The 1985 San Francisco 49ers were coming off a Super Bowl run in 1984 that marked them as one of the league’s all-time great champions. It was the franchise’s second Lombardi Trophy in a four-year span, along with another trip to the NFC Championship Game. That’s why a 1985 season that would be a good one by the standards of most anyone else, was a letdown in San Francisco.
Running the ball and defense was ultimately what Los Angeles was all about though. Eric Dickerson was the key to the offense and he ran for over 1,200 yards in spite of a contract holdout that lasted two regular season games. Dickerson ran behind a truly great offensive line. Four lineman made the Pro Bowl, starting with Hall of Famer Jackie Slater and including Kent Hill, Doug Smith and Dennis Harrah.
The 1985 Los Angeles Raiders produced the league’s MVP and looked primed to make a run and at least get to the Super Bowl. Then some inopportune mistakes undid it all and marked the practical end of the Tom Flores era in franchise history.
Midway through 1984, they were falling apart at 1-7 when Schottenheimer got the job in midseason. The team finished on a respectable note, splitting their last eight games and setting the tone for Marty’s first full year.
In addition to the coaching change, the Browns were breaking in a new quarterback. Bernie Kosar, a local high school product who had won a national championship for the Miami Hurricanes in 1983, was in his rookie year
The New York Jets had been a playoff team at the outset of the 1980s, reaching the postseason in 1981-82 and getting to the AFC Championship Game the latter trip. Then head coach Walt Michaels suddenly retired, Joe Walton took over and the Jets promptly went 7-9 the next two seasons. Walton needed to deliver a playoff season and that’s what he did, as the 1985 New York Jets contended all year for the AFC East crown and ultimately got in as a wild-card.
The 1985 Miami Dolphins were in the franchise’s third year with Dan Marino quarterback. The first two years had seen a pair of AFC East titles, a Super Bowl trip and an MVP award. All that was left was to win the Lombardi Trophy itself. The Dolphins didn’t achieve that goal in ’85, but they […]
The franchise had never made the Super Bowl, or even an AFC Championship Game. The last playoff appearance had been in the strike-torn year of 1982. They had undergone a coaching change mid-season in 1984. There was nothing to suggest history in the making, but that’s what the 1985 New England Patriots made, becoming the first team to reach the Super Bowl with three road playoff wins.
The early 1980s aren’t a memorable part of Pittsburgh Steelers lore, not in a franchise that has won six Super Bowls. The early 1980s didn’t provide that, but the Steelers produced three respectable teams that made the playoffs in consecutive years. The 1984 Pittsburgh Steelers concluded that three-year run. GREAT 1980s SPORTS MOMENTSStart reading today. 1984 […]
The Bill Parcells era in New York would be the greatest in the franchise’s Super Bowl era, producing Super Bowl trophies in 1986 & 1990. But after a 3-12-1 start to Parcells’ head coaching career in 1983, the heat was on to produce. The 1984 New York Giants made it into the playoffs and paved […]
The 1984 Los Angeles Raiders were coming off a Super Bowl win and for a half-season it looked like they might pull off a repeat. But they were in a tough division and slipped to a wild-card, then to a quick playoff exit. GREAT 1980s SPORTS MOMENTSStart reading today. Marcus Allen had electrified the nation with […]
The 1984 Seattle Seahawks overcame some unexpected adversity on their way to a big year. Coming off a trip to the AFC Championship Game in 1983, the first under head coach Chuck Knox, Seattle had established itself as a run-first team. Then running back Curt Warner hurt his knee in the season’s opening game, the […]
Dan Marino was one of the great quarterbacks of all-time and maybe even the greatest of the modern era of the NFL. The one knock on him was that he never won a Super Bowl, though he certainly dragged some otherwise bad teams to respectability and the playoffs. And he did reach the Super Bowl […]