# 1985 Houston Oilers season

The 1985 Houston Oilers season was the 26th season overall and 16th with the National Football League. The team improved upon their previous season's output of 3–13, winning five games, but failed to qualify for the playoffs for the fifth consecutive season.

## Offseason
### NFL draft

1985 Houston Oilers draft :
| Round | Pick | Player | Position | College |
| 1 | 3 | Ray Childress * | Defensive tackle | Texas A&M |
| 1 | 11 | Richard Johnson | Defensive back | Wisconsin |
| 2 | 36 | Richard Byrd | Defensive end | Southern Miss |
| 3 | 82 | Mike Kelley | Center | Notre Dame |
| 4 | 87 | Tom Briehl | Linebacker | Stanford |
| 5 | 133 | Frank Bush | Linebacker | NC State |
| 5 | 138 | Lee Johnson | Punter | BYU |
| 6 | 153 | Joe Krakoski | Linebacker | Washington |
| 7 | 170 | Mike Akiu | Wide receiver | Hawaii |
| 8 | 199 | Chuck Thomas | Center | Oklahoma |
| 9 | 226 | Steve Tasker * | Wide receiver | Northwestern |
| 10 | 255 | Mike Golic | Defensive tackle | Notre Dame |
| 11 | 281 | Willie Drewrey | Wide receiver | West Virginia |
| 12 | 311 | Mark Vonder Haar | Defensive tackle | Minnesota |
| Made roster * Made at least one Pro Bowl during career ||||||

### Undrafted free agents

1985 Undrafted Free Agents of note :
| Player | Position | College |
| Donnie Campbell | Quarterback | Kansas State |
| Jack Weil | Punter | Wyoming |

## Schedule

| Week | Date | Opponent | Result | Record | Venue | Attendance |
| 1 | September 8 | Miami Dolphins | W 26–23 | 1–0 | Astrodome | 47,656 |
| 2 | September 15 | at Washington Redskins | L 16–13 | 1–1 | RFK Stadium | 53,553 |
| 3 | September 22 | at Pittsburgh Steelers | L 0–20 | 1–2 | Three Rivers Stadium | 58,752 |
| 4 | September 29 | Dallas Cowboys | L 10–17 | 1–3 | Astrodome | 49,686 |
| 5 | October 6 | at Denver Broncos | L 20–31 | 1–4 | Mile High Stadium | 74,699 |
| 6 | October 13 | Cleveland Browns | L 6–21 | 1–5 | Astrodome | 38,386 |
| 7 | October 20 | Cincinnati Bengals | W 44–27 | 2–5 | Astrodome | 35,590 |
| 8 | October 27 | at St. Louis Cardinals | W 20–10 | 3–5 | Busch Memorial Stadium | 43,190 |
| 9 | November 3 | Kansas City Chiefs | W 23–20 | 4–5 | Astrodome | 41,238 |
| 10 | November 10 | at Buffalo Bills | L 0–20 | 4–6 | Rich Stadium | 21,881 |
| 11 | November 17 | Pittsburgh Steelers | L 7–30 | 4–7 | Astrodome | 45,977 |
| 12 | November 24 | San Diego Chargers | W 37–35 | 5–7 | Astrodome | 34,336 |
| 13 | December 1 | at Cincinnati Bengals | L 27–45 | 5–8 | Riverfront Stadium | 46,140 |
| 14 | December 8 | New York Giants | L 14–35 | 5–9 | Astrodome | 36,576 |
| 15 | December 15 | at Cleveland Browns | L 21–28 | 5–10 | Cleveland Municipal Stadium | 50,793 |
| 16 | December 22 | at Indianapolis Colts | L 16–34 | 5–11 | Hoosier Dome | 55,818 |
Note: Intra-division opponents are in bold text.

## Standings

AFC Central :
| viewtalkedit | 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 |