1985 Miami Dolphins season

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.

1985 Miami Dolphins season
Owner	Joe Robbie
General manager	Mike Robbie
Head coach	Don Shula
Home stadium	Miami Orange Bowl
Results
Record	12–4
Division place	1st AFC East
Playoffs	Won Divisional Playoffs (vs. Browns) 24–21 Lost AFC Championship (vs. Patriots) 14–31
Pro Bowlers	4 QB Dan Marino WR Mark Clayton G Roy Foster C Dwight Stephenson
← 1984 Dolphins seasons 1986 →

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

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

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

1985 undrafted free agents of note

Player	Position	College
Ray Condren	Running back	Gettysburg
Robert Weir	Defensive end	SMU
Mike White	Center	Alabama

Personnel

Staff / Coaches

1985 Miami Dolphins staff

Front office Owner – Joe Robbie General manager – Mike Robbie Head coaches Head coach – Don Shula Offensive coaches Quarterbacks – David Shula Running backs – Carl Taseff Wide receivers – David Shula Offensive line – John Sandusky

Defensive coaches Defensive coordinator – Chuck Studley Defensive line – Mike Scarry Linebackers – Bob Matheson Secondary – Mel Phillips Special teams coaches Special teams – Tom Keane Strength and conditioning Strength and conditioning – Junior Wade

Roster

1985 Miami Dolphins roster

Quarterbacks (QB) 13 Dan Marino 10 Don Strock Running backs (RB) 34 Woody Bennett 23 Joe Carter 30 Ron Davenport 27 Lorenzo Hampton 22 Tony Nathan 32 Tommy Vigorito Wide receivers (WR) 83 Mark Clayton 85 Mark Duper 11 Jim Jensen 89 Nat Moore Tight ends (TE) 84 Bruce Hardy 87 Dan Johnson 80 Joe Rose

Offensive linemen (OL) 76 Steve Clark G 65 Jeff Dellenbach T 61 Roy Foster G 79 Jon Giesler T 74 Cleveland Green T 63 Larry Lee G/C 72 Ronnie Lee T/G 57 Dwight Stephenson C Defensive linemen (DL) 70 Bill Barnett NT 75 Doug Betters DE 58 Kim Bokamper DE 71 Mike Charles NT 99 George Little DE 91 Mack Moore DE

Linebackers (LB) 51 Mark Brown ILB 53 Jay Brophy ILB 59 Bob Brudzinski OLB 55 Hugh Green OLB 54 Alex Moyer OLB 52 Robin Sendlein OLB 50 Jackie Shipp ILB Defensive backs (DB) 47 Glenn Blackwood SS 42 Lyle Blackwood FS 43 Bud Brown FS 49 William Judson CB 44 Paul Lankford CB 28 Don McNeal CB 18 Mike Smith CB/S Special teams (ST)  7 Fuad Reveiz K  4 Reggie Roby P

Reserve 73 Bob Baumhower NT (IR) 56 Charles Bowser LB (IR) 88 Vince Heflin WR (IR) 40 Mike Kozlowski S (IR) 64 Ed Newman G (IR) 42 Robert Sowell CB (IR) 60 Jeff Toews G (IR) Rookies in italics

Regular season

Schedule

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

Chicago Bears (12–0) at Miami Dolphins (8–4)

Quarter	1	2	3	4	Total
Bears	7	3	14	0	24
Dolphins	10	21	7	0	38

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
Bears Steve Fuller 11/21, 169 Yds, TD, 2 INT Walter Payton 23 Rush, 121 Yds Willie Gault 2 Rec, 79 Yds Dolphins Dan Marino 14/27, 270 Yds, 3 TD, INT Tony Nathan 15 Rush, 74 Yds Mark Duper 5 Rec, 107 Yds

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.

