The 1985 New York Jets season was the 26th season for the team and the 16th in the National Football League. It began with the team trying to improve upon its 7–9 record from 1984 under head coach Joe Walton. Among quarterbacks, Ken O'Brien had the lowest rate of interceptions, with only eight interceptions in 488 passing attempts. The Jets finished the season with a record of 11–5, qualifying for the top Wild Card spot in the playoffs. On October 14, during a Monday Night Halftime ceremony, the Jets retired Joe Namath's number 12, and helped inspire the Jets to a 23–7 victory over the Dolphins. In the Wild Card round of the playoffs, they fell at home to the eventual AFC champion New England Patriots 26–14.
NFL Films produced a documentary about the team's season entitled Just The Beginning; it was narrated by Jeff Kaye.
Offseason Draft
Personnel Staff
Roster
Preseason
Schedule Week Date Opponent Result Record Venue Attendance 1 Philadelphia Eagles L 17–37 0–1 Giants Stadium 30,097 2 at Cincinnati Bengals L 20–24 0–2 Riverfront Stadium 40,371 3 at New York Giants L 31–34 0–3 Giants Stadium 63,174 4 at Green Bay Packers W 30–20 1–3 Lambeau Field 56,753
Preseason Game summaries
Week P1 (Saturday, August 10, 1985): vs. Philadelphia Eagles
Week P2 (Saturday, August 17, 1985): at Cincinnati Bengals
Week P3 (Saturday, August 24, 1985): at New York Giants
Week P4 (Saturday, August 31, 1985): at Green Bay Packers
Regular season
Schedule Week Date Opponent Result Record Venue Attendance 1 September 8 at Los Angeles Raiders L 0–31 0–1 Los Angeles Memorial Coliseum 57,123 2 September 15 Buffalo Bills W 42–3 1–1 Giants Stadium 63,449 3 September 22 at Green Bay Packers W 24–3 2–1 Milwaukee County Stadium 53,667 4 September 29 Indianapolis Colts W 25–20 3–1 Giants Stadium 61,987 5 October 6 at Cincinnati BengalsW 29–20 4–1 Riverfront Stadium 51,785 6 October 14 Miami DolphinsW 23–7 5–1 Giants Stadium 73,807 7 October 20 at New England Patriots L 13–20 5–2 Sullivan Stadium 58,163 8 October 27 Seattle Seahawks W 17–14 6–2 Giants Stadium 69,320 9 November 3 at Indianapolis Colts W 35–17 7–2 Hoosier Dome 59,683 10 November 10 at Miami Dolphins L 17–21 7–3 Miami Orange Bowl 73,965 11 November 17 Tampa Bay Buccaneers W 62–28 8–3 Giants Stadium 65,344 12 November 24 New England Patriots W 16–13 (OT) 9–3 Giants Stadium 74,100 13 November 28 at Detroit Lions L 20–31 9–4 Pontiac Silverdome 65,531 14 December 8 at Buffalo Bills W 27–7 10–4 Rich Stadium 23,122 15 December 14 Chicago Bears L 6–19 10–5 Giants Stadium 74,752 16 December 22 Cleveland Browns W 37–10 11–5 Giants Stadium 59,073 Note: Intra-division opponents are in bold text.
Regular season game summaries
Week 1 (Sunday, September 8, 1985): at Los Angeles Raiders The Football Database. Retrieved 2023-Apr-24.
Point spread: Over/under: Time of game:
JetsGame statisticsRaiders14 First downs 1924–62 Rushes–yards 35–122192 Passing yards 25816–29–2 15–22–010–61 Sacked–yards 4–24131 Net passing yards 234193 Total yards 3560 Return yards 1257–43 4–371–0 Fumbles–lost 0–02–10 Penalties–yards 7–6028:21 Time of possession 31:39
Week 2 (Sunday, September 15, 1985): vs. Buffalo Bills The Football Database. Retrieved 2023-Apr-24.
Point spread: Over/under: Time of game:
BillsGame statisticsJets First downs Rushes–yards Passing yards Sacked–yards Net passing yards Total yards Return yards Fumbles–lost Penalties–yards Time of possession
Week 3 (Sunday, September 22, 1985): at Green Bay Packers The Football Database. Retrieved 2023-Apr-24.
Point spread: Over/under: Time of game:
JetsGame statisticsPackers First downs Rushes–yards Passing yards Sacked–yards Net passing yards Total yards Return yards Fumbles–lost Penalties–yards Time of possession
Week 4 (Sunday, September 29, 1985): vs. Indianapolis Colts The Football Database. Retrieved 2023-Apr-24.
Point spread: Over/under: Time of game:
ColtsGame statisticsJets First downs Rushes–yards Passing yards Sacked–yards Net passing yards Total yards Return yards Fumbles–lost Penalties–yards Time of possession
Week 5 (Sunday, October 6, 1985): at Cincinnati Bengals The Football Database. Retrieved 2023-Apr-24.
