1985 Denver Broncos season

1985 Denver Broncos season
OwnerPat Bowlen
General managerJohn Beake
Head coachDan Reeves
Home stadiumMile High Stadium
Results
Record11–5
Division place2nd AFC West
PlayoffsDid not qualify

The 1985 Denver Broncos season was the team's 26th year in professional football and its 16th with the National Football League (NFL). Despite finishing with eleven wins and five losses, the Broncos failed to make the playoffs. The Broncos were coming off a loss to the Steelers in the divisional round, and were picked by many to make the Super Bowl at the end of the 1985 season. The Broncos started out well, as they started 6–2 and 8–3. However, two losses in overtime to arch rival Los Angeles resulted in the Broncos needing to win their final two games of the season to try to sneak into the playoffs. They did just that, beating Kansas City 14–13 and Seattle 27–24. However, even though the Broncos finished 11–5, they failed to reach the playoffs by virtue of a tiebreaker with the New England Patriots. The tiebreaker was based on the teams' common opponents record; and the Patriots beat the Broncos in that category by finishing 4–2 against the Raiders, Seahawks, Dolphins, and Colts, while the Broncos finished just 3–3 against the same four teams.

A week four loss at home vs. Miami and the sweep by the Raiders cost the Broncos the tiebreaker vs. the Patriots, but a 30-10 loss to the 8-8 Chargers in early November was just as damaging.

The 1985 Broncos are one of two teams in NFL history since the 1970 merger to end the season with eleven or more wins and not qualify for the playoffs - the other is the 2008 Patriots.[1]

Off Season

NFL draft

Main article: 1985 NFL draft
1985 Denver Broncos draft
Round Pick Player Position College Notes
1 26 Steve Sewell  Running back Oklahoma
2 31 Vance Johnson  Wide receiver Arizona
2 54 Simon Fletcher  Defensive end Houston
4 110 Keli McGregor  Tight end Colorado State
5 139 Billy Hinson  Guard Florida
7 194 Dallas Cameron  Defensive tackle Miami (FL)
8 222 Eric Riley  Defensive back Florida State
9 249 Daryl Smith  Defensive back North Alabama
10 269 Buddy Funck  Quarterback New Mexico
10 278 Ron Anderson  Linebacker Southern Methodist
11 306 Gary Rolle  Wide receiver Florida
12 334 Dan Lynch  Guard Washington State
      Made roster    †   Pro Football Hall of Fame    *   Made at least one Pro Bowl during career

Personnel

Staff

1985 Denver Broncos staff

Front office

  • President and chief executive officer – Pat Bowlen
  • General manager – John Beake
  • Coordinator of college scouting – Reed Johnson

Head coaches

Offensive coaches

Defensive coaches

Special teams coaches

Strength and conditioning

[2]

Roster

1985 Denver Broncos roster
Quarterbacks (QB)

Running backs (RB)

Wide receivers (WR)

Tight ends (TE)

Offensive linemen (OL)

Defensive linemen (DL)

Linebackers (LB)

Defensive backs (DB)

Special teams (ST)

Reserve

Rookies in italics

Regular season

Schedule

Week Date Opponent Result Record Venue Attendance
1 September 8 at Los Angeles Rams L 16–20 Anaheim Stadium 0–1 52,522
2 September 15 New Orleans Saints W 34–23 Mile High Stadium 1–1 74,488
3 September 22 at Atlanta Falcons W 44–28 Atlanta–Fulton County Stadium 2–1 37,903
4 September 29 Miami Dolphins L 26–30 Mile High Stadium 2–2 73,614
5 October 6 Houston Oilers W 31–20 Mile High Stadium 3–2 74,699
6 October 13 at Indianapolis Colts W 15–10 Hoosier Dome 4–2 60,128
7 October 20 Seattle Seahawks W 13–10 (OT) Mile High Stadium 5–2 74,899
8 October 27 at Kansas City Chiefs W 30–10 Arrowhead Stadium 6–2 68,246
9 November 3 at San Diego Chargers L 10–30 Jack Murphy Stadium 6–3 57,312
10 November 11 San Francisco 49ers W 17–16 Mile High Stadium 7–3 73,173
11 November 17 San Diego Chargers W 30–24 (OT) Mile High Stadium 8–3 74,376
12 November 24 at Los Angeles Raiders L 28–31 (OT) Los Angeles Memorial Coliseum 8–4 63,181
13 December 1 at Pittsburgh Steelers W 31–23 Three Rivers Stadium 9–4 56,797
14 December 8 Los Angeles Raiders L 14–17 (OT) Mile High Stadium 9–5 75,042
15 December 14 Kansas City Chiefs W 14–13 Mile High Stadium 10–5 69,209
16 December 20 at Seattle Seahawks W 27–24 Kingdome 11–5 56,283
Note: Intra-division opponents are in bold text.

Season summary

Week 11

Team 1 234OTTotal
Chargers 7 70100 24
• Broncos 7 00176 30
  • Date: November 17
  • Location: Mile High Stadium
  • Referee: Fred Silva
  • Television network: NBC
Scoring summary
Q114:43SDAnderson 98 yard kickoff return (Thomas kick)SD 7–0
Q13:10DENWatson 4 yard pass from Elway (Karlis kick)Tie 7–7
Q213:36SDJames 6 yard pass from Fouts (Thomas kick)SD 14–7
Q414:07DENLang 2 yard run (Karlis kick)Tie 14–14
Q413:45DENLang 4 yard run (Karlis kick)DEN 21–14
Q410:09SDThomas 36 yard field goalDEN 21–17
Q41:18SDSpencer 2 yard run (Thomas kick)SD 24–21
Q40:05DENKarlis 34 yard field goalTie 24–24
OT10:15DENWright 60 yard blocked field goal returnDEN 30–24

[3]

Week 14 vs Raiders

Week 14: Los Angeles Raiders (9–4) at Denver Broncos (9–4)
Quarter 1 2 34OTTotal
Raiders 0 0 140317
Broncos 7 7 00014

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

Standings

AFC West
W L T PCT DIV CONF PF PA STK
Los Angeles Raiders(1) 12 4 0 .750 5–3 9–3 354 308 W6
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

References

  1. ^ "All Time Best NFL Teams Who Missed The Playoffs". champsorchumps.us. Retrieved October 22, 2023.
  2. ^ 2010 Denver Broncos Media Guide. p. 357. Retrieved March 13, 2011.
  3. ^ The Football Database. Retrieved 2018-Oct-06.
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