1985 Buffalo Bills season

26th season in franchise history; second consecutive 2–14 season

1985 Buffalo Bills season

Owner| Ralph Wilson
General manager| Terry Bledsoe
Head coach| Kay Stephenson (weeks 1-4)
Hank Bullough (weeks 5-16)
Home field| Rich Stadium
Results
Record| 2–14
Division place| 5th AFC East
Playoff finish| Did not qualify
Pro Bowlers| None

* <- 1984
* Bills seasons
* 1986 ->

The 1985 Buffalo Bills season was the franchise's 16th season in the National Football League, and the 26th overall. It was Buffalo's second-consecutive 2–14 season. Head coach Kay Stephenson was fired after an 0–4 start. Defensive coordinator Hank Bullough took over, going 2–10 for the remainder of the season. For the second consecutive season, the Bills went winless on the road.

## Season summary

[edit]

The Bills' offense was anemic; its 200 points scored is the lowest total in the 1980s,[note 1] and the lowest total in team history for a sixteen-game schedule. Having concluded that longtime starting quarterback Joe Ferguson's career was over after a spike in interceptions in the early 1980s, the Bills cut him in the offseason. (The assumption would be in error, as Ferguson would sign with the Detroit Lions and play an additional six seasons in the NFL after being released.) Ferguson's replacements, quarterbacks Vince Ferragamo and Bruce Mathison, only produced 9 passing touchdowns all season,[1] while combining for a league-high 31 interceptions.[2] Buffalo scored fewer than ten points in seven of its sixteen games. The team’s point-differential of negative-181 is the third-worst in franchise history.

## Offseason

[edit]

### NFL draft

[edit]

Main article: 1985 NFL draft

In 1985, the Bills used the first overall pick in the draft to select All-American defensive end Bruce Smith. Smith would end up going on to dominate throughout the late 1980s and early 1990s. Smith was an 11-time All-Pro selection, two-time NFL Defensive Player of the Year, and logged an NFL-record 200 sacks[note 2] by the end of his career.

Fourth-round pick Andre Reed, a wide receiver out of Kutztown (PA) State, would go on to be the leading receiver in Buffalo Bills history. When he retired after the 2000 season, Reed's 951 career receptions were third in NFL history behind Jerry Rice and Cris Carter.[3]

Maryland quarterback Frank Reich would become famous for quarterbacking “The Comeback”, a 1993 playoff game in which Buffalo, down 35–3 in the third quarter, would score 35 unanswered points to win 41–38 in overtime. It is the largest deficit overcome to win a game in NFL history.[note 3]

Reed played more games with the Bills, 221, than any other player. Smith was second with 217 games.[4]

1985 Buffalo Bills draft

Round  | Pick  | Player  | Position  | College  | Notes
1  | 1  | Bruce Smith * † | Defensive end | Virginia Tech |
1  | 14  | Derrick Burroughs | Defensive back | Memphis |
2  | 29  | Mark Traynowicz | Guard | Nebraska |
2  | 42  | Chris Burkett | Wide receiver | Jackson State |
3  | 57  | Frank Reich | Quarterback | Maryland |
3  | 63  | Hal Garner | Linebacker | Utah State |
4  | 86  | Andre Reed * † | Wide receiver  | Kutztown State |
4  | 112  | Dale Hellestrae | Offensive tackle | Southern Methodist |
5  | 130  | Jimmy Teal | Wide receiver  | Texas A&M |
6  | 141  | Mike Hamby | Defensive end  | Utah State |
7  | 169  | Ron Pitts | Defensive back  | UCLA |
8  | 197  | Jacque Robinson | Fullback | Washington |
9  | 225  | Glenn Jones | Defensive back  | Norfolk State |
10  | 253  | Chris Babyar | Guard  | Illinois |
11  | 282  | James Seawright | Linebacker  | South Carolina |
12  | 333  | Paul Woodside | Placekicker | West Virginia |
Made roster † Pro Football Hall of Fame * Made at least one Pro Bowl during career

[5]

## Personnel

[edit]

### Staff

[edit]

1985 Buffalo Bills staff

| Front office

* President – Ralph Wilson
* Senior Executive Vice President – Pat McGroder
* Vice President of Administration/General Manager – Terry Bledsoe
* Vice President of Football Operations – Kay Stephenson
* Vice President of Player Personnel – Norm Pollom
* Director of Pro Personnel – Bill Polian
* Assistant Director of Player Personnel – Bob Ferguson

Head coaches

* Head Coach – Kay Stephenson
* Assistant Head Coach/Defensive Coordinator – Hank Bullough

