1985 Cincinnati Bengals season

NFL team season

The Bengals hosting the Cowboys in December 1985.

The 1985 season was the Cincinnati Bengals' 16th season in the National Football League (NFL), their 18th overall, and their second under head coach Sam Wyche. Wide receiver Isaac Curtis, a premier Bengal for 12 years, retired shortly before training camp opened. Second-year quarterback Boomer Esiason replaced Ken Anderson. The Bengals set a club scoring record with 441 points.

Offseason

NFL Draft

1985 Cincinnati Bengals draft
Round Pick Player Position College Notes
1 13 Eddie Brown *  Wide receiver Miami (FL)
1 25 Emanuel King  Linebacker Alabama
2 43 Carl Zander  Linebacker Tennessee
3 70 Sean Thomas  Defensive back TCU
4 97 Anthony Tuggle  Defensive back Nicholls State
5 127 Tony Degrate  Defensive tackle Texas
5 129 Lee Davis  Defensive back Mississippi
6 148 Eric Stokes  Offensive tackle Northeastern
6 154 Keith Lester  Tight end Murray State
7 172 Kim Locklin  Running back New Mexico State
7 181 Joe Walter  Offensive tackle Texas Tech
8 211 Dave Strobel  Linebacker Iowa
9 238 Keith Cruise  Defensive end Northwestern
10 265 Bernard King  Linebacker Syracuse
11 296 Harold Stanfield  Tight end Mississippi College
12 322 Louis Garza  Offensive tackle New Mexico State
      Made roster    *   Made at least one Pro Bowl during career

[1]

Personnel

Staff

1985 Cincinnati Bengals staff

Front office

  • Owner/president – John Sawyer
  • Owner/general manager – Paul Brown

Head coaches

Offensive coaches

Defensive coaches


Strength and conditioning

  • Strength and Conditioning – Kim Wood

Roster

1985 Cincinnati Bengals roster
Quarterbacks

Running backs

Wide receivers

Tight ends

Offensive linemen

Defensive linemen

Linebackers

Defensive backs

Special teams

Reserve lists


Practice squad



Rookies in italics

Regular season

Schedule

Week Date Opponent Result Record Venue Attendance
1 September 8 Seattle Seahawks L 24–28 0–1 Riverfront Stadium 51,625
2 September 15 at St. Louis Cardinals L 27–41 0–2 Busch Memorial Stadium 46,321
3 September 22 San Diego Chargers L 41–44 0–3 Riverfront Stadium 52,270
4 September 30 at Pittsburgh Steelers W 37–24 1–3 Three Rivers Stadium 59,541
5 October 6 New York Jets L 20–29 1–4 Riverfront Stadium 51,785
6 October 13 New York Giants W 35–30 2–4 Riverfront Stadium 53,112
7 October 20 at Houston Oilers L 27–44 2–5 Houston Astrodome 35,590
8 October 27 Pittsburgh Steelers W 26–21 3–5 Riverfront Stadium 55,421
9 November 3 at Buffalo Bills W 23–17 4–5 Rich Stadium 25,640
10 November 10 Cleveland Browns W 27–10 5–5 Riverfront Stadium 57,293
11 November 17 at Los Angeles Raiders L 6–13 5–6 Los Angeles Memorial Coliseum 52,501
12 November 24 at Cleveland Browns L 6–24 5–7 Cleveland Municipal Stadium 74,439
13 December 1 Houston Oilers W 45–27 6–7 Riverfront Stadium 46,140
14 December 8 Dallas Cowboys W 50–24 7–7 Riverfront Stadium 56,936
15 December 15 at Washington Redskins L 24–27 7–8 RFK Stadium 50,544
16 December 22 at New England Patriots L 23–34 7–9 Sullivan Stadium 57,953

Note: Intra-division opponents are in bold text.

