1985 Los Angeles Raiders season

The 1985 Los Angeles Raiders season was their 26th in the league. They improved upon their previous season's 11–5 record, winning 12 games.^[1] The team qualified for the playoffs for the fourth straight season. Two close victories over Denver towards the end of the year gave Los Angeles the division title, while Denver missed the playoffs despite an 11–5 record. In the AFC Divisional Playoffs, the Raiders lost 27–20 to the New England Patriots.

1985 Los Angeles Raiders season
Owner	Al Davis
General manager	Al Davis
Head coach	Tom Flores
Home stadium	Los Angeles Memorial Coliseum
Results
Record	12–4
Division place	1st AFC West
Playoffs	Lost Divisional Playoffs (vs. Patriots) 20–27
← 1984 Raiders seasons 1986 →

Before the season

Draft

Main article: 1985 NFL draft

1985 Los Angeles Raiders draft
Round	Pick	Player	Position	College	Notes
1	23	Jessie Hester	WR	Florida State
3	79	Tim Moffett	WR	Ole Miss
3	80	Stefon Adams	DB	East Carolina	Played for Raiders in 1986–89
4	107	Jamie Kimmel	LB	Syracuse	Played for Raiders in 1986–87
5	135	Dan Reeder	RB	Delaware
6	143	Rusty Hilger	QB	Oklahoma State
7	186	Kevin Belcher	T	Wisconsin
7	188	Mark Pattison	WR	Washington
7	191	Bret Clark	DB	Nebraska
7	192	Nick Haden	G	Penn State
8	220	Leonard Wingate	DT	South Carolina State
9	246	Chris Sydnor	DB	Penn State
10	275	Reggie McKenzie	LB	Tennessee
10	276	Albert Myres	DB	Tulsa
11	303	Steve Strachan	RB	Boston College
12	332	Raymond Polk	DB	Oklahoma State
Made roster

^[2]

Personnel

Staff

1985 Los Angeles Raiders staff

Front office Owner – Al Davis General Manager – Al Davis Director of Football Operations – Steve Ortmayer Head coaches Head Coach – Tom Flores Offensive coaches Quarterbacks – Larry Kennan Quarterbacks – Tom Walsh Running Backs – Ray Willsey Assistant Running Backs – Terry Robiskie Wide Receivers – Tom Walsh Tight Ends – Bob Mischak Offensive Line – Sam Boghosian Offensive Line – Art Shell

Defensive coaches Defensive Line – Earl Leggett Linebackers – Bob Zeman Defensive Backs – Chet Franklin Defensive Backs – Willie Brown Special teams coaches Special Teams – Steve Ortmayer

Roster

1985 Los Angeles Raiders roster

Quarterbacks (QB) 12 Rusty Hilger  6 Marc Wilson Running backs (RB) 32 Marcus Allen 27 Frank Hawkins 31 Derrick Jensen 33 Kenny King Wide receivers (WR) 21 Cliff Branch 84 Jessie Hester 83 Tim Moffett 85 Dokie Williams Tight ends (TE) 46 Todd Christensen 87 Trey Junkin 81 Andy Parker

Offensive linemen (OL) 50 Dave Dalby C 79 Bruce Davis T 73 Charley Hannah G 74 Shelby Jordan T 70 Henry Lawrence T 60 Curt Marsh G 65 Mickey Marvin G 72 Don Mosebar C Defensive linemen (DL) 94 Elvis Franks DE 99 Sean Jones DE 75 Howie Long DE 71 Bill Pickel NT 93 Greg Townsend DE 98 Mitch Willis NT

Linebackers (LB) 56 Jeff Barnes OLB 53 Rod Martin OLB 54 Reggie McKenzie ILB 55 Matt Millen ILB 57 Jerry Robinson ILB 58 Jack Squirek ILB 91 Brad Van Pelt OLB Defensive backs (DB) 45 James Davis CB 36 Mike Davis SS 37 Lester Hayes CB 22 Mike Haynes CB 26 Vann McElroy FS 23 Odis McKinney FS 43 Sam Seale CB 30 Stacey Toran SS Special teams (ST) 10 Chris Bahr K  8 Ray Guy P 41 Fulton Walker RS

Reserve 44 Stefon Adams CB (IR) 77 Lyle Alzado DE (IR) 88 Rod Barksdale WR (IR) 62 Nick Haden C (IR) 18 Russ Jensen QB (IR) 59 Jamie Kimmel LB (IR) 28 Cleo Montgomery WR (IR) 51 Bob Nelson LB (IR) 89 Mark Pattison WR (IR) 16 Jim Plunkett QB (IR) 86 Jim Smith WR (IR) 39 Steve Strachan RB (IR) 68 Randy Van Divier T (IR) Rookies in italics