Scoring summary

Quarter Time Drive Team Scoring information Score Plays Yards TOP CHI MIA 1 Dolphins Moore 33-yard touchdown reception from Marino, Reveiz kick good 0 7 1 Bears Fuller 1-yard touchdown run, Butler kick good 7 7 1 Dolphins 47-yard field goal by Reveiz 7 10 2 Dolphins Davenport 1-yard touchdown run, Reveiz kick good 7 17 2 Bears 30-yard field goal by Butler 10 17 2 Dolphins Davenport 1-yard touchdown run, Reveiz kick good 10 24 2 Dolphins Moore 6-yard touchdown reception from Marino, Reveiz kick good 10 31 3 Bears Fuller 1-yard touchdown run, Butler kick good 17 31 4 Dolphins Clayton 42-yard touchdown reception from Marino, Reveiz kick good 17 38 4 Bears Margerum 19-yard touchdown reception from Fuller, Butler kick good 24 38 "TOP" = time of possession. For other American football terms, see Glossary of American football. 24 38

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

AFC East
view talk edit	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

1985 Miami Dolphins roster

Quarterbacks (QB) 13 Dan Marino 10 Don Strock Running backs (RB) 34 Woody Bennett FB 20 Joe Carter RB 30 Ron Davenport FB 27 Lorenzo Hampton RB 22 Tony Nathan RB 32 Tommy Vigorito RB Wide receivers (WR) 83 Mark Clayton 85 Mark Duper 11 Jim Jensen 89 Nat Moore Tight ends (TE) 84 Bruce Hardy 87 Dan Johnson 80 Joe Rose

Offensive linemen (OL) 76 Steve Clark G 65 Jeff Dellenbach C/G 61 Roy Foster G 79 Jon Giesler T 74 Cleveland Green T 63 Larry Lee G 72 Ronnie Lee G/T 57 Dwight Stephenson C Defensive linemen (DL) 75 Doug Betters DE 58 Kim Bokamper DE 71 Mike Charles NT 99 George Little DE 71 Mike Charles DE

Linebackers (LB) 53 Jay Brophy MLB 51 Mark Brown ILB 59 Bob Brudzinski OLB 55 Hugh Green OLB 54 Alex Moyer OLB 52 Robin Sendlein ILB 50 Jackie Shipp ILB Defensive backs (DB) 47 Glenn Blackwood SS 42 Lyle Blackwood FS 43 Bud Brown SS 49 William Judson CB 40 Mike Kozlowski FS 44 Paul Lankford CB 28 Don McNeal CB 18 Mike Smith DB Special teams (ST) 7 Fuad Reveiz K 4 Reggie Roby P

Reserve 70 Bill Barnett DE (IR) 73 Bob Baumhower NT (IR) 56 Charles Bowser OLB (IR) 82 Duriel Harris WR (IR) 64 Ed Newman G (IR) 60 Jeff Toews C (IR) Rookies in italics 45 active, 6 reserve, 0 practice squad

Player stats

Passing

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

Playoffs

Schedule

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

Miami Dolphins 24, Cleveland Browns 21

Quarter	1	2	3	4	Total
Browns	7	7	7	0	21
Dolphins	3	0	14	7	24

at Miami Orange Bowl, Miami, Florida

• Game time: 12:30 p.m. EST
• Game weather: 77 °F (25 °C), mostly cloudy
• Game attendance: 75,128
• Referee: Pat Haggerty
• TV announcers (NBC): Don Criqui and Bob Trumpy

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

AFC Championship Game

New England Patriots 31, Miami Dolphins 14

Quarter	1	2	3	4	Total
Patriots	3	14	7	7	31
Dolphins	0	7	0	7	14

at Miami Orange Bowl, Miami, Florida

• Game time: 4:00 p.m. EST
• Game weather: 65 °F (18 °C), rain
• Game attendance: 74,978
• Referee: Gene Barth
• TV announcers (NBC): Dick Enberg and Merlin Olsen

In an upset, the Patriots converted 6 Dolphins turnovers into 24 points.

Awards and honors

• 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]