1985 Miami Dolphins season
Encyclopedia
The 1985 Miami Dolphins season was the 20th season in franchise history. The club won their fourth consecutive AFC East championship and appeared in the AFC Championship Game.
showdown on December 2, 1985, handed the previously-undefeated Chicago Bears their only defeat of the season. Several members of the 1972 Dolphins were in attendance at the game.
After rallying from a 21–3 third quarter deficit in the divisional playoffs to beat the Cleveland Browns 24–21, many people were looking forward to a rematch with Chicago in Super Bowl XX. The Cinderella New England Patriots, the Dolphins' opponents in the AFC Championship, had different plans. New England forced six turnovers on the way to a 31–14 win – the Patriots' first in Miami since 1966. The Patriots had lost 18 games in a row at the Orange Bowl. In 1969, the Boston Patriots had beaten the Dolphins at Tampa Stadium.
NFL Draft
| Pick # | |Player | |College | ||
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 27 | Miami Dolphins Miami Dolphins The Miami Dolphins are a Professional football team based in the Miami metropolitan area in Florida. The team is part of the Eastern Division of the American Football Conference in the National Football League... |
Lorenzo Hampton Lorenzo Hampton Lorenzo Timothy Hampton is a former American college and professional football player who was a running back in the National Football League for five seasons in the 1980s... |
Running Back | Florida |
Schedule
| Week | Date | Opponent | Result | Attendance |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | September 8, 1985 | at Houston Oilers Tennessee Titans The Tennessee Titans are a professional American football team based in Nashville, Tennessee, United States. They are members of the South Division of the American Football Conference in the National Football League . Previously known as the Houston Oilers, the team began play in 1960 as a charter... |
L 26–23 | |
| 2 | September 15, 1985 | Indianapolis Colts Indianapolis Colts The Indianapolis Colts are a professional American football team based in Indianapolis. They are currently members of the South Division of the American Football Conference in the National Football League .... |
W 30–13 | |
| 3 | September 22, 1985 | Kansas City Chiefs Kansas City Chiefs The Kansas City Chiefs are a professional American football team based in Kansas City, Missouri. They are a member of the Western Division of the American Football Conference in the National Football League . Originally named the Dallas Texans, the club was founded by Lamar Hunt in 1960 as a... |
W 31–0 | |
| 4 | September 29, 1985 | at Denver Broncos Denver Broncos The Denver Broncos are a professional American football team based in Denver, Colorado. They are currently members of the West Division of the American Football Conference in the National Football League... |
W 30–26 | |
| 5 | October 6, 1985 | Pittsburgh Steelers Pittsburgh Steelers The Pittsburgh Steelers are a professional football team based in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania. The team currently belongs to the North Division of the American Football Conference in the National Football League . Founded in , the Steelers are the oldest franchise in the AFC... |
W 24–20 | |
| 6 | October 14, 1985 | at New York Jets New York Jets The New York Jets are a professional football team headquartered in Florham Park, New Jersey, representing the New York metropolitan area. The team is a member of the Eastern Division of the American Football Conference in the National Football League... |
L 23–7 | |
| 7 | October 20, 1985 | Tampa Bay Buccaneers Tampa Bay Buccaneers The Tampa Bay Buccaneers are a professional American football franchise based in Tampa, Florida, U.S. They are currently members of the Southern Division of the National Football Conference in the National Football League – they are the only team in the division not to come from the old NFC West... |
W 41–38 | |
| 8 | October 27, 1985 | at Detroit Lions Detroit Lions The Detroit Lions are a professional American football team based in Detroit, Michigan. They are members of the North Division of the National Football Conference in the National Football League , and play their home games at Ford Field in Downtown Detroit.Originally based in Portsmouth, Ohio and... |
L 31–21 | |
| 9 | November 3, 1985 | at New England Patriots New England Patriots The New England Patriots, commonly called the "Pats", are a professional football team based in the Greater Boston area, playing their home games in the town of Foxborough, Massachusetts at Gillette Stadium. The team is part of the East Division of the American Football Conference in the National... |
L 17–13 | |
| 10 | November 10, 1985 | New York Jets New York Jets The New York Jets are a professional football team headquartered in Florham Park, New Jersey, representing the New York metropolitan area. The team is a member of the Eastern Division of the American Football Conference in the National Football League... |