Schedule

Week	Date	Opponent	Result	Record	Venue	Attendance	Recap
1	September 8	New York Jets	W 31–0	1–0	Los Angeles Memorial Coliseum	57,123	Recap
2	September 12	at Kansas City Chiefs	L 20–36	1–1	Arrowhead Stadium	72,686	Recap
3	September 22	San Francisco 49ers	L 10–34	1–2	Los Angeles Memorial Coliseum	87,006	Recap
4	September 29	at New England Patriots	W 35–20	2–2	Sullivan Stadium	60,686	Recap
5	October 6	Kansas City Chiefs	W 19–0	3–2	Los Angeles Memorial Coliseum	55,133	Recap
6	October 13	New Orleans Saints	W 23–13	4–2	Los Angeles Memorial Coliseum	48,152	Recap
7	October 20	at Cleveland Browns	W 21–20	5–2	Cleveland Municipal Stadium	77,928	Recap
8	October 28	San Diego Chargers	W 34–21	6–2	Los Angeles Memorial Coliseum	69,297	Recap
9	November 3	at Seattle Seahawks	L 3–33	6–3	Kingdome	64,060	Recap
10	November 10	at San Diego Chargers	L 34–40 (OT)	6–4	Jack Murphy Stadium	58,566	Recap
11	November 17	Cincinnati Bengals	W 13–6	7–4	Los Angeles Memorial Coliseum	52,501	Recap
12	November 24	Denver Broncos	W 31–28 (OT)	8–4	Los Angeles Memorial Coliseum	63,161	Recap
13	December 1	at Atlanta Falcons	W 34–24	9–4	Atlanta–Fulton County Stadium	20,858	Recap
14	December 8	at Denver Broncos	W 17–14 (OT)	10–4	Mile High Stadium	75,042	Recap
15	December 15	Seattle Seahawks	W 13–3	11–4	Los Angeles Memorial Coliseum	77,425	Recap
16	December 23	at Los Angeles Rams	W 16–6	12–4	Anaheim Stadium	66,676	Recap
Note: Intra-division opponents are in bold text.

Playoffs

Round	Date	Opponent (seed)	Result	Venue	Attendance	Recap
Divisional	January 5, 1986	New England Patriots (5)	L 20–27	Los Angeles Memorial Coliseum	88,936	Recap

Season summary

Week 1

See also: 1985 New York Jets season

Team	1	2	3	4	Total
Jets	0	0	0	0	0
• Raiders	7	14	7	3	31

• Date: September 8
• Location: Los Angeles Memorial Coliseum, Los Angeles, California
• Game start: 1:00 p.m.
• Game attendance: 57,123
• Game weather: 69 °F (21 °C), wind 12 mph (19 km/h)
• Referee: Tom Dooley
• TV announcers (NBC): Dick Enberg and Merlin Olsen

Scoring summary

Q1	1:03	LA	Allen 1 yard run (Bahr kick)	LA 7–0
Q2	12:10	LA	D. Williams 14 yard pass from Plunkett (Bahr kick)	LA 14–0
Q2	5:08	LA	Allen 3 yard run (Bahr kick)	LA 21–0
Q3	11:38	LA	Toran 70 yard interception return (Bahr kick)	Raiders 28–0
Q4	8:29	LA	Bahr 20 yard field goal	LA 31–0

• Dokie Williams 5 Rec, 131 Yds

^{[3] [4]}

Week 10 at Chargers

Week Ten: Los Angeles Raiders at San Diego Chargers – Game summary

Quarter	1	2	3	4	OT	Total
Raiders	7	6	14	7	0	34
Chargers	7	3	10	14	6	40

at Jack Murphy Stadium, San Diego, California

• Date: November 10
• Game time: 1:00 p.m. PST
• Game weather: 61 °F (16 °C), relative humidity 56%, wind 10 mph (16 km/h)
• Game attendance: 58,566
• Referee: Red Cashion
• TV announcers (NBC): Don Criqui and Bob Trumpy
• Box score

