1985 Los Angeles Raiders season
NFL team season
The 1985 Los Angeles Raiders season was their 26th in the league . They improved upon their previous season 's 11–5 record, winning 12 games.[ 1] The team qualified for the playoffs for the fourth straight season. Two close victories over Denver towards the end of the season gave Los Angeles the division title, while Denver missed the playoffs despite an 11–5 record.
Before the season
Draft
[ 2]
Personnel
Staff
1985 Los Angeles Raiders staff
Front office
Head coaches
Offensive coaches
Defensive coaches
Special teams coaches
Roster
Schedule
Week
Date
Opponent
Result
Record
Venue
Attendance
Recap
1
September 8
New York Jets
W 31–0
1–0
Los Angeles Memorial Coliseum
57,123
Recap
2
at Kansas City Chiefs
L 20–36
1–1
Arrowhead Stadium
72,686
Recap
3
September 22
San Francisco 49ers
L 10–34
1–2
Los Angeles Memorial Coliseum
87,006
Recap
4
September 29
at New England Patriots
W 35–20
2–2
Sullivan Stadium
60,686
Recap
5
October 6
Kansas City Chiefs
W 19–0
3–2
Los Angeles Memorial Coliseum
55,133
Recap
6
October 13
New Orleans Saints
W 23–13
4–2
Los Angeles Memorial Coliseum
48,152
Recap
7
October 20
at Cleveland Browns
W 21–20
5–2
Cleveland Municipal Stadium
77,928
Recap
8
San Diego Chargers
W 34–21
6–2
Los Angeles Memorial Coliseum
69,297
Recap
9
November 3
at Seattle Seahawks
L 3–33
6–3
Kingdome
64,060
Recap
10
November 10
at San Diego Chargers
L 34–40 (OT)
6–4
Jack Murphy Stadium
58,566
Recap
11
November 17
Cincinnati Bengals
W 13–6
7–4
Los Angeles Memorial Coliseum
52,501
Recap
12
November 24
Denver Broncos
W 31–28 (OT)
8–4
Los Angeles Memorial Coliseum
63,161
Recap
13
December 1
at Atlanta Falcons
W 34–24
9–4
Atlanta–Fulton County Stadium
20,858
Recap
14
December 8
at Denver Broncos
W 17–14 (OT)
10–4
Mile High Stadium
75,042
Recap
15
December 15
Seattle Seahawks
W 13–3
11–4
Los Angeles Memorial Coliseum
77,425
Recap
16
at Los Angeles Rams
W 16–6
12–4
Anaheim Stadium
66,676
Recap
Note: Intra-division opponents are in bold text.
Playoffs
Round
Date
Opponent (seed)
Result
Venue
Attendance
Recap
Divisional
January 5, 1986
New England Patriots (5)
L 20–27
Los Angeles Memorial Coliseum
88,936
Recap
Season summary
Week 1
1
2 3 4 Total
Jets
0
0 0 0
0
• Raiders
7
14 7 3
31
Scoring summary Q1 1:03 LA Allen 1 yard run (Bahr kick)LA 7–0
Q2 12:10 LA D. Williams 14 yard pass from Plunkett (Bahr kick)LA 14–0
Q2 5:08 LA Allen 3 yard run (Bahr kick) LA 21–0
Q3 11:38 LA Toran 70 yard interception return (Bahr kick)Raiders 28–0
Q4 8:29 LA Bahr 20 yard field goal LA 31–0
[ 3]
[ 4]
Week 10 at Chargers
Game information
First quarter
Second quarter
SDG – Bob Thomas 34-yard field goal, 10:11. Chargers 10–7. Drive: 7 plays, 24 yards, 3:07.
RAI – Frank Hawkins 1-yard run (kick blocked), 1:57. Raiders 13–10. Drive: 4 plays, 32 yards, 1:30.
Third quarter
SDG – Bob Thomas 23-yard field goal, 11:32. Tied 13–13. Drive: 9 plays, 61 yards, 3:28.
RAI – Marcus Allen 1-yard run (Chris Bahr kick), 7:11. Raiders 20–13. Drive: 9 plays, 66 yards, 4:21.
SDG – Lionel James 34-yard pass from Dan Fouts (Bob Thomas kick), 3:08. Tied 20–20. Drive: 8 plays, 80 yards, 4:03.
RAI – Jessie Hester 54-yard pass from Marc Wilson (Chris Bahr kick), 0:59. Raiders 27–20. Drive: 5 plays, 75 yards, 2:09.
Fourth quarter
SDG – Gary Anderson 21-yard pass from Dan Fouts (Bob Thomas kick), 7:07. Tied 27–27. Drive: 10 plays, 79 yards, 5:07.
RAI – Todd Christensen 24-yard pass from Marc Wilson (Chris Bahr kick), 1:49. Raiders 34–27 Drive: 12 plays, 84 yards, 5:18.
SDG – Charlie Joiner 14-yard pass from Dan Fouts (Bob Thomas kick), 0:53. Tied 34–34. Drive: 5 plays, 71 yards, 0:56.
Overtime
SDG – Lionel James 17-yard run, 11:16. Chargers 40–34. Drive: 7 plays, 80 yards, 3:44.
Top passers
RAI – Marc Wilson – 18/32, 297 yards, 3 TD, 2 INT
SDG – Dan Fouts – 26/41, 436 yards, 4 TD, INT
Top rushers
RAI – Marcus Allen – 28 rushes, 119 yards, TD
SDG – Gary Anderson – 16 rushes, 70 yards
Top receivers
RAI – Todd Christensen – 7 receptions, 112 yards, TD
SDG – Lionel James – 11 receptions, 168 yards, TD
Week 14 at Broncos
Week 14: Los Angeles Raiders (9–4) at Denver Broncos (9–4)
Quarter
1
2
3 4 OT Total
Raiders
0
0
14 0 3 17
Broncos
7
7
0 0 0 14
at Mile High Stadium , Denver, Colorado
Date : December 8Game time : 4:00 p.m. ESTGame weather : 31 °F (−1 °C)Game attendance : 75,042Referee : Fred WyantTV announcers (NBC) : Dick Enberg and Merlin OlsenBox Score , Box Score
Game information
First quarter
Second quarter
DEN – Sammy Winder 1-yard run (Rich Karlis kick), 0:30. Broncos 14–0. Drive:
Third quarter
Fourth quarter
Overtime
LA – Chris Bahr 26-yard field goal, 10:05. Raiders 17–14. Drive:
Top passers
Top rushers
Top receivers
Standings
MVP
Running Back Marcus Allen earned the 1985 league MVP with Walter Payton of the Chicago Bears finishing as the runner-up. Allen started all 16 games and caught 67 passes for 2,314 total yards (1,759 rushing yards) and 14 total touchdowns (11 rushing touchdowns). His longest run was 61 yards, his longest reception was 44 yards, and he ran for 4.6 yards per carry. He also completed 1 of 2 passes for 16 yards for zero touchdowns. [ 5]
Pro Bowlers
The 1985 Raiders had four players make it to the Pro Bowl. They were Marcus Allen , Todd Christensen , Mike Haynes , and Howie Long .[ 6]
References
Franchise Stadiums Key personnel Culture Lore Rivalries Media Wild card berths (6) Division championships (15) Conference championships (4) League championships (4) Current league affiliations Former league affiliation