W 21–17 | |
| 11 | November 17, 1985 | at Indianapolis Colts Indianapolis Colts The Indianapolis Colts are a professional American football team based in Indianapolis. They are currently members of the South Division of the American Football Conference in the National Football League .... |
W 34–20 | |
| 12 | November 24, 1985 | at Buffalo Bills Buffalo Bills The Buffalo Bills are a professional football team based in Buffalo, New York. They are currently members of the East Division of the American Football Conference in the National Football League... |
W 23–14 | |
| 13 | December 2, 1985 | Chicago Bears Chicago Bears The Chicago Bears are a professional American football team based in Chicago, Illinois. They are members of the North Division of the National Football Conference in the National Football League... |
W 38–24 | |
| 14 | December 8, 1985 | at Green Bay Packers Green Bay Packers The Green Bay Packers are an American football team based in Green Bay, Wisconsin. They are members of the North Division of the National Football Conference in the National Football League . The Packers are the current NFL champions... |
W 34–24 | |
| 15 | December 16, 1985 | New England Patriots New England Patriots The New England Patriots, commonly called the "Pats", are a professional football team based in the Greater Boston area, playing their home games in the town of Foxborough, Massachusetts at Gillette Stadium. The team is part of the East Division of the American Football Conference in the National... |
W 30–27 | |
| 16 | December 22, 1985 | Buffalo Bills Buffalo Bills The Buffalo Bills are a professional football team based in Buffalo, New York. They are currently members of the East Division of the American Football Conference in the National Football League... |
W 28–0 | |
Monday Night game vs. Chicago
Miami finished 12–4 in 1985 and, in an epic Monday Night FootballMonday Night Football
Monday Night Football is a live broadcast of the National Football League on ESPN. From to it aired on ABC. Monday Night Football was, along with Hallmark Hall of Fame, and the Walt Disney anthology television series, one of the longest running prime time commercial network television series...
showdown on December 2, 1985, handed the previously-undefeated Chicago Bears their only defeat of the season. Several members of the 1972 Dolphins were in attendance at the game.
After rallying from a 21–3 third quarter deficit in the divisional playoffs to beat the Cleveland Browns 24–21, many people were looking forward to a rematch with Chicago in Super Bowl XX. The Cinderella New England Patriots, the Dolphins' opponents in the AFC Championship, had different plans. New England forced six turnovers on the way to a 31–14 win – the Patriots' first in Miami since 1966. The Patriots had lost 18 games in a row at the Orange Bowl. In 1969, the Boston Patriots had beaten the Dolphins at Tampa Stadium.
Standings
| AFC East AFC East The American Football Conference – Eastern Division or AFC East is a division of the National Football League's American Football Conference. There are four members: Buffalo Bills, Miami Dolphins, New England Patriots , and New York Jets... |
||||||
| Team | W | L | T | PCT | PF | PA |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Miami Dolphins | 12 | 4 | 0 | .750 | 428 | 320 |
| New York Jets 1985 New York Jets season 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. He had 8... |
11 | 5 | 0 | .688 | 393 | 264 |
| New England Patriots 1985 New England Patriots season The 1985 New England Patriots season was the 16th season for the team in the National Football League and 26th season overall. The Patriots had a record of eleven wins and five losses, and finished tied for second in the AFC East division. They lost in Super Bowl XX to the Chicago Bears... |
11 | 5 | 0 | .688 | 362 | 290 |
| Indianapolis Colts 1985 Indianapolis Colts season The 1985 Indianapolis Colts season was the 33rd season for the team in the National Football League and 2nd in Indianapolis. The Indianapolis Colts finished the National Football League's 1985 season with a record of 5 wins and 11 losses, and finished fourth in the AFC East division.- Schedule... |
5 | 11 | 0 | .313 | 320 | 386 |
| Buffalo Bills 1985 Buffalo Bills season The 1985 Buffalo Bills season was the 26th season for the club and its 16th in the National Football League.-NFL Draft:-Staff:-Schedule:-Standings:-References:* * *... |
2 | 14 | 0 | .125 | 200 | 381 |
Passing
| Player | Att | Comp | Yds | TD | INT | Rating |
| Dan Marino | 567 | 336 | 4137 | 30 | 21 | 84.1 |
AFC Divisional Playoff
AFC Championship Game
In an upset, the Patriots converted 6 Dolphins turnovers into 24 points.Awards and honors
- Dan Marino, AFC Pro Bowl Selection
- Mark Duper, Franchise Record, Most Receiving Yards in One Game, 217 yards on November 10.