Game summaries

Week 1

Week 1: Seattle Seahawks at Cincinnati Bengals – Game summary
Period 1 2 34Total
Seahawks 7 14 0728
Bengals 0 10 14024

at Riverfront Stadium, Cincinnati

  • Date: September 8, 1985
  • Game time: 1:00 pm EST
  • Game weather: 79 °F (26 °C), wind 8 miles per hour (13 km/h; 7.0 kn)
  • Game attendance: 51,625
  • Referee: Fred Silva
  • TV announcers (NBC): Don Criqui (play by play), Bob Trumpy (color commentator)
  • [2]
Scoring summary
Quarter Time Drive Team Scoring information Score
Plays Yards TOP Seahawks Bengals
1 Seahawks Byron Walker 28-yard touchdown reception from Dave Krieg, Norm Johnson kick good 7 0
2 Bengals James Brooks 15-yard touchdown run, Jim Breech kick good 7 7
2 Seahawks Daryl Turner 6-yard touchdown reception from Dave Krieg, Norm Johnson kick good 14 7
2 Seahawks Charle Young 19-yard touchdown reception from Dave Krieg, Norm Johnson kick good 21 7
2 Bengals 22-yard field goal by Jim Breech 21 10
3 Bengals James Brooks 17-yard touchdown reception from Turk Schonert, Jim Breech kick good 21 17
3 Bengals Larry Kinnebrew 9-yard touchdown run, Jim Breech kick good 21 24
4 Seahawks Curt Warner 11-yard touchdown run, Norm Johnson kick good 28 24
"TOP" = time of possession. For other American football terms, see Glossary of American football. 28 21

Week 2

Week 2: Cincinnati Bengals at St. Louis Cardinals – Game summary
Period 1 2 34Total
Bengals 7 7 31027
Cardinals 7 10 101441

at Busch Stadium, St. Louis

  • Date: September 15, 1985
  • Game time: 1:00pm CST
  • Game weather: 66 °F (19 °C), wind 8 miles per hour (13 km/h; 7.0 kn)
  • Game attendance: 46,321
  • [3]
Scoring summary
Quarter Time Drive Team Scoring information Score
Plays Yards TOP Bengals Cardinals
1 Bengals Stanford Jennings 4-yard touchdown reception from Ken Anderson, Jim Breech kick good 7 0
1 Cardinals Earl Ferrell 27-yard touchdown reception from Neil Lomax, Neil O'Donoghue kick good 7 7
2 Bengals Eddie Brown 44-yard touchdown reception from Ken Anderson, Jim Breech kick good 14 7
2 Cardinals Ottis Anderson 1-yard touchdown run, Neil O'Donoghue kick good 14 14
2 Cardinals 46-yard field goal by Neil O'Donoghue 14 17
3 Cardinals Roy Green 25-yard touchdown reception from Neil Lomax, Neil O'Donoghue kick good 14 24
3 Bengals 33-yard field goal by Jim Breech 17 24
3 Cardinals 49-yard field goal by Neil O'Donoghue 17 27
4 Bengals 47-yard field goal by Jim Breech 20 27
4 Cardinals Stump Mitchell 1-yard touchdown run, Neil O'Donoghue kick good 20 34
4 Cardinals Perry Harrington 1-yard touchdown run, Neil O'Donoghue kick good 20 41
4 Bengals Larry Kinnebrew 29-yard touchdown reception from Boomer Esiason, Jim Breech kick good 27 41
"TOP" = time of possession. For other American football terms, see Glossary of American football. 27 41

Week 3

Week 3: San Diego Chargers at Cincinnati Bengals – Game summary
Period 1 2 34Total
Chargers 3 17 141044
Bengals 7 6 21741

