1985 NFL SEASON

The '1985 NFL season' was the 66th regular season of the National Football League. The season ended with Super Bowl XX when the Chicago Bears defeated the New England Patriots.

Contents
Major rule changes
Final standings
Tiebreakers
Playoffs
AFC
NFC
Super Bowl
References

Major rule changes



★ Whenever a team time out is called after the two minute warning of each half, it should only last 60 seconds instead of 90.

★ A play is immediately dead anytime the quarterback performs a kneel-down (the quarterback immediately kneels down after receiving the snap) after the two minute warning of each half, or whenever the player declares himself down by sliding feet first on the ground. The ball is then spotted at the point where the player touches the ground first.

Pass interference is not to be called when a pass is clearly uncatchable.

★ Both "Roughing the kicker" and "Running into the kicker" fouls are not to be called if the defensive player was blocked into the kicker.

★ The definition of a valid fair catch signal is clearly defined as one arm that is fully extended above the head and waved from side to side.

★ Goaltending (leaping up to deflect a kick as it passes through the goal posts) is illegal.

Final standings


''W = Wins, L = Losses, T = Ties, PCT= Winning Percentage, PF= Points For, PA = Points Against''
'Qualified for playoffs'


'AFC East'
TeamWLTPCTPFPA
Miami Dolphins1240.750428320
New York Jets1150.688393264
New England Patriots1150.688362290
Indianapolis Colts5110.313320386
Buffalo Bills2140.125200381
'AFC Central'
TeamWLTPCTPFPA
Cleveland Browns880.500287294
Cincinnati Bengals790.438441437
Pittsburgh Steelers790.438379355
Houston Oilers5110.313284412
'AFC West'
TeamWLTPCTPFPA
Los Angeles Raiders1240.750354308
Denver Broncos1150.688380329
Seattle Seahawks880.500349303
San Diego Chargers880.500467435
Kansas City Chiefs6100.375317360


'NFC East'
TeamWLTPCTPFPA
Dallas Cowboys1060.625357333
New York Giants1060.625399283
Washington Redskins1060.625297312
Philadelphia Eagles790.438286310
St. Louis Cardinals5110.313278414
'NFC Central'
TeamWLTPCTPFPA
Chicago Bears1510.938456198
Green Bay Packers880.500337355
Minnesota Vikings790.438346359
Detroit Lions790.438307366
Tampa Bay Buccaneers2140.125294448
'NFC West'
TeamWLTPCTPFPA
Los Angeles Rams1150.688340277
San Francisco 49ers1060.625411263
New Orleans Saints5110.313294401
Atlanta Falcons4120.250282452



Tiebreakers


★ N.Y. Jets was the first AFC Wild Card based on better conference record (9-3) than New England (8-4) and Denver (8-4).

★ New England was the second AFC Wild Card ahead of Denver based on better record against common opponents (4-2 to Broncos' 3-3).

★ Cincinnati finished ahead of Pittsburgh in the AFC Central based on head-to-head sweep (2-0).

★ Seattle finished ahead of San Diego in the AFC West based on head-to-head sweep (2-0).

★ Dallas finished ahead of N.Y. Giants and Washington in the NFC East based on better head-to-head record (4-0 to Giants' 1-3 and Redskins' 1-3).

★ N.Y. Giants was the first NFC Wild Card based on better conference record (8-4) than San Francisco (7-5) and Washington (6-6).

★ San Francisco was the second NFC Wild Card based on head-to-head victory over Washington (1-0).

★ Minnesota finished ahead of Detroit in the NFC Central based on better division record (3-5 to Lions' 2-6).

Playoffs


Main articles: NFL playoffs, 1985-86

:''Home team in capitals''
AFC


★ Wild-Card playoff: New England 26, N.Y. JETS 14

★ Divisional playoffs: MIAMI 24, Cleveland 21; New England 27, L.A. RAIDERS 20

★ AFC Championship: New England 31, MIAMI 14 at Orange Bowl, Miami, Florida, January 12, 1986
NFC


★ Wild-Card playoff: N.Y. GIANTS 17, San Francisco 3

★ Divisional playoffs: L.A. RAMS 20, Dallas 0; CHICAGO 21, N.Y. Giants 0

★ NFC Championship: CHICAGO 24, L.A. Rams 0 at Soldier Field, Chicago, Illinois, January 12, 1986
Super Bowl


★ 'Super Bowl XX:' Chicago (NFC) 46, New England (AFC) 10, at Louisiana Superdome, New Orleans, Louisiana, January 26, 1986

References



★ ''NFL Record and Fact Book'' (ISBN 1-932994-36-X)

NFL History 1981-1990 (Last accessed December 4, 2005)

1985 season in details

★ ''Total Football: The Official Encyclopedia of the National Football League'' (ISBN 0-06-270174-6)

This article provided by Wikipedia. To edit the contents of this article, click here for original source.

psst.. try this: add to faves