1985 Los Angeles Rams season

1985 Los Angeles Rams season
Head coach John Robinson
Home field Anaheim Stadium
Results
Record 11–5
Division Place 1st NFC West
Playoff finish Won Divisional
Lost Conference
Timeline
Previous season Next season
1984 1986

The 1985 Los Angeles Rams season was the team's 48th year with the National Football League and the 40th season in Los Angeles. The Rams played in the NFC Championship Game but lost to the eventual Super Bowl champion Chicago Bears. Eric Dickerson rushed for 1,234 yards in 1985 while missing the first two games while in a contract dispute. He missed the Pro Bowl for the first time in his short NFL career. He did, however, go on to rush for a playoff record 248 yards against the Dallas Cowboys in post-season play.[1]

Contents

Offseason




NFL Draft

Round Pick # Player Position College
1 21 Jerry Gray Cornerback Texas
2 50 Chuck Scott Wide Receiver Vanderbilt
3 77 Dale Hatcher Punter Clemson
5 113 Kevin Greene Linebacker Auburn
6 161 Mike Young Wide Receiver UCLA

[2]

Regular season

The Los Angeles Rams got off to a surprisingly successful start in 1985, winning their first seven games. However, the team struggled somewhat during the second half of the season. After suffering humiliating losses to the 1-9 Atlanta Falcons and the 4-8 New Orleans Saints, the Rams upset their main rival, the San Francisco 49ers on the road in a prime time Monday-Night match-up, despite being 10-point underdogs going into the game. This crucial victory helped the Rams redeem their season and the team went on to clinch their first NFC West division title in six years, finishing the regular season with an 11-5 record.

Schedule

Game Date Opponent Result Rams points Opponents Record Streak Venue Attendance
1 September 8, 1985 Denver Broncos W 20 16 1-0 W1 Anaheim Stadium
52,522
2 September 15, 1985 at Philadelphia Eagles W 17 6 2-0 W2 Veterans Stadium
60,920
3 September 23, 1985 at Seattle Seahawks W 35 24 3-0 W3 Kingdome
63,292
4 September 29, 1985 Atlanta Falcons W 17 6 4-0 W4 Anaheim Stadium
49,870
5 October 6, 1985 Minnesota Vikings W 13 10 5-0 W5 Anaheim Stadium
61,139
6 October 13, 1985 at Tampa Bay Buccaneers W 31 27 6-0 W6 Tampa Stadium
39,607
7 October 20, 1985 at Kansas City Chiefs W 16 0 7-0 W7 Arrowhead Stadium
64,474
8 October 27, 1985 San Francisco 49ers L 14 28 7-1 L1 Anaheim Stadium
65,939
9 November 3, 1985 New Orleans Saints W 28 10 8-1 W1 Anaheim Stadium
49,030
10 November 10, 1985 at New York Giants L 19 24 8-2 L1 Giants Stadium
74,663
11 November 17, 1985 at Atlanta Falcons L 14 30 8-3 L2 Atlanta-Fulton County Stadium
29,960
12 November 24, 1985 Green Bay Packers W 34 17 9-3 W1 Anaheim Stadium
52,710
13 December 1, 1985 at New Orleans Saints L 3 29 9-4 L1 Louisiana Superdome
44,122
14 December 9, 1985 at San Francisco 49ers W 27 20 10-4 W1 Candlestick Park
60,581
15 December 15, 1985 St. Louis Cardinals W 46 14 11-4 W2 Anaheim Stadium
52,052
16 December 23, 1985 Los Angeles Raiders L 6 16 11-5 L1 Anaheim Stadium
66,676
Divisional Playoff January 4, 1986 Dallas Cowboys W 20 0 12-5 W1 Anaheim Stadium 66,351
Conference Championship January 12, 1986 at Chicago Bears L 0 24 12-6 L1 Soldier Field 65,522

[3]

Standings

NFC West
W L T PCT PF PA STK
Los Angeles Rams 11 5 0 .688 340 277 L1
San Francisco 49ers 10 6 0 .625 411 263 W2
New Orleans Saints 5 11 0 .313 294 401 L3
Atlanta Falcons 4 12 0 .250 282 452 W2

[4]

Statistics

Passing

Player Games Played Completions Attempts Yards Touchdowns Interceptions Rating
Dieter Brock 15 218 365 2658 16 13 82.0
Jeff Kemp 5 16 38 214 0 1 49.7

[5]

Rushing

Player Games Played Attempts Yards Touchdowns Longest run
Eric Dickerson 14 292 1234 12 43
Barry Redden 14 87 380 0 41
Charles White 16 70 310 3 32
Dieter Brock 15 20 38 0 13
Lynn Cain 7 11 46 0 9
Mike Guman 8 11 32 0 6
Jeff Kemp 5 5 0 0 3
Henry Ellard 16 3 8 0 16
Ron J. Brown 13 2 13 0 9
Steve Dils 15 2 -4 0 -2

[5]

Receiving

Player Receptions Yards Touchdowns Longest reception
Henry Ellard 54 811 5 64
Tony Hunter 50 562 4 47
David Hill 29 271 1 37
Bobby Duckworth 25 422 3 42

[5]

Playoffs

NFC Divisional Playoff

Los Angeles Rams 20, Dallas Cowboys 0
1 2 3 4 Total
Cowboys 0 0 0 0 0
Rams 3 0 10 7 20

at Anaheim Stadium, Anaheim, California

Running back Eric Dickerson led the Rams to a victory by scoring two touchdowns and recording a playoff record 248 rushing yards. After the first half ended with a 3-0 Los Angeles lead, Dickerson scored on a 55-yard touchdown run early in the third period. On the ensuing kickoff, Kenny Duckett fumbled, and the ball was recovered by Vince Newsome to set up kicker Mike Lansford's second field goal. In the fourth period, Tony Hunter recovered a fumbled punt to set up Dickerson's 40-yard rushing touchdown. The Rams' defense dominated the Cowboys' offense all afternoon as the Cowboys never got inside the Rams' 20-yard-line.

NFC Championship Game

Chicago Bears 24, Los Angeles Rams 0
1 2 3 4 Total
Rams 0 0 0 0 0
Bears 10 0 7 7 24

at Soldier Field, Chicago

The Bears defense dominated the game by limiting Rams running back Eric Dickerson to 46 yards rushing, and holding quarterback Dieter Brock to just 10 completions out of 31 pass attempts for 66 passing yards. Los Angeles only gained 130 yards of total offense. The Rams had a chance to get back in the game as they got inside the Bears' 15 yard line in the waning moments of the first half, but poor play calling and clock management, as well as a controversial call by the officials on the last play of the half, resulted in the clock running out. Officials' ability to review plays (via instant replay) was not made available until the following season.

Awards and records

Milestones

Gary Jeter, NFL Comeback Player of Year.

See also

Other Anaheim–based teams in 1985

References

  1. ^ Eric Dickerson: Pro Football Hall of Fame, http://www.profootballhof.com/hof/member.jsp?PLAYER_ID=55
  2. ^ http://www.pro-football-reference.com/draft/1985.htm
  3. ^ http://www.jt-sw.com/football/pro/results.nsf/Teams/1985-lam
  4. ^ (PDF) 2010 NFL Record and Fact Book. National Football League. p. 383. http://www.nfl.info/download/2010%20NFL%20Record%20and%20Fact%20Book.pdf. Retrieved February 24, 2011. 
  5. ^ a b c http://www.pro-football-reference.com/teams/ram/1985.htm

External links

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1985 NFL Draft • NFL Playoffs • Pro Bowl • Super Bowl XX