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1985 Miami Dolphins season

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1985 Miami Dolphins season
OwnerJoe Robbie
General managerMike Robbie
Head coachDon Shula
Home fieldMiami Orange Bowl
Results
Record12–4
Division place1st AFC East
Playoff finishWon Divisional Playoffs
(vs. Browns) 24–21
Lost AFC Championship
(vs. Patriots) 14–31
Pro Bowlers4
QB Dan Marino
WR Mark Clayton
G Roy Foster
C Dwight Stephenson

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. It was the first season since their undefeated 1972 season without offensive lineman Ed Newman.

Due to Dan Marino's offseason holdout, and an injury to receiver Mark Duper, the Dolphins were only 5–4 through Week 9, and in third place in the AFC East, behind the 7–2 Jets and 6–3 Patriots. Their 220 points scored through Week 9 were fifth in the league,[2] and 85 points fewer, than in 1984 at the same point in the season.[3]

The Dolphins righted the ship, however, and won their final seven games, including an upset of the then-undefeated Chicago Bears in a Week 13 Monday Night contest. This was the last time until 2021 that the Dolphins had won 7 games in a row. Miami won the division and defeated the AFC Central champion Cleveland Browns 24–21 in their first playoff game. Their season would end with a 31–14 home loss to division rival New England in the AFC Championship Game.

Off-season

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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.

Draft

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Main article: 1985 NFL draft
1985 Miami Dolphins draft
Round Pick Player Position College Notes
1 27 Lorenzo Hampton  Running back Florida
3 65 George Little  Defensive tackle Iowa
3 83 Alex Moyer  Linebacker Northwestern
4 91 Mike Smith  Cornerback UTEP
4 111 Jeff Dellenbach  Offensive tackle Wisconsin
6 145 George Shorthose  Wide receiver Missouri
6 167 Ron Davenport  Fullback Louisville
7 195 Fuad Reveiz *  Kicker Tennessee
8 223 Dan Sharp  Tight end TCU
9 251 Adam Hinds  Defensive back Oklahoma State
10 279 Mike Pendleton  Defensive back Indiana
11 307 Mike Jones  Running back Tulane
12 335 Ray Noble  Defensive back California
      Made roster    *   Made at least one Pro Bowl during career

Undrafted free agents

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1985 Undrafted Free Agents of note
Player Position College
Ray Condren Running back Gettysburg
Robert Weir Defensive end SMU
Mike White Center Alabama

Personnel

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Staff

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1985 Miami Dolphins staff

Front office

Head coaches

Offensive coaches

Defensive coaches

Special teams coaches

Strength and conditioning

Roster

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1985 Miami Dolphins final roster
Quarterbacks

Running backs

Wide receivers

Tight ends

Offensive linemen

Defensive linemen

Linebackers

Defensive backs

Special teams

Reserve lists


Rookies in italics

Regular season

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Schedule

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

Note: Intra-division opponents are in bold text.

Week 13

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Chicago Bears (12–0) at Miami Dolphins (8–4)
Period 1 2 34Total
Bears 7 3 14024
Dolphins 10 21 7038

at Orange Bowl • Miami, Florida

  • Date: December 2
  • Game time: 9:00 p.m. EST
  • Game weather: 76 °F (24 °C) • Wind 8 mph (13 km/h)
  • Referee: Gordon McCarter
  • TV announcers (ABC): Frank Gifford, Joe Namath, OJ Simpson
  • Pro-Football-Reference.com
Game information

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

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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

Final roster

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1985 Miami Dolphins final roster
Quarterbacks

Running backs

Wide receivers

Tight ends

Offensive linemen

Defensive linemen

Linebackers

Defensive backs

Special teams

Reserve lists


Rookies in italics
 45 active, 6 inactive, 0 practice squad

Player stats

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Passing

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

Playoffs

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Schedule

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Round Date Opponent Result Venue Attendance
Divisional January 4 Cleveland Browns W 24–21 Miami Orange Bowl 75,128
AFC Championship Game January 12 New England Patriots L 14–31 Miami Orange Bowl 74,978

AFC divisional playoff

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

at Miami Orange Bowl, Miami, Florida

The game is known as 'Marino's 18-point comeback.'

AFC Championship Game

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New England Patriots 31, Miami Dolphins 14
Period 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

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  • Dan Marino, 1985 1st Team All-Pro and AFC Pro Bowl selection
  • Mark Duper, franchise record, most receiving yards in one game, 217 yards on November 10.[5]

References

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  1. ^ Ferraro, Michael X.; Veneziano, John (2007). Numbelievable!. Chicago: Triumph Books. p. 105. 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, ISBN 0-7611-2480-2, p. 60.
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