddie Brown, wide receiver, Cincinnati |
Defensive Rookie of the Year | Duane Bickett, linebacker, Indianapolis |
Man of the Year | Dwight Stephenson, center, Miami |
Super Bowl Most Valuable Player | Richard Dent, defensive end, Chicago |
This was the fourth year under the league's five-year broadcast contracts with ABC, CBS, and NBC to televise Monday Night Football, the NFC package, and the AFC package, respectively. Joe Namath replaced Don Meredith in the MNF booth, joining Frank Gifford and O. J. Simpson.[3]