Season of National Football League team the New England Patriots; first Super Bowl appearance
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)
← 1984
Patriots seasons
1986 →
Craig James rushes the ball past the Dolphins' defense in the AFC Championship game.
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 at the Miami Orange Bowl 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]
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]
^"1985 NFL Pro Bowlers". Pro-Football-Reference.com.
^"1985 NFL All-Pros". Pro-Football-Reference.com.
^"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.
^Tales From The Patriots Sideline (Illinois:Sports Publishing LLC, 2006) by Michael Felger, p. 80
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