1985 Cleveland Browns season

1985 Cleveland Browns season
Head coach	Marty Schottenheimer (2nd season)
General manager	Ernie Accorsi (Since 1985)
Owner	Art Modell (Since 1961)
Home field	Cleveland Municipal Stadium
Results
Record	8–8
Division place	1st AFC Central
Playoff finish	Lost Divisional Playoffs (Dolphins 21–24)

The 1985 Cleveland Browns season was the team's 36th season with the National Football League.

In Marty Schottenheimer's first full year as head coach, the Browns bounced back from a horrible 5–11 season in 1984 to make the playoffs, despite a .500 season. Rookie quarterback Bernie Kosar led the Browns' offense; Ozzie Newsome's 62 receptions earned him a trip to the Pro Bowl; Earnest Byner and Kevin Mack each rushed for over 1,000 yards.

In the Divisional Playoffs, the Browns led the Miami Dolphins 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 named the 1985 Browns as one of the "worst playoff teams ever":^[1]

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, only to watch Dan Marino 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 and Kevin Mack. 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 [quarterback] Bernie Kosar and journeyman Gary Danielson. What that team did very well was play defense and take advantage of a weak division. The Browns swept the 5–11 Oilers 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 Warren Moon comeback.

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

1985 Cleveland Browns staff
	Front office President and Owner – Art Modell Executive Vice President of Football Operations – Ernie Accorsi Head coaches Head Coach – Marty Schottenheimer Offensive coaches Offensive Coordinator – Joe Pendry Quarterbacks – Greg Landry Running Backs – Steve Crosby Receivers – Richard Mann Offensive Line – Howard Mudd			Defensive coaches Defensive Coordinator – Tom Bettis Defensive Line – Tom Pratt Linebackers – Tom Olivadotti Special Assistant – Darvin Wallis Special teams coaches Special Teams – Bill Cowher Strength and conditioning Strength and Conditioning – Dave Redding

^[2]

Roster

1985 Cleveland Browns roster
	Quarterbacks 16 Paul McDonald 18 Gary Danielson 19 Bernie Kosar Running backs 26 Greg Allen 28 Herman Fontenot 30 Boyce Green 33 Curtis Dickey 34 Kevin Mack FB 38 Johnny Davis FB 44 Earnest Byner Wide receivers 80 Willis Adams 83 Fred Banks 84 Glen Young KR 85 Clarence Weathers PR 86 Brian Brennan PR 88 Reggie Langhorne 89 John Jefferson		Tight ends 81 Harry Holt 82 Ozzie Newsome 87 Travis Tucker Offensive linemen 61 Mike Baab C 62 George Lilja G 63 Cody Risien T 68 Robert E. Jackson G 69 Dan Fike G 74 Paul Farren T 75 Bill Contz T 77 Rickey Bolden T		Defensive linemen 72 Dave Puzzuoli NT 78 Carl Hairston DE 79 Bob Golic NT 91 Sam Clancy DE 96 Reggie Camp DE 99 Keith Baldwin DE Linebackers 50 Tom Cousineau ILB 51 Eddie Johnson ILB 55 Curtis Weathers OLB 56 Chip Banks OLB 57 Clay Matthews, Jr. OLB 58 Scott Nicolas ILB		Defensive backs 20 Don Rogers S 22 Felix Wright S 27 Al Gross S 29 Hanford Dixon CB 31 Frank Minnifield CB 37 Chris Rockins S 47 Larry Braziel CB 48 D.D. Hoggard CB Special teams  7 Jeff Gossett P  9 Matt Bahr K Rookies in italics

^[3]

Schedule

Week	Date	Opponent	Result	Attendance
1	September 8, 1985	St. Louis Cardinals	L 27–24	62,107
2	September 16, 1985	Pittsburgh Steelers	W 17–7	79,042
3	September 22, 1985	at Dallas Cowboys	L 20–7	61,456
4	September 29, 1985	at San Diego Chargers	W 21–7	52,107
5	October 6, 1985	New England Patriots	W 24–20	62,139
6	October 13, 1985	at Houston Oilers	W 21–6	38,386
7	October 20, 1985	Los Angeles Raiders	L 21–20	77,928
8	October 27, 1985	Washington Redskins	L 14–7	78,540
9	November 3, 1985	at Pittsburgh Steelers	L 10–9	51,976
10	November 10, 1985	at Cincinnati Bengals	L 27–10	57,293
11	November 17, 1985	Buffalo Bills	W 17–7	54,478
12	November 24, 1985	Cincinnati Bengals	W 24–6	74,439
13	December 1, 1985	at New York Giants	W 35–33	66,482
14	December 8, 1985	at Seattle Seahawks	L 31–13	58,477
15	December 15, 1985	Houston Oilers	W 28–21	50,793
16	December 22, 1985	at New York Jets	L 37–10	59,073

Playoffs

Week	Date	Opponent	Result	Attendance
Divisional	January 4, 1986	at Miami Dolphins	L 24–21	75,128

Standings

AFC Central
	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	1–3	4–8	284	412	L4

References

1. Football Outsiders: Skin of the Teeth: The Worst Playoff Teams Ever
2. "All-Time Assistant Coaches". ClevelandBrowns.com. Archived from the original on May 22, 2008. Retrieved February 6, 2009.
3. http://www.pro-football-reference.com/teams/cle/1985_roster.htm