Offensive coaches

* Offensive Coordinator/Offensive Line – Jim Ringo
* Quarterbacks – Kay Dalton
* Running Backs / Special Teams coach – Elijah Pitts
* Receivers – Bob Leahy
* Tight Ends – Art Asselta

|  |  | Defensive coaches

* Defensive Line – Ardell Wiegandt
* Linebackers – Monte Kiffin
* Defensive Backfield – Dick Moseley

Strength and conditioning

* Strength and Conditioning Coordinator – Rusty Jones

[6]

### Roster

[edit]

1985 Buffalo Bills roster

| Quarterbacks

* 19 Joe Dufek
* 5 Vince Ferragamo
* 7 Bruce Mathison
* 14 Frank Reich

Running backs

* 28 Greg Bell FB
* 20 Joe Cribbs
* 34 Booker Moore FB
* 33 Mike Pruitt
* 40 Robb Riddick
* 47 Anthony Steels
* 23 Van Williams

Wide receivers

* 85 Chris Burkett
* 80 Jerry Butler
* 82 Eric Richardson
* 83 Andre Reed
* 86 Jimmy Teal

Tight ends

* 88 Pete Metzelaars
* 89 Ulysses Norris
* 87 Eason Ramson

|  | Offensive linemen

* 69 Greg Christy T
* 63 Justin Cross G
* 70 Joe Devlin T
* 53 Will Grant C
* 71 Dale Hellestrae C
* 72 Ken Jones T
* 51 Jim Ritcher G
* 62 Mark Traynowicz T
* 65 Tim Vogler G

Defensive linemen

* 95 Sean McNanie DE
* 79 Dean Prater DE
* 76 Fred Smerlas NT
* 78 Bruce Smith DE
* 74 Don Smith DE
* 77 Ben Williams DE

|  | Linebackers

* 58 Anthony Dickerson OLB
* 59 Guy Frazier OLB
* 99 Hal Garner OLB
* 55 Jim Haslett ILB
* 50 Larry Kubin
* 90 Steve Maidlow ILB
* 54 Eugene Marve ILB
* 57 Lucius Sanford OLB
* 56 Darryl Talley OLB
* 50 Eric Wilson

Defensive backs

* 36 Rodney Bellinger CB
* 29 Derrick Burroughs CB
* 25 Rod Hill CB
* 22 Steve Freeman SS
* 48 Lawrence Johnson CB
* 23 Jim Perryman SS
* 27 Ron Pitts CB
* 26 Charles Romes CB
* 21 Don Wilson FS/PR/KR

Special teams

* 4 John Kidd P
* 11 Scott Norwood K

|  | Reserve lists

* 43 Martin Bayless FS (IRTooltip Injured reserve)
* 81 Mitchell Brookins WR (IRTooltip Injured reserve)
* 68 Joe DeLamielleure G (IRTooltip Injured reserve)
* 75 Mike Hamby DE (IRTooltip Injured reserve)

Practice squad

Rookies in italics

## Regular season

[edit]

### Schedule

[edit]

Week  | Date  | Opponent  | Result  | Record  | Venue  | Attendance

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1  | September 8  | San Diego Chargers | L 9–14  | 0–1  | Rich Stadium | 67,597
2  | September 15  | at New York Jets | L 3–42  | 0–2  | Giants Stadium | 63,449
3  | September 22  | New England Patriots | L 14–17  | 0–3  | Rich Stadium  | 40,334
4  | September 29  | Minnesota Vikings | L 20–27  | 0–4  | Rich Stadium  | 45,667
5  | October 6  | at Indianapolis Colts | L 17–49  | 0–5  | Hoosier Dome | 60,003
6  | October 13  | at New England Patriots | L 3–14  | 0–6  | Sullivan Stadium | 40,462
7  | October 20  | Indianapolis Colts | W 21–9  | 1–6  | Rich Stadium  | 28,430
8  | October 27  | at Philadelphia Eagles | L 17–21  | 1–7  | Veterans Stadium | 60,987
9  | November 3  | Cincinnati Bengals | L 17–23  | 1–8  | Rich Stadium  | 25,640
10  | November 10  | Houston Oilers | W 20–0  | 2–8  | Rich Stadium  | 21,881
11  | November 17  | at Cleveland Browns | L 7–17  | 2–9  | Cleveland Municipal Stadium | 54,478
12  | November 24  | Miami Dolphins | L 14–23  | 2–10  | Rich Stadium  | 50,474
13  | December 1  | at San Diego Chargers | L 7–40  | 2–11  | Jack Murphy Stadium | 45,487
14  | December 8  | New York Jets | L 7–27  | 2–12  | Rich Stadium  | 23,122
15  | December 15  | at Pittsburgh Steelers | L 24–30  | 2–13  | Three Rivers Stadium | 35,953
16  | December 22  | at Miami Dolphins | L 0–28  | 2–14  | Miami Orange Bowl | 64,811

Note: Intra-division opponents are in bold text.

