# 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 and appeared in the AFC Championship Game. It was the first season since their undefeated 1972 season without offensive lineman Ed Newman.
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, and 85 points fewer, than in 1984 at the same point in the season.
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. This, and an injury to wide receiver Mark Duper, got the Dolphins out to a slow start.

## Draft

1985 Miami Dolphins draft :
| Round | Pick | Player | Position | College |
| 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 |

## 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

| 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 | Drive | Drive | Team | Scoring information | Score | Score |
| Quarter | Time | Plays | Yards | TOP | Team | Scoring information | 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. | "TOP" = time of possession. For other American football terms, see Glossary of American football. | "TOP" = time of possession. For other American football terms, see Glossary of American football. | "TOP" = time of possession. For other American football terms, see Glossary of American football. | "TOP" = time of possession. For other American football terms, see Glossary of American football. | "TOP" = time of possession. For other American football terms, see Glossary of American football. | "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 :
| viewtalkedit | 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 |

### 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

| 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

| 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.