1985 Cincinnati Bengals season

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.

1985 Cincinnati Bengals season
Owner	Paul Brown
General manager	Paul Brown
Head coach	Sam Wyche
Home stadium	Riverfront Stadium
Results
Record	7–9
Division place	2nd AFC Central
Playoffs	Did not qualify
← 1984 Bengals seasons 1986 →

The Bengals hosting the Cowboys in December 1985.

Offseason

NFL draft

Main article: 1985 NFL draft

1985 Cincinnati Bengals draft
Round	Pick	Player	Position	College	Notes
1	13	Eddie Brown *	Wide receiver	Miami (FL)
1	25	Emanuel King	Linebacker	Alabama
2	43	Carl Zander	Linebacker	Tennessee
3	70	Sean Thomas	Defensive back	TCU
4	97	Anthony Tuggle	Defensive back	Nicholls State
5	127	Tony Degrate	Defensive tackle	Texas
5	129	Lee Davis	Defensive back	Mississippi
6	148	Eric Stokes	Offensive tackle	Northeastern
6	154	Keith Lester	Tight end	Murray State
7	172	Kim Locklin	Running back	New Mexico State
7	181	Joe Walter	Offensive tackle	Texas Tech
8	211	Dave Strobel	Linebacker	Iowa
9	238	Keith Cruise	Defensive end	Northwestern
10	265	Bernard King	Linebacker	Syracuse
11	296	Harold Stanfield	Tight end	Mississippi College
12	322	Louis Garza	Offensive tackle	New Mexico State
Made roster    *   Made at least one Pro Bowl during career

^[1]

Personnel

Staff / Coaches

1985 Cincinnati Bengals staff

Front office Owner/president – John Sawyer Owner/general manager – Paul Brown Head coaches Head coach – Sam Wyche Offensive coaches Offensive coordinator – Bruce Coslet Quarterbacks – Bruce Coslet Running backs – Jim Anderson Wide receivers – Bruce Coslet Tight ends – Bill Johnson Offensive line – Jim McNally

Defensive coaches Defensive coordinator – Dick LeBeau Defensive line – Bill Urbanik Linebackers – Dick Selcer Strength and conditioning Strength and Conditioning – Kim Wood

Roster

1985 Cincinnati Bengals roster

Quarterbacks (QB) 14 Ken Anderson  7 Boomer Esiason 15 Turk Schonert Running backs (RB) 40 Charles Alexander 21 James Brooks 36 Stanford Jennings 28 Larry Kinnebrew Wide receivers (WR) 81 Eddie Brown 80 Cris Collinsworth 86 Steve Kreider 88 Mike Martin 42 Clay Pickering Tight ends (TE) 83 M. L. Harris 82 Rodney Holman

Offensive linemen (OL) 74 Brian Blados G 64 Bruce Kozerski C/G 65 Max Montoya G 78 Anthony Muñoz T 75 Bruce Reimers G/T 52 Dave Rimington C 63 Joe Walter T 77 Mike Wilson T Defensive linemen (DL) 61 Jerry Boyarsky NT 79 Ross Browner DE 76 Glen Collins DE 73 Eddie Edwards DE 69 Tim Krumrie NT

Linebackers (LB) 53 Leo Barker ILB 50 Glenn Cameron ILB 51 Tom Dinkel OLB 90 Emanuel King OLB 59 Jeff Schuh OLB 56 Ron Simpkins ILB 57 Reggie Williams OLB 91 Carl Zander ILB Defensive backs (DB) 34 Louis Breeden CB 22 James Griffin FS 20 Ray Horton CB 37 Robert Jackson FS 26 Bobby Kemp SS 25 John Simmons CB 35 Jimmy Turner CB 41 Sam Washington CB Special teams (ST)  3 Jim Breech K 87 Pat McInally P

Reserve 30 Bill Johnson RB (IR) 89 Don Kern TE (IR) 32 Stanley Wilson RB (Susp.) Rookies in italics