### Game summaries

[edit]

#### Week 1

[edit]

|  | 1 | 2| 3| 4| Total

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• Chargers | 7 | 7| 0| 0 | 14
Bills | 3 | 6| 0| 0 | 9

* Date: September 8
* Location: Rich Stadium Orchard Park, NY
* Game start: 4:00 p.m. EST
* Game attendance: 67,597
* Game weather: 76 °F (24.4 °C); wind 11 miles per hour (18 km/h; 9.6 kn)
* Referee: Dick Jorgensen
* TV announcers (NBC): Phil Stone and Reggie Rucker

[7]

#### Week 3

[edit]

|  | 1 | 2| 3| 4| Total

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• Patriots | 3 | 7| 7| 0 | 17
Bills | 0 | 7| 0| 7 | 14

* Date: September 22
* Location: Rich Stadium • Orchard Park, New York
* Game start: 1:00 p.m. EST
* Game weather: 65 °F (18 °C) • Wind 7 mph (11 km/h)
* Referee: Jerry Seeman
* Television network: NBC

| Scoring summary

1| | NE| Tony Franklin 32-yard field goal| Patriots 3–0
2| | BUF| Greg Bell 16-yard pass from Vince Ferragamo (Scott Norwood kick)| Bills 7–3
2| | NE| Tony Collins 5-yard pass from Craig James (Tony Franklin kick)| Patriots 10–7
3| | NE| Irving Fryar 85-yard punt return (Tony Franklin kick)| Patriots 17–7
4| | BUF| Andre Reed 18-yard pass from Vince Ferragamo (Scott Norwood kick)| Patriots 17–14

[8]

#### Week 6

[edit]

|  | 1 | 2| 3| 4| Total

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Bills | 0 | 3| 0| 0 | 3
• Patriots | 0 | 0| 7| 7 | 14

* Date: October 13
* Location: Sullivan Stadium • Foxboro, Massachusetts
* Game start: 1:00 p.m. EST
* Game weather: 50 °F (10 °C) • Wind 12 mph (19 km/h)
* Referee: Gene Barth
* TV announcers (NBC): Len Berman and Reggie Rucker

| Scoring summary

2| | BUF| Scott Norwood 47-yard field goal| Bills 3–0
3| | NE| Irving Fryar 16-yard pass from Steve Grogan (Tony Franklin kick)| Patriots 7–3
4| | NE| Raymond Clayborn 27-yard interception return (Tony Franklin kick)| Patriots 14–3

[9]

#### Week 7

[edit]

|  | 1 | 2| 3| 4| Total

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Colts | 3 | 3| 3| 0 | 9
• Bills | 7 | 7| 0| 7 | 21

* Date: October 20
* Location: Rich Stadium
* Game start: 1:00 p.m. EST
* Game attendance: 28,430
* Game weather: 47 °F (8.3 °C); wind 8 miles per hour (13 km/h; 7.0 kn)
* Referee: Fred Wyant

| Scoring summary

Q1| | BUF| Bell 7 yard run (Norwood kick)| BUF 7–0
Q1| | IND| Allegre 41 yard field goal| BUF 7–3
Q2| | IND| Allegre 27 yard field goal| BUF 7–6
Q2| | BUF| Bell 1 yard run (Norwood kick)| BUF 14–6
Q3| | IND| Allegre 38 yard field goal| BUF 14–9
Q4| | BUF| Metzelaars 3 yard pass from Ferragamo (Norwood kick)| BUF 21–9

[10]

#### Week 8

[edit]

|  | 1 | 2| 3| 4| Total

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Bills | 7 | 3| 7| 0 | 17
• Eagles | 0 | 0| 0| 21 | 21

* Date: October 27
* Location: Veterans Stadium
* Game start: 1:00 p.m. EST
* Game attendance: 60.987
* Game weather: 66 °F (18.9 °C); wind 17 miles per hour (27 km/h; 15 kn)
* Referee: Ben Dreith
* TV announcers (NBC): Tom Hammond and Dave Rowe

| Scoring summary

Q1| | BUF| Reed 14 yard run (Norwood kick)| BUF 7–0
Q2| | BUF| Norwood 26 yard field goal| BUF 10–0
Q3| | BUF| Reed 7 yard pass from Ferragamo (Norwood kick)| BUF 17-0
Q4| | PHI| Jaworski 3 yard run (McFadden kick)| BUF 17–7
Q4| | PHI| Hopkins 24 yard interception return (McFadden kick)| BUF 17–14
Q4| | PHI| Quick 32 yard pass from Jaworski (McFadden kick)| PHI 21–17

