1985 Miami Dolphins season

1985 Miami Dolphins season
Head coach Don Shula
(16th season)
General manager Mike Robbie
(Since 1978)
Owner Joe Robbie
(Since 1966)
Home field Miami Orange Bowl
Results
Record 12–4
Division place 1st AFC East
Playoff finish Won Divisional Playoffs (Browns)
24–21
Lost AFC Championship (Patriots)
14–31

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

The following is an incomplete list:

Pick # NFL Team Player Position College
27Miami DolphinsLorenzo HamptonRunning BackFlorida
83Miami DolphinsAlex MoyerLinebackerNorthwestern

Regular season

Schedule

Week Date Opponent Result Attendance
1 September 8, 1985 at Houston Oilers L 26–23
47,656
2 September 15, 1985 Indianapolis Colts W 30–13
53,693
3 September 22, 1985 Kansas City Chiefs W 31–0
69,791
4 September 29, 1985 at Denver Broncos W 30–26
73,614
5 October 6, 1985 Pittsburgh Steelers W 24–20
72,820
6 October 14, 1985 at New York Jets L 23–7
73,807
7 October 20, 1985 Tampa Bay Buccaneers W 41–38
62,335
8 October 27, 1985 at Detroit Lions L 31–21
75,291
9 November 3, 1985 at New England Patriots L 17–13
58,811
10 November 10, 1985 New York Jets W 21–17
73,965
11 November 17, 1985 at Indianapolis Colts W 34–20
59,666
12 November 24, 1985 at Buffalo Bills W 23–14
50,474
13 December 2, 1985 Chicago Bears W 38–24
75,594
14 December 8, 1985 at Green Bay Packers W 34–24
52,671
15 December 16, 1985 New England Patriots W 30–27
69,489
16 December 22, 1985 Buffalo Bills W 28–0
64,811

Monday Night game vs. Chicago

Miami finished 12–4 in 1985 and, in an epic Monday Night Football 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
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

Player stats

Passing

Player Att Comp Yds TD INT Rating
Dan Marino 567 336 4137 30 21 84.1

Playoffs

AFC Divisional Playoff

Miami Dolphins 24, Cleveland Browns 21
1 2 34Total
Browns 7 7 7021
Dolphins 3 0 14724

at Miami Orange Bowl, Miami, Florida

AFC Championship Game

New England Patriots 31, Miami Dolphins 14
1 2 34Total
Patriots 3 14 7731
Dolphins 0 7 0714

at Miami Orange Bowl, Miami, Florida

In an upset, the Patriots converted 6 Dolphins turnovers into 24 points.

Awards and honors

Notes and references

  1. ↑ Numbelivable!, p.105, Michael X. Ferraro and John Veneziano, Triumph Books, Chicago, Illinois, 2007, ISBN 978-1-57243-990-0
  2. ↑ 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
  3. ↑ 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
  4. ↑ [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
  5. ↑ NFL 2001 Record and Fact Book, Workman Publishing Co, New York,NY, ISBN 0-7611-2480-2, p. 60
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