Regular season

Schedule

Week	Date	Opponent	Result	Record	Venue	Attendance
1	September 8	Seattle Seahawks	L 24–28	0–1	Riverfront Stadium	51,625
2	September 15	at St. Louis Cardinals	L 27–41	0–2	Busch Memorial Stadium	46,321
3	September 22	San Diego Chargers	L 41–44	0–3	Riverfront Stadium	52,270
4	September 30	at Pittsburgh Steelers	W 37–24	1–3	Three Rivers Stadium	59,541
5	October 6	New York Jets	L 20–29	1–4	Riverfront Stadium	51,785
6	October 13	New York Giants	W 35–30	2–4	Riverfront Stadium	53,112
7	October 20	at Houston Oilers	L 27–44	2–5	Houston Astrodome	35,590
8	October 27	Pittsburgh Steelers	W 26–21	3–5	Riverfront Stadium	55,421
9	November 3	at Buffalo Bills	W 23–17	4–5	Rich Stadium	25,640
10	November 10	Cleveland Browns	W 27–10	5–5	Riverfront Stadium	57,293
11	November 17	at Los Angeles Raiders	L 6–13	5–6	Los Angeles Memorial Coliseum	52,501
12	November 24	at Cleveland Browns	L 6–24	5–7	Cleveland Municipal Stadium	74,439
13	December 1	Houston Oilers	W 45–27	6–7	Riverfront Stadium	46,140
14	December 8	Dallas Cowboys	W 50–24	7–7	Riverfront Stadium	56,936
15	December 15	at Washington Redskins	L 24–27	7–8	RFK Stadium	50,544
16	December 22	at New England Patriots	L 23–34	7–9	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

Quarter	1	2	3	4	Total
Seahawks	7	14	0	7	28
Bengals	0	10	14	0	24

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]

Scoring summary

Quarter Time Drive Team Scoring information Score Plays Yards TOP Seahawks Bengals 1 Seahawks Byron Walker 28-yard touchdown reception from Dave Krieg, Norm Johnson kick good 7 0 2 Bengals James Brooks 15-yard touchdown run, Jim Breech kick good 7 7 2 Seahawks Daryl Turner 6-yard touchdown reception from Dave Krieg, Norm Johnson kick good 14 7 2 Seahawks Charle Young 19-yard touchdown reception from Dave Krieg, Norm Johnson kick good 21 7 2 Bengals 22-yard field goal by Jim Breech 21 10 3 Bengals James Brooks 17-yard touchdown reception from Turk Schonert, Jim Breech kick good 21 17 3 Bengals Larry Kinnebrew 9-yard touchdown run, Jim Breech kick good 21 24 4 Seahawks Curt Warner 11-yard touchdown run, Norm Johnson kick good 28 24 "TOP" = time of possession. For other American football terms, see Glossary of American football. 28 21

Week 2

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

Quarter	1	2	3	4	Total
Bengals	7	7	3	10	27
Cardinals	7	10	10	14	41

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]

Scoring summary

Quarter Time Drive Team Scoring information Score Plays Yards TOP Bengals Cardinals 1 Bengals Stanford Jennings 4-yard touchdown reception from Ken Anderson, Jim Breech kick good 7 0 1 Cardinals Earl Ferrell 27-yard touchdown reception from Neil Lomax, Neil O'Donoghue kick good 7 7 2 Bengals Eddie Brown 44-yard touchdown reception from Ken Anderson, Jim Breech kick good 14 7 2 Cardinals Ottis Anderson 1-yard touchdown run, Neil O'Donoghue kick good 14 14 2 Cardinals 46-yard field goal by Neil O'Donoghue 14 17 3 Cardinals Roy Green 25-yard touchdown reception from Neil Lomax, Neil O'Donoghue kick good 14 24 3 Bengals 33-yard field goal by Jim Breech 17 24 3 Cardinals 49-yard field goal by Neil O'Donoghue 17 27 4 Bengals 47-yard field goal by Jim Breech 20 27 4 Cardinals Stump Mitchell 1-yard touchdown run, Neil O'Donoghue kick good 20 34 4 Cardinals Perry Harrington 1-yard touchdown run, Neil O'Donoghue kick good 20 41 4 Bengals Larry Kinnebrew 29-yard touchdown reception from Boomer Esiason, Jim Breech kick good 27 41 "TOP" = time of possession. For other American football terms, see Glossary of American football. 27 41

