1985 Cleveland Browns season

Last updated
1985 Cleveland Browns season
Owner Art Modell
General manager Ernie Accorsi
Head coach Marty Schottenheimer
Home field Cleveland Municipal Stadium
Local radio WWWE
Results
Record8–8
Division place1st AFC Central
Playoff finishLost Divisional Playoffs
(at Dolphins) 21–24
Pro Bowlers TE Ozzie Newsome
FB Kevin Mack
NT Bob Golic
OLB Clay Matthews Jr.
OLB Chip Banks

The 1985 Cleveland Browns season was the team's 36th season with the National Football League.

Contents

This was the first of three consecutive AFC Central titles for the Browns. In Marty Schottenheimer's first full year as head coach, the Browns bounced back from a 5–11 season in 1984 to make the playoffs, despite a .500 season. Rookie quarterback Bernie Kosar led the Browns' offense; Ozzie Newsome's 62 receptions earned him a trip to the Pro Bowl; Earnest Byner and Kevin Mack each rushed for over 1,000 yards.

In the Divisional Playoffs, the Browns led the Miami Dolphins 21–3 in the third quarter, but in a scene that would be repeated 4 more times in the 1980s, the Browns collapsed down the stretch as the Dolphins came back to score three touchdowns to win the game 24–21.

In 2004, Football Outsiders named the 1985 Browns as one of the "worst playoff teams ever": [1]

Opponents outscored them 287–294, and they were blown out in two of their last three games (31–13 by the Seahawks and 38–10 by the Jets). They took a 21–3 lead over the Dolphins in the playoffs, only to watch Dan Marino and company score 21 unanswered points to win the game.

The 1985 Browns are probably best known for having two 1,000-yard rushers in Earnest Byner and Kevin Mack. Despite that impressive feat, the Browns were only fourth in the AFC in team rushing yards. They were 13th in the conference in passing yards, thanks to rookie [quarterback] Bernie Kosar and journeyman Gary Danielson. What that team did very well was play defense and take advantage of a weak division. The Browns swept the 5–11 Oilers and split with the 7–9 Bengals and Steelers. A 28–21 win in Week 15 against the Oilers proved to be the division capper: Kosar threw three TDs to open up a 28–7 lead, and the defense withstood a comeback driven by Warren Moon.

Until 2011, Cleveland's .500 winning percentage held the record for the lowest such percentage for a division winning playoff team in a non-strike season; the record was tied by the 2008 San Diego Chargers, then broken by the 2010 Seattle Seahawks. [lower-alpha 1] (Incidentally, in 1985 and 2008, teams with 11–5 records – Denver in 1985, New England in 2008—missed the playoffs.)

Personnel

Staff

1985 Cleveland Browns staff
Front office

Head coaches

Offensive coaches

Defensive coaches

Special teams coaches

Strength and conditioning

[2]

Roster

1985 Cleveland Browns roster
Quarterbacks

Running backs

Wide receivers

Tight ends

Offensive linemen

Defensive linemen

Linebackers

Defensive backs

Special teams

Reserve lists

{{{reserve_lists}}}


Practice squad



Rookies in italics

[3]

Schedule

WeekDateOpponentResultRecordVenueAttendanceRecap
1September 8 St. Louis Cardinals L 24–270–1 Cleveland Municipal Stadium 62,107 Recap
2September 16 Pittsburgh Steelers W 17–71–1Cleveland Municipal Stadium79,042 Recap
3September 22at Dallas Cowboys L 7–201–2 Texas Stadium 61,456 Recap
4September 29at San Diego Chargers W 21–72–2 Jack Murphy Stadium 52,107 Recap
5October 6 New England Patriots W 24–203–2Cleveland Municipal Stadium62,139 Recap
6October 13at Houston Oilers W 21–64–2 Houston Astrodome 38,386 Recap
7October 20 Los Angeles Raiders L 20–214–3Cleveland Municipal Stadium77,928 Recap
8October 27 Washington Redskins L 7–144–4Cleveland Municipal Stadium78,540 Recap
9November 3at Pittsburgh Steelers L 9–104–5 Three Rivers Stadium 51,976 Recap
10November 10at Cincinnati Bengals L 10–274–6 Riverfront Stadium 57,293 Recap
11November 17 Buffalo Bills W 17–75–6Cleveland Municipal Stadium54,478 Recap
12November 24 Cincinnati Bengals W 24–66–6Cleveland Municipal Stadium74,439 Recap
13December 1at New York Giants W 35–337–6 Giants Stadium 66,482 Recap
14December 8at Seattle Seahawks L 13–317–7 Kingdome 58,477 Recap
15December 15 Houston Oilers W 28–218–7Cleveland Municipal Stadium50,793 Recap
16December 22at New York Jets L 10–378–8Giants Stadium59,073 Recap

Note: Intra-division opponents are in bold text.

Postseason

RoundDateOpponent (seed)ResultRecordVenueAttendanceRecap
DivisionalJanuary 4, 1986at Miami Dolphins (2)L 21–240–1 Miami Orange Bowl 75,128 Recap

Standings

AFC Central
WLTPCTDIVCONFPFPASTK
Cleveland Browns (3)880.5004–27–5287294L1
Cincinnati Bengals 790.4384–25–7441437L2
Pittsburgh Steelers 790.4383–36–6379355L1
Houston Oilers 5110.3131–54–8284412L4

Notes

  1. ↑ It has also been subsequently beaten by the 2014 Carolina Panthers and by Washington in 2020.

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References

  1. ↑ Football Outsiders: Skin of the Teeth: The Worst Playoff Teams Ever
  2. ↑ "All-Time Assistant Coaches". ClevelandBrowns.com. Archived from the original on May 22, 2008. Retrieved February 6, 2009.
  3. ↑ "1985 Cleveland Browns Starters, Roster, & Players". Pro-Football-Reference.com .
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