1985 Cincinnati Bengals season

Last updated

1985 Cincinnati Bengals season
Cincinnati Bengals wordmark (1971-1996).png
Owner Paul Brown
General manager Paul Brown
Head coach Sam Wyche
Home field Riverfront Stadium
Results
Record7–9
Division place2nd AFC Central
Playoff finishDid not qualify
The Bengals hosting the Cowboys in December 1985. 1986 Jeno's Pizza - 40 - Larry Kinnebrew.jpg
The Bengals hosting the Cowboys in December 1985.

The 1985 season was the Cincinnati Bengals' 16th season in the National Football League (NFL), their 18th overall, and their second under head coach Sam Wyche. Wide receiver Isaac Curtis, a premier Bengal for 12 years, retired shortly before training camp opened. Second-year quarterback Boomer Esiason replaced Ken Anderson. The Bengals set a club scoring record with 441 points.

Contents

Offseason

NFL Draft

1985 Cincinnati Bengals draft
RoundPickPlayerPositionCollegeNotes
113 Eddie Brown  *  Wide receiver Miami (FL)
125 Emanuel King   Linebacker Alabama
243 Carl Zander  Linebacker Tennessee
370Sean Thomas  Defensive back TCU
497 Anthony Tuggle  Defensive back Nicholls State
5127 Tony Degrate   Defensive tackle Texas
5129Lee Davis Defensive back Mississippi
6148 Eric Stokes   Offensive tackle Northeastern
6154Keith Lester  Tight end Murray State
7172Kim Locklin  Running back New Mexico State
7181 Joe Walter  Offensive tackle Texas Tech
8211Dave Strobel Linebacker Iowa
9238Keith Cruise  Defensive end Northwestern
10265Bernard King Linebacker Syracuse
11296Harold Stanfield Tight end Mississippi College
12322Louis Garza Offensive tackleNew Mexico State
      Made roster    *   Made at least one Pro Bowl during career

[1]

Personnel

Staff

1985 Cincinnati Bengals staff

Front office

  • Owner/president – John Sawyer
  • Owner/general manager – Paul Brown

Head coaches

Offensive coaches

Defensive coaches


Strength and conditioning

  • Strength and Conditioning – Kim Wood

Roster

1985 Cincinnati Bengals roster
Quarterbacks

Running backs

Wide receivers

Tight ends

Offensive linemen

Defensive linemen

Linebackers

Defensive backs

Special teams

Reserve lists


Practice squad



Rookies in italics

Regular season

Schedule

WeekDateOpponentResultRecordVenueAttendance
1September 8 Seattle Seahawks L 24–280–1 Riverfront Stadium 51,625
2September 15at St. Louis Cardinals L 27–410–2 Busch Memorial Stadium 46,321
3September 22 San Diego Chargers L 41–440–3Riverfront Stadium52,270
4September 30at Pittsburgh Steelers W 37–241–3 Three Rivers Stadium 59,541
5October 6 New York Jets L 20–291–4Riverfront Stadium51,785
6October 13 New York Giants W 35–302–4Riverfront Stadium53,112
7October 20at Houston Oilers L 27–442–5 Houston Astrodome 35,590
8October 27 Pittsburgh Steelers W 26–213–5Riverfront Stadium55,421
9November 3at Buffalo Bills W 23–174–5 Rich Stadium 25,640
10November 10 Cleveland Browns W 27–105–5Riverfront Stadium57,293
11November 17at Los Angeles Raiders L 6–135–6 Los Angeles Memorial Coliseum 52,501
12November 24at Cleveland Browns L 6–245–7 Cleveland Municipal Stadium 74,439
13December 1 Houston Oilers W 45–276–7Riverfront Stadium46,140
14December 8 Dallas Cowboys W 50–247–7Riverfront Stadium56,936
15December 15at Washington Redskins L 24–277–8 RFK Stadium 50,544
16December 22at New England Patriots L 23–347–9 Sullivan Stadium 57,953

Note: Intra-division opponents are in bold text.

Game summaries

Week 1

Week 1: Seattle Seahawks at Cincinnati Bengals – Game summary
Period1234Total
Seahawks7140728
Bengals01014024

at Riverfront Stadium, Cincinnati

  • Date: September 8, 1985
  • Game time: 1:00 pm EST
  • Game weather: 79 °F (26 °C), wind 8 miles per hour (13 km/h; 7.0 kn)
  • Game attendance: 51,625
  • Referee: Fred Silva
  • TV announcers (NBC): Don Criqui (play by play), Bob Trumpy (color commentator)
  • [2]

Week 2

Week 2: Cincinnati Bengals at St. Louis Cardinals – Game summary
Period1234Total
Bengals7731027
Cardinals710101441

at Busch Stadium, St. Louis

  • Date: September 15, 1985
  • Game time: 1:00pm CST
  • Game weather: 66 °F (19 °C), wind 8 miles per hour (13 km/h; 7.0 kn)
  • Game attendance: 46,321
  • [3]

