The 1985
Cleveland Browns
The Cleveland Browns are a professional American football team based in Cleveland. Named after original coach and co-founder Paul Brown, they compete in the National Football League (NFL) as a member club of the American Football Conference ( ...
season was the team's 36th season with the
National Football League
The National Football League (NFL) is a professional American football league that consists of 32 teams, divided equally between the American Football Conference (AFC) and the National Football Conference (NFC). The NFL is one of the ...
.
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
Bernard Joseph Kosar Jr. (born November 25, 1963) is a former American football quarterback who played collegiately at the University of Miami where he led the team to a national championship in 1983. He subsequently played professionally in ...
led the Browns' offense;
Ozzie Newsome
Ozzie Newsome Jr. (born March 16, 1956) is an American former professional football player and executive who is the executive vice president of player personnel of the Baltimore Ravens of the National Football League (NFL). Newsome was a tight e ...
's 62 receptions earned him a trip to the
Pro Bowl
The National Football League All-Star Game (1939–1942), Pro Bowl (1951–2022), or Pro Bowl Games (starting in 2023) is an annual event held by the National Football League (NFL) featuring the league's star players.
The format has changed thro ...
;
Earnest Byner
Earnest Alexander Byner (born September 15, 1962) is a former American football running back in the National Football League (NFL). He is now the running back coach of Out-of-Door Academy.
Playing career East Carolina University (1980–83 ...
and
Kevin Mack
James Kevin Mack (born August 9, 1962) is a former professional American football player who played fullback.
Early life
Mack was born in Kings Mountain, North Carolina. He began playing football as a youth in Pop Warner football games, but ...
each
rushed for over 1,000 yards.
In the Divisional Playoffs, the Browns led the
Miami Dolphins
The Miami Dolphins are a professional American football team based in the Miami metropolitan area. They compete in the National Football League (NFL) as a member team of the league's American Football Conference (AFC) East division. The team pla ...
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
Football Outsiders (FO) is a website started in July 2003 which focuses on advanced statistical analysis of the NFL. The site is run by a staff of regular writers, who produce a series of weekly columns using both the site's in-house statistics ...
'' named the 1985 Browns as one of the "worst playoff teams ever":
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
The playoffs, play-offs, postseason or finals of a sports league are a competition played after the regular season by the top competitors to determine the league champion or a similar accolade. Depending on the league, the playoffs may be eithe ...
, only to watch
Dan Marino
Daniel Constantine Marino Jr. (born September 15, 1961) is an American former football quarterback who played in the National Football League (NFL) for 17 seasons with the Miami Dolphins. After a successful college career at Pittsburgh and be ...
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
Earnest Alexander Byner (born September 15, 1962) is a former American football running back in the National Football League (NFL). He is now the running back coach of Out-of-Door Academy.
Playing career East Carolina University (1980–83 ...
and
Kevin Mack
James Kevin Mack (born August 9, 1962) is a former professional American football player who played fullback.
Early life
Mack was born in Kings Mountain, North Carolina. He began playing football as a youth in Pop Warner football games, but ...
. 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
uarterbackBernie Kosar
Bernard Joseph Kosar Jr. (born November 25, 1963) is a former American football quarterback who played collegiately at the University of Miami where he led the team to a national championship in 1983. He subsequently played professionally in ...
and journeyman
Gary Danielson
Gary Dennis Danielson (born September 10, 1951) is an American college football commentator and former professional American football player. Danielson was a quarterback in the National Football League (NFL). He played for the Detroit Lions from ...
. What that team did very well was play defense and take advantage of a weak division. The Browns swept the 5–11
Oilers
Oiler may refer to:
Ships
* Replenishment oiler
* Tanker (ship)
Sports
* Cape Breton Oilers, a former American Hockey League team
* City Oilers, Ugandan basketball team
* Edmonton Oilers, a National Hockey League team based in Edmonton, Alberta, ...
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
Harold Warren Moon (born November 18, 1956) is an American former football quarterback who played professionally for 23 seasons. He spent the majority of his career with the Houston Oilers of the National Football League (NFL) and the Edmonto ...
.
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. (Incidentally, in 1985 and 2008, teams with 11–5 records –
Denver in 1985,
New England in 2008—missed the playoffs.)
Personnel
Staff
Roster
Schedule
Note: Intra-division opponents are in bold text.
Postseason
Standings
Notes
References
External links
1985 Cleveland Brownsat Pro Football Reference
1985 Cleveland Browns Statisticsat jt-sw.com
1985 Cleveland Browns Scheduleat jt-sw.com
at DatabaseFootball.com
Cleveland
Cleveland ( ), officially the City of Cleveland, is a city in the U.S. state of Ohio and the county seat of Cuyahoga County. Located in the northeastern part of the state, it is situated along the southern shore of Lake Erie, across the U.S. ...
Cleveland Browns seasons
AFC Central championship seasons
Cleveland
Cleveland ( ), officially the City of Cleveland, is a city in the U.S. state of Ohio and the county seat of Cuyahoga County. Located in the northeastern part of the state, it is situated along the southern shore of Lake Erie, across the U.S. ...
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