Week 3

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

Quarter	1	2	3	4	Total
Chargers	3	17	14	10	44
Bengals	7	6	21	7	41

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]

Scoring summary

Quarter Time Drive Team Scoring information Score Plays Yards TOP Chargers Bengals 1 Chargers 20-yard field goal by Bob Thomas 3 0 1 Bengals Cris Collinsworth 18-yard touchdown reception from Boomer Esiason, Jim Breech kick good 3 7 2 Chargers Eric Sievers 4-yard touchdown reception from Dan Fouts, Bob Thomas kick good 10 7 2 Chargers Eric Sievers 5-yard touchdown reception from Dan Fouts, Bob Thomas kick good 17 7 2 Bengals James Brooks 1-yard touchdown run, Jim Breech kick missed 17 13 2 Chargers 28-yard field goal by Bob Thomas 20 13 3 Bengals Cris Collinsworth 16-yard touchdown reception from Boomer Esiason, Jim Breech kick good 20 20 3 Chargers Pete Holohan 3-yard touchdown reception from Dan Fouts, Bob Thomas kick good 27 20 3 Bengals Larry Kinnebrew 4-yard touchdown run, Jim Breech kick good 27 27 3 Bengals Stanford Jennings 11-yard touchdown reception from Boomer Esiason, Jim Breech kick good 27 34 3 Chargers Lionel James 56-yard touchdown run, Bob Thomas kick good 34 34 4 Bengals Larry Kinnebrew 8-yard touchdown run, Jim Breech kick good 34 41 4 Chargers Lionel James 60-yard touchdown reception from Dan Fouts, Bob Thomas kick good 41 41 4 Chargers 34-yard field goal by Bob Thomas 44 41 "TOP" = time of possession. For other American football terms, see Glossary of American football. 44 41

Week 4

Team	1	2	3	4	Total
• Bengals	0	14	7	16	37
Steelers	0	10	14	0	24

• Date: September 30
• Location: Three Rivers Stadium, Pittsburgh
• Game start: 9:00 p.m. EST
• Game weather: 62 °F (17 °C); wind 7 mph (11 km/h)
• Referee: Pat Haggerty
• Television network: ABC

Scoring summary

Q2		PIT	Lipps 15 yard pass from Malone (Anderson kick)	PIT 7–0
Q2		CIN	Brooks 14 yard run (Breech kick)	Tie 7–7
Q2		CIN	Holman 26 yard pass from Esiason (Breech kick)	CIN 14–7
Q2		PIT	Anderson 29 yard field goal	CIN 14–10
Q3		CIN	Brown 8 yard pass from Esiason (Breech kick)	CIN 21–10
Q3		PIT	Stallworth 17 yard pass from Malone (Anderson kick)	CIN 21–17
Q3		PIT	Erenberg 4 yard pass from Malone (Anderson kick)	PIT 24–21
Q4		CIN	Holman 4 yard pass from Esiason (Breech kick)	CIN 28–24
Q4		CIN	Breech 32 yard field goal	CIN 31–24
Q4		CIN	Brooks 32 yard run (pass failed)	CIN 37–24

