1985 Washington Redskins season

NFL team season

← 1984
Redskins seasons
1986 →

The 1985 Washington Redskins season was the franchise's 54th season in the National Football League (NFL) and their 49th in Washington, D.C. The team failed to improve on their 11–5 record from 1984 and finished 10-6. The biggest moment of the year occurred on a November 18 Monday Night Football game, which witnessed Joe Theismann's career-ending injury after a sack by New York Giants outside linebacker Lawrence Taylor. The tackle resulted in a serious leg injury, and Theismann never played in the NFL again. Though the team failed to make the playoffs, they remained in contention for the entire regular season.

During the December 15 game against Cincinnati, law authorities conducted a successful sting operation which resulted in the arrest of 101 fugitives who thought they had received free tickets to the game.^[1]

Offseason

NFL Draft

1985 Washington Redskins Draft
Round	Selection	Player	Position	College
2	33	Tory Nixon	DB	San Diego State
5	122	Raphel Cherry	DB	Hawaii
6	163	Danzell Lee	TE	Lamar
8	219	Barry Wilburn	DB	Mississippi
10	263	Terry Orr	TE	Texas
11	290	Raleigh McKenzie	C	Tennessee

^[2]

Personnel

Staff

**1985 Washington Redskins staff**
	Front office Owner – Jack Kent Cooke General Manager – Bobby Beathard Head coaches Head Coach – Joe Gibbs Assistant Head Coach – Richie Petitbon Offensive coaches Offensive Coordinator – Joe Bugel Quarterbacks – Jerry Rhome Running Backs – Don Breaux Wide Receivers – Charley Taylor Tight Ends – Rennie Simmons Offensive Line – Joe Bugel			Defensive coaches Defensive Coordinator – Larry Peccatiello Defensive Coordinator – Richie Petitbon Defensive Line – LaVern Torgeson Special teams coaches Special Teams – Wayne Sevier Strength and conditioning Strength and Conditioning Coordinator – Dan Riley

Roster

**1985 Washington Redskins roster**

	Quarterbacks 10 Jay Schroeder 7 Joe Theismann Running backs 35 Keith Griffin PR 31 Ken Jenkins PR 44 John Riggins 38 George Rogers Wide receivers 84 Gary Clark 83 Mark McGrath 81 Art Monk 89 Calvin Muhammad 80 Joker Phillips Tight ends 86 Clint Didier 85 Don Warren		Offensive linemen 53 Jeff Bostic C 68 Russ Grimm C 61 Ken Huff G 66 Joe Jacoby T 73 Mark May T 63 Raleigh McKenzie G 60 Dan McQuaid T Defensive linemen 65 Dave Butz DT 77 Darryl Grant DT 78 Dean Hamel DT 64 Steve Hamilton DE 79 Todd Liebenstein DE 72 Dexter Manley DE 71 Charles Mann DE		Linebackers 58 Stuart Anderson 51 Monte Coleman 55 Mel Kaufman LLB 57 Rich Milot RLB 52 Neal Olkewicz MLB Defensive backs 37 Raphel Cherry SS 32 Vernon Dean CB 28 Darrell Green CB 25 Curtis Jordan FS 23 Tony Peters SS 45 Barry Wilburn CB Special teams 12 Steve Cox P 3 Mark Moseley K		Reserve lists 48 Ken Coffey SS (IRTooltip Injured reserve) -- Danzell Lee TE (IRTooltip Injured reserve) 87 Terry Orr TE Practice squad Rookies in italics

Regular season

Schedule

Week	Date	Opponent	Result	Record	Venue	Attendance	Game recap
1	September 9	at Dallas Cowboys	L 14–44	0–1	Texas Stadium	62,292	Recap
2	September 15	Houston Oilers	W 16–13	1–1	RFK Stadium	53,553	Recap
3	September 22	Philadelphia Eagles	L 6–19	1–2	RFK Stadium	53,748	Recap
4	September 29	at Chicago Bears	L 10–45	1–3	Soldier Field	63,708	Recap
5	October 7	St. Louis Cardinals	W 27–10	2–3	RFK Stadium	53,134	Recap
6	October 13	Detroit Lions	W 24–3	3–3	RFK Stadium	52,845	Recap
7	October 20	at New York Giants	L 3–17	3–4	Giants Stadium	74,389	Recap
8	October 27	at Cleveland Browns	W 14–7	4–4	Cleveland Municipal Stadium	78,540	Recap
9	November 3	at Atlanta Falcons	W 44–10	5–4	Atlanta–Fulton County Stadium	42,209	Recap
10	November 10	Dallas Cowboys	L 7–13	5–5	RFK Stadium	55,750	Recap
11	November 18	New York Giants	W 23–21	6–5	RFK Stadium	53,371	Recap
12	November 24	at Pittsburgh Steelers	W 30–23	7–5	Three Rivers Stadium	59,293	Recap
13	December 1	San Francisco 49ers	L 8–35	7–6	RFK Stadium	51,321	Recap
14	December 8	at Philadelphia Eagles	W 17–12	8–6	Veterans Stadium	60,737	Recap
15	December 15	Cincinnati Bengals	W 27–24	9–6	RFK Stadium	50,544	Recap
16	December 21	at St. Louis Cardinals	W 27–16	10–6	Busch Memorial Stadium	28,090	Recap

Note: Intra-division opponents are in bold text.