Week 3

Week 3: San Diego Chargers at Cincinnati Bengals – Game summary
Period1234Total
Chargers317141044
Bengals7621741

at Riverfront Stadium, Cincinnati

  • Date: September 22, 1985
  • Game time: 1:00pm EST
  • Game weather: 71 °F (22 °C), wind 9 miles per hour (14 km/h; 7.8 kn)
  • Game attendance: 52,270
  • Referee: Gene Barth
  • TV announcers (NBC): Bob Stone and Bob Kuechenberg
  • [4]


Week 4

1234Total
• Bengals01471637
Steelers01014024
Scoring summary
Q2PIT Lipps 15 yard pass from Malone (Anderson kick)PIT 7–0
Q2CIN Brooks 14 yard run (Breech kick)Tie 7–7
Q2CIN Holman 26 yard pass from Esiason (Breech kick)CIN 14–7
Q2PITAnderson 29 yard field goalCIN 14–10
Q3CIN Brown 8 yard pass from Esiason (Breech kick)CIN 21–10
Q3PIT Stallworth 17 yard pass from Malone (Anderson kick)CIN 21–17
Q3PIT Erenberg 4 yard pass from Malone (Anderson kick)PIT 24–21
Q4CINHolman 4 yard pass from Esiason (Breech kick)CIN 28–24
Q4CINBreech 32 yard field goalCIN 31–24
Q4CINBrooks 32 yard run (pass failed)CIN 37–24

Week 6

1234Total
Giants03171030
• Bengals1477735
  • Date: October 13
  • Location: Riverfront Stadium, Cincinnati
  • Game start: 1:00 p.m.
  • Game weather: 72 °F (22 °C), wind 11 mph (18 km/h)
  • Referee: Jim Tunney
  • TV announcers (CBS): Pat Summerall and John Madden
Scoring summary
1CIN Cris Collinsworth 16 yard pass from Boomer Esiason (Jim Breech kick)Bengals 7–0
1CIN James Brooks 27 yard pass from Boomer Esiason (Jim Breech kick)Bengals 14–0
2CINJames Brooks 5 yard run (Jim Breech kick)Bengals 21–0
2NYG Jess Atkinson 33 yard field goalBengals 21–3
3NYG Joe Morris 1 yard run (Jess Atkinson kick)Bengals 21–10
3NYGJess Atkinson 14 yard run (Jess Atkinson kick)Bengals 21–17
3NYGJess Atkinson 37 yard field goalBengals 21–20
3CIN James Griffin 24 yard interception return (Jim Breech kick)Bengals 28–20
4CIN Rodney Holman 5 yard pass from Boomer Esiason (Jim Breech kick)Bengals 35–20
4NYGJess Atkinson 46 yard field goalBengals 35–23
4NYG George Adams 24 yard pass from Phil Simms (Jess Atkinson kick)Bengals 35–30

[5]

Week 8

Pittsburgh Steelers at Cincinnati Bengals
Period1234Total
Steelers0701421
Bengals3149026

at Riverfront Stadium, Cincinnati

  • Date: October 27, 1985
  • Game time: 4:00 pm EST
  • Game weather: 59 °F (15 °C), wind 4 miles per hour (6.4 km/h; 3.5 kn)
  • Game attendance: 55,241
  • Referee: Bob McElwee
  • TV announcers (NBC): Don Criqui (play by play), Bob Trumpy (color commentator)
  • [6]

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

Team leaders

Passing

PlayerAttCompYdsTDINTRating
Boomer Esiason 4312513443271292.3

Rushing

PlayerAttYdsYPCLongTD
James Brooks 1929294.8397
Larry Kinnebrew 1707144.2299

Receiving

PlayerRecYdsAvgLongTD
Cris Collinsworth 65112517.3715
James Brooks 5557610.3575
Eddie Brown 5394217.8688

Defensive

PlayerTacklesSacksINTsFFFR
Tim Krumrie 963.5012
Ross Browner 639002
James Griffin 551721

Kicking and punting

PlayerFGAFGMFG%XPAXPMXP%Points
Jim Breech 332472.7%504896.0120
PlayerPuntsYardsLongBlkdAvg.
Pat McInally 57241064142.3

Special teams

PlayerKRKRYardsKRAvgKRLongKRTDPRPRYardsPRAvgPRLongPRTD
Mike Martin 48110423.0450322688.4260

Awards and honors

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References

  1. ↑ "1985 Cincinnati Bengals draftees". Pro-Football-Reference.com. Retrieved October 6, 2014.
  2. ↑ "Seattle Seahawks at Cincinnati Bengals - September 8th, 1985". pro-football-reference.com. Pro Football Reference. Retrieved December 8, 2023.
  3. ↑ "Cincinnati Bengals at St. Louis Cardinals - September 15th, 1985". pro-football-reference.com. Pro Football Reference. Retrieved December 8, 2023.
  4. ↑ "San Diego Chargers at Cincinnati Bengals - September 22nd, 1985". pro-football-reference.com. Pro Football Reference. Retrieved January 21, 2024.
  5. ↑ Pro-Football-Reference.com
  6. ↑ Pro Football Reference ; Pittsburgh Steelers at Cincinnati Bengals – October 27th, 1985
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