at Riverfront Stadium, Cincinnati

  • Date: September 22, 1985
  • Game time: 1:00pm EST
  • Game weather: 71 °F (22 °C), wind 9 miles per hour (14 km/h; 7.8 kn)
  • Game attendance: 52,270
  • Referee: Gene Barth
  • TV announcers (NBC): Bob Stone and Bob Kuechenberg
  • [4]
Scoring summary
Quarter Time Drive Team Scoring information Score
Plays Yards TOP Chargers Bengals
1 Chargers 20-yard field goal by Bob Thomas 3 0
1 Bengals Cris Collinsworth 18-yard touchdown reception from Boomer Esiason, Jim Breech kick good 3 7
2 Chargers Eric Sievers 4-yard touchdown reception from Dan Fouts, Bob Thomas kick good 10 7
2 Chargers Eric Sievers 5-yard touchdown reception from Dan Fouts, Bob Thomas kick good 17 7
2 Bengals James Brooks 1-yard touchdown run, Jim Breech kick missed 17 13
2 Chargers 28-yard field goal by Bob Thomas 20 13
3 Bengals Cris Collinsworth 16-yard touchdown reception from Boomer Esiason, Jim Breech kick good 20 20
3 Chargers Pete Holohan 3-yard touchdown reception from Dan Fouts, Bob Thomas kick good 27 20
3 Bengals Larry Kinnebrew 4-yard touchdown run, Jim Breech kick good 27 27
3 Bengals Stanford Jennings 11-yard touchdown reception from Boomer Esiason, Jim Breech kick good 27 34
3 Chargers Lionel James 56-yard touchdown run, Bob Thomas kick good 34 34
4 Bengals Larry Kinnebrew 8-yard touchdown run, Jim Breech kick good 34 41
4 Chargers Lionel James 60-yard touchdown reception from Dan Fouts, Bob Thomas kick good 41 41
4 Chargers 34-yard field goal by Bob Thomas 44 41
"TOP" = time of possession. For other American football terms, see Glossary of American football. 44 41


Week 4

1 234Total
• Bengals 0 14716 37
Steelers 0 10140 24
  • Date: September 30
  • Location: Three Rivers Stadium, Pittsburgh
  • Game start: 9:00 p.m. EST
  • Game weather: 62 °F (17 °C); wind 7 mph (11 km/h)
  • Referee: Pat Haggerty
  • Television network: ABC
Scoring summary
Q2PITLipps 15 yard pass from Malone (Anderson kick)PIT 7–0
Q2CINBrooks 14 yard run (Breech kick)Tie 7–7
Q2CINHolman 26 yard pass from Esiason (Breech kick)CIN 14–7
Q2PITAnderson 29 yard field goalCIN 14–10
Q3CINBrown 8 yard pass from Esiason (Breech kick)CIN 21–10
Q3PITStallworth 17 yard pass from Malone (Anderson kick)CIN 21–17
Q3PITErenberg 4 yard pass from Malone (Anderson kick)PIT 24–21
Q4CINHolman 4 yard pass from Esiason (Breech kick)CIN 28–24
Q4CINBreech 32 yard field goalCIN 31–24
Q4CINBrooks 32 yard run (pass failed)CIN 37–24

Week 6

1 234Total
Giants 0 31710 30
• Bengals 14 777 35
  • Date: October 13
  • Location: Riverfront Stadium, Cincinnati
  • Game start: 1:00 p.m.
  • Game weather: 72 °F (22 °C), wind 11 mph (18 km/h)
  • Referee: Jim Tunney
  • TV announcers (CBS): Pat Summerall and John Madden
Scoring summary
1CINCris Collinsworth 16 yard pass from Boomer Esiason (Jim Breech kick)Bengals 7–0
1CINJames Brooks 27 yard pass from Boomer Esiason (Jim Breech kick)Bengals 14–0
2CINJames Brooks 5 yard run (Jim Breech kick)Bengals 21–0
2NYGJess Atkinson 33 yard field goalBengals 21–3
3NYGJoe Morris 1 yard run (Jess Atkinson kick)Bengals 21–10
3NYGJess Atkinson 14 yard run (Jess Atkinson kick)Bengals 21–17
3NYGJess Atkinson 37 yard field goalBengals 21–20
3CINJames Griffin 24 yard interception return (Jim Breech kick)Bengals 28–20
4CINRodney Holman 5 yard pass from Boomer Esiason (Jim Breech kick)Bengals 35–20
4NYGJess Atkinson 46 yard field goalBengals 35–23
4NYGGeorge Adams 24 yard pass from Phil Simms (Jess Atkinson kick)Bengals 35–30