Point spread: Over/under: Time of game:
JetsGame statisticsBengals First downs Rushes–yards Passing yards Sacked–yards Net passing yards Total yards Return yards Fumbles–lost Penalties–yards Time of possession
Week 6 (Monday, October 14, 1985): vs. Miami Dolphins The Football Database. Retrieved 2023-Apr-24.
Point spread: Over/under: Time of game: 2 hours, 45 minutes
DolphinsGame statisticsJets First downs Rushes–yards Passing yards Sacked–yards Net passing yards Total yards Return yards Fumbles–lost Penalties–yards Time of possession
Week 7 (Sunday, October 20, 1985): at New England Patriots The Football Database. Retrieved 2023-Apr-24.
Point spread: Over/under: Time of game: 3 hours, 4 minutes
JetsGame statisticsPatriots First downs Rushes–yards Passing yards Sacked–yards Net passing yards Total yards Return yards Fumbles–lost Penalties–yards Time of possession
Week 8 (Sunday, October 27, 1985): vs. Seattle Seahawks The Football Database. Retrieved 2023-Apr-24.
Point spread: Over/under: Time of game: 3 hours, 15 minutes
SeahawksGame statisticsJets First downs Rushes–yards Passing yards Sacked–yards Net passing yards Total yards Return yards Fumbles–lost Penalties–yards Time of possession
Week 9 (Sunday, November 3, 1985): at Indianapolis Colts The Football Database. Retrieved 2023-Apr-24.
Point spread: Over/under: Time of game:
JetsGame statisticsColts First downs Rushes–yards Passing yards Sacked–yards Net passing yards Total yards Return yards Fumbles–lost Penalties–yards Time of possession
Week 10 (Sunday, November 10, 1985): at Miami Dolphins The Football Database. Retrieved 2023-Apr-24.
Point spread: Over/under: Time of game:
JetsGame statisticsDolphins First downs Rushes–yards Passing yards Sacked–yards Net passing yards Total yards Return yards Fumbles–lost Penalties–yards Time of possession
Week 11 (Sunday, November 17, 1985): vs. Tampa Bay Buccaneers The Football Database. Retrieved 2023-Apr-24.
Point spread: Over/under: Time of game: 3 hours, 29 minutes
BuccaneersGame statisticsJets First downs Rushes–yards Passing yards Sacked–yards Net passing yards Total yards Return yards Fumbles–lost Penalties–yards Time of possession
Week 12 (Sunday, November 24, 1985): vs. New England Patriots The Football Database. Retrieved 2023-Apr-24.
Point spread: Over/under: Time of game: 3 hours, 39 minutes
PatriotsGame statisticsJets First downs Rushes–yards Passing yards Sacked–yards Net passing yards Total yards Return yards Fumbles–lost Penalties–yards Time of possession
Week 13 (Thursday, November 28, 1985): at Detroit Lions The Football Database. Retrieved 2023-Apr-24.
Point spread: Over/under: Time of game:
JetsGame statisticsLions First downs Rushes–yards Passing yards Sacked–yards Net passing yards Total yards Return yards Fumbles–lost Penalties–yards Time of possession
Week 14 (Sunday, December 8, 1985): at Buffalo Bills The Football Database. Retrieved 2023-Apr-24.
Point spread: Over/under: Time of game:
JetsGame statisticsBills First downs Rushes–yards Passing yards Sacked–yards Net passing yards Total yards Return yards Fumbles–lost Penalties–yards Time of possession
Week 15 (Saturday, December 14, 1985): vs. Chicago Bears The Football Database. Retrieved 2023-Apr-24.
Point spread: Over/under: Time of game:
BearsGame statisticsJets First downs Rushes–yards Passing yards Sacked–yards Net passing yards Total yards Return yards Fumbles–lost Penalties–yards Time of possession
Week 16 (Sunday, December 22, 1985): vs. Cleveland Browns The Football Database. Retrieved 2023-Apr-24.
Point spread: Over/under: Time of game:
BrownsGame statisticsJets First downs Rushes–yards Passing yards Sacked–yards Net passing yards Total yards Return yards Fumbles–lost Penalties–yards Time of possession
Standings
Playoffs Round Date Opponent (seed) Time TV Result Record Game Site Attendance Recap Wild Card New England Patriots (5) 4:00p.m. EST NBC L 14–26 0–1 Giants Stadium 70,958
Playoff Game summaries
AFC Wild Card Playoffs (Saturday, December 28, 1985): vs. New England Patriots The Football Database. Retrieved 2023-Apr-24.
Point spread: Over/under: Time of game: 3 hours, 0 minutes
PatriotsGame statisticsJets First downs Rushes–yards Passing yards Sacked–yards Net passing yards Total yards Return yards Fumbles–lost Penalties–yards Time of possession
Awards and honors Ken O'Brien, NFL passing leader (96.2 passer rating)
External links 1985 statistics
References