1985 Los Angeles Rams season

1985 Los Angeles Rams season
Head coach John Robinson
(3rd season)
General manager John Shaw
(Since 1985)
Owner Georgia Frontiere
(Since 1979)
Home field Anaheim Stadium
Results
Record 11–5
Division place 1st NFC West
Playoff finish Won Divisional
Lost Conference
40th Anniversary in Los Angeles

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]

Offseason

NFL Draft

Round Pick #Player Position College
121Jerry GrayCornerbackTexas
250Chuck ScottWide ReceiverVanderbilt
377Dale HatcherPunterClemson
5113Kevin GreeneLinebackerAuburn
6161Mike YoungWide ReceiverUCLA

[2]

Personnel

Staff

1985 Los Angeles Rams staff
Front office

Head coaches

Offensive coaches

 Defensive coaches

Special teams coaches

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 Summary Venue Attendance
1 September 8, 1985 Denver Broncos W 20 16 1–0 Rams overcame 2 TD passes by John Elway with a late comeback led by "old" rookie QB Dieter Brock, who passed for 174 yards and a TD in his first NFL start. Backup RB Charles White ran for the winning TD in place of holdout Eric Dickerson. Anaheim Stadium
52,522
2 September 15, 1985 at Philadelphia Eagles W 17 6 2–0 Rams defense sacked Randall Cunningham 5 times and picked off 4 passes and White ran for 144 yards and a TD. Henry Ellard added an 80-yard punt return TD. Veterans Stadium
60,920
3 September 23, 1985 at Seattle Seahawks W 35 24 3–0 Dickerson celebrated the end of his holdout by rushing for 150 yards and 3 TD's in this Monday Night matchup. Kingdome
63,292
4 September 29, 1985 Atlanta Falcons W 17 6 4–0 Rams continued to dominate on defense and Brock passed for two TD's. Anaheim Stadium
49,870
5 October 6, 1985 Minnesota Vikings W 13 10 5–0 Rams stayed unbeaten despite being outgained in yards 306–188. Anaheim Stadium
61,139
6 October 13, 1985 at Tampa Bay Buccaneers W 31 27 6–0 In a nip-and-tuck game, the Rams had two interception return TD's in the second half, by LB Carl Ekern and the winning TD by CB Leroy Irvin. Tampa Stadium
39,607
7 October 20, 1985 at Kansas City Chiefs W 16 0 7–0 Dickerson ran for a TD and Mike Lansford kicked three FG's. Rams' opportunistic defense intercepted Todd Blackledge six times. Brock passed for only 68 yards. Arrowhead Stadium
64,474
8 October 27, 1985 San Francisco 49ers L 14 28 7–1 Rams were knocked from the unbeaten ranks at home as their offensive failures came back to haunt them. Joe Montana passed for 3 TD's and led the 49ers to a 28–0 lead. Brock passed for 344 yards (most of them late) and two late TD's. Anaheim Stadium
65,939
9 November 3, 1985 New Orleans Saints W 28 10 8–1 Rams were totally dominant at home as Brock passed for 2 TD's and Dickerson (108 yards rushing) and White each had a TD run. Rams picked off 3 passes and had nine QB sacks. Anaheim Stadium
49,030
10 November 10, 1985 at New York Giants L 19 24 8–2 Giants fought back from a 16–7 early 2nd half deficit behind 2 TD runs by Joe Morris. Giants Stadium
74,663
11 November 17, 1985 at Atlanta Falcons L 14 30 8–3 Surprising blowout by the 1–9 Falcons behind three rushing TD's by Gerald Riggs and a Falcons' defense that held the Rams to only 45 yards rushing. Atlanta-Fulton County Stadium
29,960
12 November 24, 1985 Green Bay Packers W 34 17 9–3 Dickerson had 150 yards and a TD, but the real hero was Olympic sprinter-turned-WR Ron Brown. Brown returned two kickoffs for TD's and caught a TD pass. Anaheim Stadium
52,710
13 December 1, 1985 at New Orleans Saints L 3 29 9–4 Saints got their revenge for the earlier blowout by sacking Brock nine times and recovering 3 fumbles. Bobby Hebert passed for a TD and LB Jack Del Rio returned a fumble for another. Louisiana Superdome
44,122
14 December 9, 1985 at San Francisco 49ers W 27 20 10–4 In this road Monday Night matchup, the 49ers looked to be in control until Henry Ellard scored on a tipped pass and CB Gary Green returned an interception for the winning points. Montana passed for 328 yards and 3 TD's. Candlestick Park
60,581
15 December 15, 1985 St. Louis Cardinals W 46 14 11–4 Brock picked the right time to have his best game as a Ram as the Rams clinched their first NFC West Division crown since 1979. Brock passed for 4 TD's, Dickerson ran for 124 yards and two more, and the Rams rolled up 425 yards of offense. Anaheim Stadium
52,052
16 December 23, 1985 Los Angeles Raiders L 6 16 11–5 In a somewhat lackluster performance at home on Monday Night, the Rams could only muster two FG's and Brock was sacked 6 times. Anaheim Stadium
66,676
Divisional Playoff January 4, 1986 Dallas Cowboys W 20 0 12–5 Anaheim Stadium 66,351
Conference Championship January 12, 1986 at Chicago Bears L 0 24 12–6 Soldier Field 65,522

[3]

Game summaries

Week 14

1 234Total
• Rams 0 3717 27
49ers 0 767 20

The Rams clinched a playoff spot with the win.[4]

Standings

NFC West
W L T PCT DIV CONF PF PA STK
Los Angeles Rams(2) 11 5 0 .688 3–3 8–4 340 277 L1
San Francisco 49ers(5) 10 6 0 .625 4–2 7–5 411 263 W2
New Orleans Saints 5 11 0 .313 2–4 5–7 294 401 L3
Atlanta Falcons 4 12 0 .250 3–3 4–8 282 452 W2

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 34Total
Cowboys 0 0 000
Rams 3 0 10720

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. This was the last home playoff game for the Rams in Los Angeles.

NFC Championship Game

Chicago Bears 24, Los Angeles Rams 0
1 2 34Total
Rams 0 0 000
Bears 10 0 7724

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

External links

References

Preceded by
< 1984		 Los Angeles Rams seasons
1985 		Succeeded by
1986 >
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