Week 6

Team	1	2	3	4	Total
Giants	0	3	17	10	30
• Bengals	14	7	7	7	35

• 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

1		CIN	Cris Collinsworth 16 yard pass from Boomer Esiason (Jim Breech kick)	Bengals 7–0
1		CIN	James Brooks 27 yard pass from Boomer Esiason (Jim Breech kick)	Bengals 14–0
2		CIN	James Brooks 5 yard run (Jim Breech kick)	Bengals 21–0
2		NYG	Jess Atkinson 33 yard field goal	Bengals 21–3
3		NYG	Joe Morris 1 yard run (Jess Atkinson kick)	Bengals 21–10
3		NYG	Jess Atkinson 14 yard run (Jess Atkinson kick)	Bengals 21–17
3		NYG	Jess Atkinson 37 yard field goal	Bengals 21–20
3		CIN	James Griffin 24 yard interception return (Jim Breech kick)	Bengals 28–20
4		CIN	Rodney Holman 5 yard pass from Boomer Esiason (Jim Breech kick)	Bengals 35–20
4		NYG	Jess Atkinson 46 yard field goal	Bengals 35–23
4		NYG	George Adams 24 yard pass from Phil Simms (Jess Atkinson kick)	Bengals 35–30

^[5]

Week 8

Pittsburgh Steelers at Cincinnati Bengals

Quarter	1	2	3	4	Total
Steelers	0	7	0	14	21
Bengals	3	14	9	0	26

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]

Scoring summary

Quarter Time Drive Team Scoring information Score Plays Yards TOP Steelers Bengals 1 Bengals 37-yard field goal by Jim Breech 0 3 2 Bengals Rodney Holman 11-yard touchdown reception from Boomer Esiason, Jim Breech kick good 0 10 2 Bengals Interception returned 57 yards for touchdown by Robert Jackson, Jim Breech kick good 0 17 2 Steelers Louis Lipps 49-yard touchdown reception from David Woodley, Gary Anderson kick good 7 17 3 Bengals 39-yard field goal by Jim Breech 7 20 3 Bengals 40-yard field goal by Jim Breech 7 23 3 Bengals 32-yard field goal by Jim Breech 7 26 4 Steelers Louis Lipps 62-yard punt return for touchdown 14 26 4 Steelers Walter Abercrombie 1-yard touchdown run, Gary Anderson kick good 21 26 "TOP" = time of possession. For other American football terms, see Glossary of American football. 21 26

Standings

AFC Central
view talk edit	W	L	T	PCT	DIV	CONF	PF	PA	STK
Cleveland Browns(3)	8	8	0	.500	4–2	7–5	287	294	L1
Cincinnati Bengals	7	9	0	.438	4–2	5–7	441	437	L2
Pittsburgh Steelers	7	9	0	.438	3–3	6–6	379	355	L1
Houston Oilers	5	11	0	.313	1–5	4–8	284	412	L4

Team leaders

Passing

Player	Att	Comp	Yds	TD	INT	Rating
Boomer Esiason	431	251	3443	27	12	92.3

Rushing

Player	Att	Yds	YPC	Long	TD
James Brooks	192	929	4.8	39	7
Larry Kinnebrew	170	714	4.2	29	9

Receiving

Player	Rec	Yds	Avg	Long	TD
Cris Collinsworth	65	1125	17.3	71	5
James Brooks	55	576	10.3	57	5
Eddie Brown	53	942	17.8	68	8

Defensive

Player	Tackles	Sacks	INTs	FF	FR
Tim Krumrie	96	3.5	0	1	2
Ross Browner	63	9	0	0	2
James Griffin	55	1	7	2	1

Kicking and punting

Player	FGA	FGM	FG%	XPA	XPM	XP%	Points
Jim Breech	33	24	72.7%	50	48	96.0	120

Player	Punts	Yards	Long	Blkd	Avg.
Pat McInally	57	2410	64	1	42.3

Special teams

Player	KR	KRYards	KRAvg	KRLong	KRTD	PR	PRYards	PRAvg	PRLong	PRTD
Mike Martin	48	1104	23.0	45	0	32	268	8.4	26	0

Awards and honors

• Anthony Muñoz, AFC Pro Bowl selection