The 1985 New York Giants were a team on the rise under third-year head coach Bill Parcells. For the second straight year, they made the postseason and advanced. And for the second straight year, only running into a great Super Bowl champion derailed them.
Tom Landry was a civic icon in Dallas, having been the only head coach the Cowboys had ever known since their inception in 1960. He won two Super Bowls, reached three others and made the franchise a playoff perennial. The 1985 Dallas Cowboys were his last team to reach the postseason.
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.
John Elway’s Broncos were coming off consecutive playoff seasons in 1983-84, and they were on the threshold of an AFC dynasty, one that would reach three Super Bowls between 1986-89. The 1985 Denver Broncos were sort of dropped in the middle. They missed the playoffs due to a couple heartbreaking losses, but also finished 11-5 and only the weird balance of power in the AFC cost them a postseason spot.
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 1985 Washington Redskins were a “bridge” team in the Joe Gibbs era. After the success of 1982-84, with three straight NFC East titles, two NFC crowns and one Super Bowl trophy, the ’85 Redskins missed the playoffs. But they finished the season strong and set the stage for a renewal that would soon result in another Super Bowl victory.
The 1985 Chicago Bears came off their 1984 run to the NFC Championship Game knowing they needed to keep quarterback Jim McMahon mostly healthy. They not only did that, but their already great defense rose to new levels of dominance and the Bears absolutely owned the 1985 NFL season from start to finish