[11]

#### Week 10

[edit]

|  | 1 | 2| 3| 4| Total

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Oilers | 0 | 0| 0| 0 | 0
• Bills | 10 | 0| 10| 0 | 20

* Date: November 10
* Location: Rich Stadium, Orchard Park, New York
* Game start: 1:00 p.m.
* Game weather: 45 °F (7.2 °C), wind 14 miles per hour (23 km/h; 12 kn)
* Referee: Bob Frederic

| Scoring summary

1| | BUF| Scott Norwood 24 yard field goal| Bills 3–0
1| | BUF| Greg Bell 2 yard run (Scott Norwood kick)| Bills 10–0
3| | BUF| Scott Norwood 23 yard field goal| Bills 13–0
3| | BUF| Bruce Mathison 5 yard run (Scott Norwood kick)| Bills 20–0

[12]

#### Week 16

[edit]

|  | 1 | 2| 3| 4| Total

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Bills | 0 | 0| 0| 0 | 0
• Dolphins | 7 | 7| 0| 14 | 28

* Date: December 22
* Location: Orange Bowl, Miami, Florida
* Game start: 1:00 p.m. EST
* Game attendance: 64,811
* Game weather: 70 °F (21.1 °C); wind 12 miles per hour (19 km/h; 10 kn)
* Referee: Gene Barth
* TV announcers (NFL on NBC): Jay Randolph and Bob Griese

[13]

### Standings

[edit]

AFC East

* view
* talk
* edit

| 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

## Notes

[edit]

1. ^ This excludes the strike-shortened, nine-regular-season-game 1982 season
2. ^ As of 2020[update]
3. ^ As of 2017

## References

[edit]

1. ^ Pro-Football-Reference.com: 1985 Buffalo Bills
2. ^ Pro-Football-Reference.com: 1985 NFL Standings, Team & Offensive Statistics
3. ^ Pro-Football-Reference.com: For combined seasons, from 1920 to 2000, sorted by descending Receptions
4. ^ Pro-Football-Reference.com: For combined seasons, from 1960 to 2011, playing for the Buffalo Bills, sorted by descending Games
5. ^ "1985 Buffalo Bills draftees". Pro-Football-Reference.com. Retrieved November 15, 2014.
6. ^ 1985 Buffalo Bills Media Guide. pp. 3–21.
7. ^ [1]. Retrieved 2021-Jun-05.
8. ^ Pro-Football-Reference.com
9. ^ Pro-Football-Reference.com
10. ^ Pro-Football-Reference.com. Retrieved 2015-Apr-22.
11. ^ [2]. Retrieved 2015-Apr-22.
12. ^ Pro-Football-Reference.com
13. ^ [3]. Retrieved 2021-Jun-04.

## External links

[edit]

* 1985 Buffalo Bills at Pro-Football-Reference.com

* v
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Buffalo Bills

* Founded in 1960
* Based and headquartered in Orchard Park, New York

Franchise|

* Franchise
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Stadiums|

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Culture|

* Ralph Wilson
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Lore|

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Rivalries|

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Division championships (14)|

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Conference championships (4)|

* 1990
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Wall of Fame|

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Owners|

* Ralph Wilson
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Current league affiliations|

* League: National Football League (1970–present)
* Conference: American Football Conference
* Division: East Division

Former league affiliation|

* League: American Football League (1960–1969)

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Buffalo Bills seasons

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Bold indicates AFL Championship or Super Bowl victory
Italics indicates AFL Championship or Super Bowl appearance

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1985 NFL season

| AFC| East | Central| West| East| Central| West | NFC

|
|
|
|
|
|
|

Buffalo | Cincinnati| Denver| Dallas| Chicago| Atlanta
Indianapolis | Cleveland| Kansas City| NY Giants| Detroit| LA Rams
Miami | Houston| LA Raiders| Philadelphia| Green Bay| New Orleans
New England | Pittsburgh| San Diego| St. Louis| Minnesota| San Francisco
NY Jets | | Seattle| Washington| Tampa Bay|

* 1985 NFL Draft
* NFL playoffs
* Pro Bowl
* Super Bowl XX

*[IR]: Injured reserve
*[W]: Wins
*[L]: Losses
*[T]: Ties
*[PCT]: Winning percentage
*[DIV]: Win–Loss record within their division
*[CONF]: Win–Loss record within their conference
*[PF]: Points For (Total points scored)
*[PA]: Points Against (Total points allowed)
*[STK]: Current Winning or Losing Streak
*[v]: View this template
*[t]: Discuss this template
*[e]: Edit this template