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1985 NFL season

 

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1985 NFL season



 
 
The 1985 NFL season was the 66th regular season of the National Football League
National Football League

The National Football League is the Major North American professional sports leagues American football Sports league in the United States. It is an unincorporated 501#501.28c.29.286.29 association controlled by its members....
. The season ended with Super Bowl XX
Super Bowl XX

Super Bowl XX was an American football game played on January 26, 1986 at the Louisiana Superdome in New Orleans, Louisiana to decide the National Football League champion following the 1985 NFL season....
 when the Chicago Bears
Chicago Bears

The Chicago Bears are a professional American football team based in Chicago, Illinois. They are members of the NFC North Division of the National Football Conference in the National Football League ....
 defeated the New England Patriots
New England Patriots

The New England Patriots, commonly called the "Pats" by sports writers and fans, are a professional American football team based in the Greater Boston area, playing their home games in the town of Foxborough, Massachusetts, Massachusetts....
.








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Encyclopedia


The 1985 NFL season was the 66th regular season of the National Football League
National Football League

The National Football League is the Major North American professional sports leagues American football Sports league in the United States. It is an unincorporated 501#501.28c.29.286.29 association controlled by its members....
. The season ended with Super Bowl XX
Super Bowl XX

Super Bowl XX was an American football game played on January 26, 1986 at the Louisiana Superdome in New Orleans, Louisiana to decide the National Football League champion following the 1985 NFL season....
 when the Chicago Bears
Chicago Bears

The Chicago Bears are a professional American football team based in Chicago, Illinois. They are members of the NFC North Division of the National Football Conference in the National Football League ....
 defeated the New England Patriots
New England Patriots

The New England Patriots, commonly called the "Pats" by sports writers and fans, are a professional American football team based in the Greater Boston area, playing their home games in the town of Foxborough, Massachusetts, Massachusetts....
.

Major rule changes

  • Whenever a team time out is called after the two minute warning of each half, it should only last 60 seconds instead of 90.
  • A play is immediately dead anytime the quarterback performs a kneel-down (the quarterback immediately kneels down after receiving the snap) after the two minute warning of each half, or whenever the player declares himself down by sliding feet first on the ground. The ball is then spotted at the point where the player touches the ground first.
  • Pass interference
    Pass interference

    file:Pass-Interference-ND-vs-USAFA-Nov-11-06.jpgIn American football and Canadian football gridiron football, pass interference is a penalty that occurs when a player interferes with an eligible receiver ability to make a fair attempt to catch a forward pass....
     is not to be called when a pass is clearly uncatchable.
  • Both "Roughing the kicker" and "Running into the kicker" fouls are not to be called if the defensive player was blocked into the kicker.
  • The definition of a valid fair catch signal is clearly defined as one arm that is fully extended above the head and waved from side to side.
  • Goaltending (leaping up to deflect a kick as it passes through the goal posts) is illegal.


Final standings

W = Wins, L = Losses, T = Ties, PCT = Winning Percentage, PF= Points For, PA = Points Against

- clinched wild card
Wild card (sports)

The term wild card refers broadly to a tournament or playoff berth awarded to an individual or team that has not qualified through normal play....
 berth, - clinched division title





Tiebreakers

  • Los Angeles Raiders was the first AFC seed ahead of Miami based on better record against common opponents (5-1 to Dolphins' 4-2).
  • N.Y. Jets was the first AFC Wild Card based on better conference record (9-3) than New England (8-4) and Denver (8-4).
  • New England was the second AFC Wild Card ahead of Denver based on better record against common opponents (4-2 to Broncos' 3-3).
  • Cincinnati finished ahead of Pittsburgh in the AFC Central based on head-to-head sweep (2-0).
  • Seattle finished ahead of San Diego in the AFC West based on head-to-head sweep (2-0).
  • Dallas finished ahead of N.Y. Giants and Washington in the NFC East based on better head-to-head record (4-0 to Giants' 1-3 and Redskins' 1-3).
  • N.Y. Giants was the first NFC Wild Card based on better conference record (8-4) than San Francisco (7-5) and Washington (6-6).
  • San Francisco was the second NFC Wild Card based on head-to-head victory over Washington (1-0).
  • Minnesota finished ahead of Detroit in the NFC Central based on better division record (3-5 to Lions' 2-6).


Playoffs

Home team in capitals

AFC

  • Wild-Card playoff: New England 26, N.Y. JETS 14
  • Divisional playoffs: MIAMI 24, Cleveland 21; New England 27, L.A. RAIDERS 20
  • AFC Championship: New England 31, MIAMI 14 at Orange Bowl
    Miami Orange Bowl

    The Miami Orange Bowl was a stadium in the City of Miami, west of Downtown Miami in Little Havana. Considered a landmark, it was the home stadium for the Miami Hurricanes football American football team and the temporary home of the Florida International University Golden Panthers for the 2007 football season while the FIU Stadium underwent e...
    , Miami, Florida
    Florida

    Florida is a U.S. state located in the Southeastern United States of the United States, bordering Alabama to the northwest and Georgia to the northeast....
    , January 12, 1986

NFC

  • Wild-Card playoff: N.Y. GIANTS 17, San Francisco 3
  • Divisional playoffs: L.A. RAMS 20, Dallas 0; CHICAGO 21, N.Y. Giants 0
  • NFC Championship: CHICAGO 24, L.A. Rams 0 at Soldier Field
    Soldier Field

    Soldier Field is located on Lake Shore Drive in Chicago, Illinois, and is currently home to the National Football League's Chicago Bears. It reopened on September 29, 2003 after a complete rebuild ....
    , Chicago
    Chicago

    Chicago is the largest city in the U.S. state of Illinois and the Midwestern United States, as well as the List of United States cities by population city in the United States with more than 2.8 million residents....
    , Illinois
    Illinois

    The State of Illinois is a U.S. state of the United States, the 21st to be admitted to the United States. Illinois is the most populous and demographically diverse Midwestern United States state and the fifth most populous state in the nation....
    , January 12, 1986

Super Bowl

  • Super Bowl XX
    Super Bowl XX

    Super Bowl XX was an American football game played on January 26, 1986 at the Louisiana Superdome in New Orleans, Louisiana to decide the National Football League champion following the 1985 NFL season....
    :
    Chicago (NFC) 46, New England (AFC) 10, at Louisiana Superdome
    Louisiana Superdome

    The Louisiana Superdome, often informally referred to simply as the Superdome, The Dome or the New Orleans Superdome is a large, multi-purpose sports and exhibition facility located in the Central Business District, New Orleans of New Orleans, Louisiana....
    , New Orleans, Louisiana
    New Orleans, Louisiana

    New Orleans is a major United States port city and the largest city in Louisiana. New Orleans is the center of the New Orleans metropolitan area metropolitan area, the largest metro area in the state....
    , January 26, 1986