Game information

First quarter SDG – Wes Chandler 10-yard pass from Dan Fouts (Bob Thomas kick), 4:29. Chargers 7–0. Drive: 2 plays, 16 yards, 0:43. RAI – Jessie Hester 35-yard pass from Marc Wilson (Chris Bahr kick), 3:03. Tied 7–7. Drive: 6 plays, 80 yards, 1:26. Second quarter SDG – Bob Thomas 34-yard field goal, 10:11. Chargers 10–7. Drive: 7 plays, 24 yards, 3:07. RAI – Frank Hawkins 1-yard run (kick blocked), 1:57. Raiders 13–10. Drive: 4 plays, 32 yards, 1:30. Third quarter SDG – Bob Thomas 23-yard field goal, 11:32. Tied 13–13. Drive: 9 plays, 61 yards, 3:28. RAI – Marcus Allen 1-yard run (Chris Bahr kick), 7:11. Raiders 20–13. Drive: 9 plays, 66 yards, 4:21. SDG – Lionel James 34-yard pass from Dan Fouts (Bob Thomas kick), 3:08. Tied 20–20. Drive: 8 plays, 80 yards, 4:03. RAI – Jessie Hester 54-yard pass from Marc Wilson (Chris Bahr kick), 0:59. Raiders 27–20. Drive: 5 plays, 75 yards, 2:09. Fourth quarter SDG – Gary Anderson 21-yard pass from Dan Fouts (Bob Thomas kick), 7:07. Tied 27–27. Drive: 10 plays, 79 yards, 5:07. RAI – Todd Christensen 24-yard pass from Marc Wilson (Chris Bahr kick), 1:49. Raiders 34–27 Drive: 12 plays, 84 yards, 5:18. SDG – Charlie Joiner 14-yard pass from Dan Fouts (Bob Thomas kick), 0:53. Tied 34–34. Drive: 5 plays, 71 yards, 0:56. Overtime SDG – Lionel James 17-yard run, 11:16. Chargers 40–34. Drive: 7 plays, 80 yards, 3:44. Top passers RAI – Marc Wilson – 18/32, 297 yards, 3 TD, 2 INT SDG – Dan Fouts – 26/41, 436 yards, 4 TD, INT Top rushers RAI – Marcus Allen – 28 rushes, 119 yards, TD SDG – Gary Anderson – 16 rushes, 70 yards Top receivers RAI – Todd Christensen – 7 receptions, 112 yards, TD SDG – Lionel James – 11 receptions, 168 yards, TD

Week 14 at Broncos

Week 14: Los Angeles Raiders (9–4) at Denver Broncos (9–4)

Quarter	1	2	3	4	OT	Total
Raiders	0	0	14	0	3	17
Broncos	7	7	0	0	0	14

at Mile High Stadium, Denver, Colorado

• Date: December 8
• Game time: 4:00 p.m. EST
• Game weather: 31 °F (−1 °C)
• Game attendance: 75,042
• Referee: Fred Wyant
• TV announcers (NBC): Dick Enberg and Merlin Olsen
• Box Score, Box Score

Game information

First quarter DEN – James Wright 5-yard pass from John Elway (Rich Karlis kick), 1:27. Broncos 7–0. Drive: Second quarter DEN – Sammy Winder 1-yard run (Rich Karlis kick), 0:30. Broncos 14–0. Drive: Third quarter LA – Todd Christensen 3-yard pass from Marc Wilson (Chris Bahr kick), 8:31. Broncos 14–7. Drive: LA – Marcus Allen 15–yard run (Chris Bahr kick), 4:45. Tie 14–14. Drive: Fourth quarter No scoring Overtime LA – Chris Bahr 26-yard field goal, 10:05. Raiders 17–14. Drive: Top passers LA – Marc Wilson – 13/28, 93 yards, TD, 4 INT DEN – John Elway – 18/36, 158 yards, TD, 3 INT Top rushers LA – Marcus Allen – 25 rushes, 135 yards, TD DEN – Sammy Winder – 14 rushes, 41 yards, TD Top receivers LA – Todd Christensen – 6 receptions, 53 yards, TD DEN – Steve Watson – 5 receptions, 56 yards

Standings

AFC West
view talk edit	W	L	T	PCT	DIV	CONF	PF	PA	STK
Los Angeles Raiders(1)	12	4	0	.750	5–3	9–3	354	308	W6
Denver Broncos	11	5	0	.688	5–3	8–4	380	329	W2
Seattle Seahawks	8	8	0	.500	4–4	6–6	349	303	L2
San Diego Chargers	8	8	0	.500	3–5	7–7	467	435	L1
Kansas City Chiefs	6	10	0	.375	3–5	4–8	317	360	W1

MVP

Running Back Marcus Allen earned the 1985 league MVP with Walter Payton of the Chicago Bears finishing as the runner-up. Allen started all 16 games and caught 67 passes for 2,314 total yards (1,759 rushing yards) and 14 total touchdowns (11 rushing touchdowns). His longest run was 61 yards, his longest reception was 44 yards, and he ran for 4.6 yards per carry. He also completed 1 of 2 passes for 16 yards for zero touchdowns. ^[5]

Pro Bowlers

The 1985 Raiders had four players make it to the Pro Bowl. They were Marcus Allen, Todd Christensen, Mike Haynes, and Howie Long.^[6]