1985 Buffalo Bills season

The 1985 Buffalo Bills season was the franchise's 16th season in the National Football League, and the 26th overall. It was Buffalo's second-consecutive 2–14 season. Head coach Kay Stephenson was fired after an 0–4 start. Defensive coordinator Hank Bullough took over, going 2–10 for the remainder of the season. For the second consecutive season, the Bills went winless on the road.

Season summary

The Bills' offense was anemic; its 200 points scored is the lowest total in the 1980s, and the lowest total in team history for a sixteen-game schedule. Having concluded that longtime starting quarterback Joe Ferguson's career was over after a spike in interceptions in the early 1980s, the Bills cut him in the offseason. (The assumption would be in error, as Ferguson would sign with the Detroit Lions and play an additional six seasons in the NFL after being released.) Ferguson's replacements, quarterbacks Vince Ferragamo and Bruce Mathison, only produced 9 passing touchdowns all season, while combining for a league-high 31 interceptions. Buffalo scored fewer than ten points in seven of its sixteen games. The team’s point-differential of negative-181 is the third-worst in franchise history.

Offseason

NFL draft

In 1985, the Bills used the first overall pick in the draft to select All-American defensive end Bruce Smith. Smith would end up going on to dominate throughout the late 1980s and early 1990s. Smith was an 11-time All-Pro selection, two-time NFL Defensive Player of the Year, and logged an NFL-record 200 sacks by the end of his career.

Fourth-round pick Andre Reed, a wide receiver out of Kutztown (PA) State, would go on to be the leading receiver in Buffalo Bills history. When he retired after the 2000 season, Reed's 951 career receptions were third in NFL history behind Jerry Rice and Cris Carter.

Maryland quarterback Frank Reich would become famous for quarterbacking “The Comeback”, a 1993 playoff game in which Buffalo, down 35–3 in the third quarter, would score 35 unanswered points to win 41–38 in overtime. It is the largest deficit overcome to win a game in NFL history.

Reed played more games with the Bills, 221, than any other player. Smith was second with 217 games.

Regular season

Schedule

style="Template:NFLPrimaryStyle"| Week	style="Template:NFLPrimaryStyle"| Date	style="Template:NFLPrimaryStyle"| Opponent	style="Template:NFLPrimaryStyle"| Result	style="Template:NFLPrimaryStyle"| Record	style="Template:NFLPrimaryStyle"| Venue	style="Template:NFLPrimaryStyle"| Attendance
1	September 8	San Diego Chargers	L 9–14	0–1	Rich Stadium	67,597
2	September 15	at New York Jets	L 3–42	0–2	Giants Stadium	63,449
3	September 22	New England Patriots	L 14–17	0–3	Rich Stadium	40,334
4	September 29	Minnesota Vikings	L 20–27	0–4	Rich Stadium	45,667
5	October 6	at Indianapolis Colts	L 17–49	0–5	Hoosier Dome	60,003
6	October 13	at New England Patriots	L 3–14	0–6	Sullivan Stadium	40,462
7	October 20	Indianapolis Colts	W 21–9	1–6	Rich Stadium	28,430
8	October 27	at Philadelphia Eagles	L 17–21	1–7	Veterans Stadium	60,987
9	November 3	Cincinnati Bengals	L 17–23	1–8	Rich Stadium	25,640
10	November 10	Houston Oilers	W 20–0	2–8	Rich Stadium	21,881
11	November 17	at Cleveland Browns	L 7–17	2–9	Cleveland Municipal Stadium	54,478
12	November 24	Miami Dolphins	L 14–23	2–10	Rich Stadium	50,474
13	December 1	at San Diego Chargers	L 7–40	2–11	Jack Murphy Stadium	45,487
14	December 8	New York Jets	L 7–27	2–12	Rich Stadium	23,122
15	December 15	at Pittsburgh Steelers	L 24–30	2–13	Three Rivers Stadium	35,953
16	December 22	at Miami Dolphins	L 0–28	2–14	Miami Orange Bowl	64,811

Note: Intra-division opponents are in bold text.

Game summaries

Week 1

1 2 3 4 Total • Chargers 7 7 0 0 14 Bills 3 6 0 0 9 Date: September 8 Location: Rich Stadium Orchard Park, NY Game start: 4:00 p.m. EST Game attendance: 67,597 Game weather: ; wind Referee: Dick Jorgensen TV announcers (NBC): Phil Stone and Reggie Rucker

Week 3

1 2 3 4 Total • Patriots 3 7 7 0 17 Bills 0 7 0 7 14 Date: September 22 Location: Rich Stadium • Orchard Park, New York Game start: 1:00 p.m. EST Game weather: • Wind Referee: Jerry Seeman Television network: NBC Template:AFB Game Box Scoring Entry Template:AFB Game Box Scoring Entry Template:AFB Game Box Scoring Entry Template:AFB Game Box Scoring Entry Template:AFB Game Box Scoring Entry

Week 6

1 2 3 4 Total Bills 0 3 0 0 3 • Patriots 0 0 7 7 14 Date: October 13 Location: Sullivan Stadium • Foxboro, Massachusetts Game start: 1:00 p.m. EST Game weather: • Wind Referee: Gene Barth TV announcers (NBC): Len Berman and Reggie Rucker Template:AFB Game Box Scoring Entry Template:AFB Game Box Scoring Entry Template:AFB Game Box Scoring Entry

Week 7

1 2 3 4 Total Colts 3 3 3 0 9 • Bills 7 7 0 7 21 Date: October 20 Location: Rich Stadium Game start: 1:00 p.m. EST Game attendance: 28,430 Game weather: ; wind Referee: Fred Wyant Template:AFB Game Box Scoring Entry Template:AFB Game Box Scoring Entry Template:AFB Game Box Scoring Entry Template:AFB Game Box Scoring Entry Template:AFB Game Box Scoring Entry Template:AFB Game Box Scoring Entry

Week 8

1 2 3 4 Total Bills 7 3 7 0 17 • Eagles 0 0 0 21 21 Date: October 27 Location: Veterans Stadium Game start: 1:00 p.m. EST Game attendance: 60.987 Game weather: ; wind Referee: Ben Dreith TV announcers (NBC): Tom Hammond and Dave Rowe Template:AFB Game Box Scoring Entry Template:AFB Game Box Scoring Entry Template:AFB Game Box Scoring Entry Template:AFB Game Box Scoring Entry Template:AFB Game Box Scoring Entry

Week 10

1 2 3 4 Total Oilers 0 0 0 0 0 • Bills 10 0 10 0 20 Date: November 10 Location: Rich Stadium, Orchard Park, New York Game start: 1:00 p.m. Game weather: , wind Referee: Bob Frederic Template:AFB Game Box Scoring Entry Template:AFB Game Box Scoring Entry Template:AFB Game Box Scoring Entry Template:AFB Game Box Scoring Entry

Week 16

1 2 3 4 Total Bills 0 0 0 0 0 • Dolphins 7 7 0 14 28 Date: December 22 Location: Orange Bowl, Miami, Florida Game start: 1:00 p.m. EST Game attendance: 64,811 Game weather: ; wind Referee: Gene Barth TV announcers (NFL on NBC): Jay Randolph and Bob Griese

External links

• 1985 Buffalo Bills at Pro-Football-Reference.com