[5]

Week 8

Pittsburgh Steelers at Cincinnati Bengals
Period 1 2 34Total
Steelers 0 7 01421
Bengals 3 14 9026

at Riverfront Stadium, Cincinnati

  • Date: October 27, 1985
  • Game time: 4:00 pm EST
  • Game weather: 59 °F (15 °C), wind 4 miles per hour (6.4 km/h; 3.5 kn)
  • Game attendance: 55,241
  • Referee: Bob McElwee
  • TV announcers (NBC): Don Criqui (play by play), Bob Trumpy (color commentator)
  • [6]
Scoring summary
Quarter Time Drive Team Scoring information Score
Plays Yards TOP Steelers Bengals
1 Bengals 37-yard field goal by Jim Breech 0 3
2 Bengals Rodney Holman 11-yard touchdown reception from Boomer Esiason, Jim Breech kick good 0 10
2 Bengals Interception returned 57 yards for touchdown by Robert Jackson, Jim Breech kick good 0 17
2 Steelers Louis Lipps 49-yard touchdown reception from David Woodley, Gary Anderson kick good 7 17
3 Bengals 39-yard field goal by Jim Breech 7 20
3 Bengals 40-yard field goal by Jim Breech 7 23
3 Bengals 32-yard field goal by Jim Breech 7 26
4 Steelers Louis Lipps 62-yard punt return for touchdown 14 26
4 Steelers Walter Abercrombie 1-yard touchdown run, Gary Anderson kick good 21 26
"TOP" = time of possession. For other American football terms, see Glossary of American football. 21 26

Standings

AFC Central
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 W L T PCT DIV CONF PF PA STK
Cleveland Browns(3) 8 8 0 .500 4–2 7–5 287 294 L1
Cincinnati Bengals 7 9 0 .438 4–2 5–7 441 437 L2
Pittsburgh Steelers 7 9 0 .438 3–3 6–6 379 355 L1
Houston Oilers 5 11 0 .313 1–5 4–8 284 412 L4

Team leaders

Passing

Player Att Comp Yds TD INT Rating
Boomer Esiason 431 251 3443 27 12 92.3

Rushing

Player Att Yds YPC Long TD
James Brooks 192 929 4.8 39 7
Larry Kinnebrew 170 714 4.2 29 9

Receiving

Player Rec Yds Avg Long TD
Cris Collinsworth 65 1125 17.3 71 5
James Brooks 55 576 10.3 57 5
Eddie Brown 53 942 17.8 68 8

Defensive

Player Tackles Sacks INTs FF FR
Tim Krumrie 96 3.5 0 1 2
Ross Browner 63 9 0 0 2
James Griffin 55 1 7 2 1

Kicking and punting

Player FGA FGM FG% XPA XPM XP% Points
Jim Breech 33 24 72.7% 50 48 96.0 120
Player Punts Yards Long Blkd Avg.
Pat McInally 57 2410 64 1 42.3

Special teams

Player KR KRYards KRAvg KRLong KRTD PR PRYards PRAvg PRLong PRTD
Mike Martin 48 1104 23.0 45 0 32 268 8.4 26 0

Awards and honors

  • Anthony Muñoz, AFC Pro Bowl selection

References

  1. ^ "1985 Cincinnati Bengals draftees". Pro-Football-Reference.com. Retrieved October 6, 2014.
  2. ^ "Seattle Seahawks at Cincinnati Bengals - September 8th, 1985". pro-football-reference.com. Pro Football Reference. Retrieved December 8, 2023.
  3. ^ "Cincinnati Bengals at St. Louis Cardinals - September 15th, 1985". pro-football-reference.com. Pro Football Reference. Retrieved December 8, 2023.
  4. ^ "San Diego Chargers at Cincinnati Bengals - September 22nd, 1985". pro-football-reference.com. Pro Football Reference. Retrieved January 21, 2024.
  5. ^ Pro-Football-Reference.com
  6. ^ Pro Football Reference; Pittsburgh Steelers at Cincinnati Bengals – October 27th, 1985

External links

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