| 1985 Miami Dolphins season | |
|---|---|
| Head Coach | Don Shula |
| Home Field | Miami Orange Bowl |
| Results | |
| Record | 12–4 |
| Place | 1st AFC East |
| Playoff Finish | Lost AFC Championship Game |
| Timeline | |
| Previous Season | Next Season |
| 1984 | 1986 |
The 1985 Miami Dolphins season was the 20th season in franchise history. The club won their fourth consecutive AFC East championship[1] and appeared in the AFC Championship Game.
Due to Dan Marino's offseason holdout, and an injury to receiver Mark Duper, the Dolphins were only 5-4 through Week Nine, and in third place in the AFC East, behind the 7-2 Jets and 6-3 Patriots. Their 220 points scored through Week Nine were fifth in the league,[2] and 85 points fewer -- 9.4 per game -- than in 1984 at the same point in the season.[3]
The Dolphins righted the ship, however, and won their final seven games, including a stunning upset of the then-undefeated Chicago Bears in a Week Thirteen Monday Night contest. (It would be Chicago's only loss of the season.) Miami won the division and defeated the AFC Central Champion Cleveland Browns 24-21 in their first playoff game. Their season would end, however, with a 31-14 home loss to division rival New England in the AFC Championship Game.
Offseason[]
Quarterback Dan Marino, coming off a record-shattering 1984 season, held out through training camp.[4] This and an injury to wide receiver Mark Duper got the Dolphins out to a slow start.
NFL Draft[]
| Round | Pick # | Player | Position | College |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | 27 | Lorenzo Hampton | Running Back | Florida |
Regular season[]
Schedule[]
| Week | Date | Opponent | Result | Record | Attendance |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | September 8 | at Houston Oilers | L 26–23 | 0-1 | |
| 2 | September 15 | Indianapolis Colts | W 30–13 | 1-1 | |
| 3 | September 22 | Kansas City Chiefs | W 31–0 | 2-1 | |
| 4 | September 29 | at Denver Broncos | W 30–26 | 3-1 | |
| 5 | October 6 | Pittsburgh Steelers | W 24–20 | 4-1 | |
| 6 | October 14 | at New York Jets | L 23–7 | 4-2 | |
| 7 | October 20 | Tampa Bay Buccaneers | W 41–38 | 5-2 | |
| 8 | October 27 | at Detroit Lions | L 31–21 | 5-3 | |
| 9 | November 3 | at New England Patriots | L 17–13 | 5-4 | |
| 10 | November 10 | New York Jets | W 21–17 | 6-4 | |
| 11 | November 17 | at Indianapolis Colts | W 34–20 | 7-4 | |
| 12 | November 24 | at Buffalo Bills | W 23–14 | 8-4 | |
| 13 | December 2 | Chicago Bears | W 38–24 | 9-4 | |
| 14 | December 8 | at Green Bay Packers | W 34–24 | 10-4 | |
| 15 | December 16 | New England Patriots | W 30–27 | 11-4 | |
| 16 | December 22 | Buffalo Bills | W 28–0 | 12-4 |
Monday Night game vs. Chicago[]
Miami finished 12–4 in 1985 and, in an epic Monday Night Football showdown on December 2, 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 | ||||||
| Team | W | L | T | PCT | PF | PA |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Miami Dolphins | 12 | 4 | 0 | .750 | 428 | 320 |
| New York Jets | 11 | 5 | 0 | .688 | 393 | 264 |
| New England Patriots | 11 | 5 | 0 | .688 | 362 | 290 |
| Indianapolis Colts | 5 | 11 | 0 | .313 | 320 | 386 |
| Buffalo Bills | 2 | 14 | 0 | .125 | 200 | 381 |
Player stats[]
Passing[]
| Player | Att | Comp | Yds | TD | INT | Rating |
| Dan Marino | 567 | 336 | 4137 | 30 | 21 | 84.1 |
Playoffs[]
AFC Divisional Playoff[]
| 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | Total | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Browns | 7 | 7 | 7 | 0 | 21 |
| Dolphins | 3 | 0 | 14 | 7 | 24 |
- stadium= Miami Orange Bowl, Miami, Florida
- time= 12:30 p.m. EST
- weather= 77°F, mostly cloudy
- TV=NBC
- TVAnnouncers= Don Criqui and Bob Trumpy
- referee= Pat Haggerty
- attendance= 75,128
}}
AFC Championship Game[]
| 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | Total | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Patriots | 3 | 14 | 7 | 7 | 31 |
| Dolphins | 0 | 7 | 0 | 7 | 14 |
- stadium= Miami Orange Bowl, Miami, Florida
- time= 4:00 p.m. EST
- weather= 65°F, rain
- TV=NBC
- TVAnnouncers= Dick Enberg and Merlin Olsen
- referee= Gene Barth
- attendance= 74,978
}} 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.[5]
Notes and references[]
- ↑ Numbelivable!, p.105, Michael X. Ferraro and John Veneziano, Triumph Books, Chicago, Illinois, 2007, ISBN 978-1-57243-990-0
- ↑ Pro-Football-Reference: In a single season, in 1985, in the regular season, from team's 1st game to 9th game, sorted by descending Points For
- ↑ Pro-Football-Reference.com: In a single season, in 1984, in the regular season, from team's 1st game to 9th game, sorted by descending Points For
- ↑ [Neft, David S.; Cohen, Richard M.; and Korch, Rich The Sports Encyclopedia: Pro Football, 12th Edition, p.506, Martin's Press, August 1994, ISBN 0-312-11073-1
- ↑ NFL 2001 Record and Fact Book, Workman Publishing Co, New York,NY, ISBN 0-7611-2480-2, p. 60