1985 New England Patriots season
The 1985 New England Patriots season was the franchise's 16th season in the National Football League and 26th overall. The Patriots had a record of eleven wins and five losses and finished third in the AFC East Division. They then became the first team in NFL history ever to advance to the Super Bowl by winning three playoff games on the road, defeating the New York Jets 26–14 in the AFC Wild Card Game, the Los Angeles Raiders 27–20 in the AFC Divisional Game and the [1985 Miami 1985 Miami Dolphins season|Dolphins season|Miami Dolphins] 31–14 in the AFC Championship Game. The Patriots' win in Miami was their first victory at the Miami Orange Bowl since 1966.
The win over the Dolphins in the game has gone down as one of the greatest upsets in NFL history, as the Dolphins were heavily favored.
But despite the Patriots' success in the playoffs, they proved unable to compete with the acclaimed 15–1 Chicago Bears in Super Bowl XX, losing 46–10 in what was at the time the most lopsided defeat in Super Bowl history. The Patriots were held to a Super Bowl record of just seven rushing yards and their quarterbacks, Tony Eason and Steve Grogan, were sacked a combined seven times by the Bears defense.
Schedule
Game summaries
Week 8
Week 16
After winning against the Bengals, fans stormed the field and tore down the goal posts. Fans proceeded to walk down Route 1 with the goalposts, accidentally hitting an overhead wire and nearly electrocuting themselves.Postseason
Wild card
This was only the second postseason win in Patriots history, and the first since 1963.Conference championship
In the 1985 AFC Championship Game, the Patriots ran the ball on 59 out of 71 offensive plays, amassing 255 rushing yards in an upset of the favored Dolphins.The New England Patriots became the first team in NFL history to win three playoff games on the road in the same postseason.