Game summaries

Week 1: at Dallas Cowboys

Washington Redskins at Dallas Cowboys

	1	2	3	4	Total
Redskins	0	7	0	7	14
• Cowboys	3	14	13	14	44

Date: Monday, September 9
Location: Texas Stadium • Irving, Texas
Game start: 8:00 p.m. CST
Game weather: 88 °F (31 °C), wind 10 mph (16 km/h)
Referee: Jerry Markbreit
TV announcers (ABC): Frank Gifford O. J. Simpson Joe Namath

Source: Pro-Football-Reference.com

Scoring summary

1	Cowboys	Rafael Septién 53-yard field goal	Cowboys 3–0

2	Cowboys	Timmy Newsome 1-yard run (Rafael Septien kick)	Cowboys 10–0

2	Redskins	John Riggins 1-yard run (Mark Moseley kick)	Cowboys 10–7

2	Cowboys	Mike Renfro 55-yard pass from Danny White (Rafael Septien kick)	Cowboys 17–7

3	Cowboys	Rafael Septien 39-yard field goal	Cowboys 20–7

3	Cowboys	Rafael Septien 43-yard field goal	Cowboys 23–7

3	Cowboys	Tony Dorsett 9-yard run (Rafael Septien kick)	Cowboys 30–7

4	Cowboys	Victor Scott 26-yard interception return (Rafael Septien kick)	Cowboys 37–7

4	Redskins	Clint Didier 19-yard pass from Joe Theismann (Mark Moseley kick)	Cowboys 37–14

4	Cowboys	Dennis Thurman 21-yard interception return (Rafael Septien kick)	Cowboys 44–14

Week 2: vs. Houston Oilers

Houston Oilers at Washington Redskins

	1	2	3	4	Total
Oilers	0	10	3	0	13
• Redskins	13	3	0	0	16

Date: Sunday, September 15
Location: RFK Stadium • Washington, D.C.
Game start: 1:00 p.m. EST
Game weather: 62 °F (17 °C), wind 8 mph (13 km/h)
Referee: Gordon McCarter

Source: Pro-Football-Reference.com

Scoring summary

1	Redskins	Calvin Muhammad 17-yard pass from Joe Theismann (Mark Moseley kick)	Redskins 7–0

1	Redskins	George Rogers 31-yard run (kick failed)	Redskins 13–0

2	Redskins	Mark Moseley 34-yard field goal	Redskins 16–0

2	Oilers	Tony Zendejas 44-yard field goal	Redskins 16–3

2	Oilers	Drew Hill 2-yard pass from Warren Moon (Tony Zendejas kick)	Redskins 16–10

3	Oilers	Tony Zendejas 35-yard field goal	Redskins 16–13

Week 7

	1	2	3	4	Total
Redskins	0	0	0	3	3
• Giants	0	7	7	3	17

Date: October 20
Location: Giants Stadium, East Rutherford, New Jersey
Game start: 1:00 p.m.
Game weather: 60 °F (15.6 °C); wind 14 miles per hour (23 km/h; 12 kn)
Referee: Gene Barth

^[3]

Week 11

	1	2	3	4	Total
Giants	7	0	14	0	21
• Redskins	7	0	7	9	23

Date: November 18
Location: RFK Stadium, Washington, D.C.
Game start: 9:00 p.m. EST
Game weather: 52 °F (11.1 °C); wind 6 miles per hour (9.7 km/h; 5.2 kn)
Referee: Fred Wyant
Television network: ABC

Standings

NFC East
view talk edit	W	L	T	PCT	DIV	CONF	PF	PA	STK
Dallas Cowboys⁽³⁾	10	6	0	.625	6–2	7–5	357	333	L1
New York Giants⁽⁴⁾	10	6	0	.625	5–3	8–4	399	283	W1
Washington Redskins	10	6	0	.625	4–4	6–6	297	312	W3
Philadelphia Eagles	7	9	0	.438	4–4	6–8	286	310	W1
St. Louis Cardinals	5	11	0	.313	1–7	3–9	278	414	L2

References

^ "Redskins Ticket Sting Nets 101 Fugitives". AP NEWS. Retrieved March 7, 2023.
^ "National Football League: NFL Draft History". NFL.com. Archived from the original on September 16, 2011. Retrieved July 9, 2011.
^ Pro-Football-Reference.com

v t e Washington Commanders
Formerly the Boston Braves (1932), Boston Redskins (1933–1936), Washington Redskins (1937–2019), and Washington Football Team (2020–2021) Based in Landover, Maryland Headquartered in Ashburn, Virginia
Franchise	History Seasons Players Coaches Draft first-round picks Starting quarterbacks Records Broadcasters
Stadiums	Braves Field Fenway Park Griffith Stadium RFK Stadium Commanders Field
Ownership group	Managing partner: Josh Harris Limited partners: Mitchell Rales, Magic Johnson, David Blitzer, Mark Ein, others
Key personnel	Team president: Jason Wright General manager: Adam Peters Head coach: Dan Quinn
Culture	"Hail to the Commanders" Marching Band Major Tuddy Hogettes Chief Zee Redskins name controversy Name change advocates Opinion polls Trademark dispute Original Americans Foundation "Go Fund Yourself" The Replacements Everybody's All-American Operation Flagship
Lore	Bears 73, Redskins 0 The Hogs The Fun Bunch The Over-the-Hill Gang Body Bag Game Raljon, Maryland Redskins Rule Ricky Williams trade
Rivalries	Dallas Cowboys New York Giants Philadelphia Eagles
Division championships (15)	1936 1937 1940 1942 1943 1945 1972 1983 1984 1987 1991 1999 2012 2015 2020
Conference championships (5)	1972 1982 1983 1987 1991
League championships (2)	1937 1942
Super Bowl championships (3)	1982 (XVII) 1987 (XXII) 1991 (XXVI)
Hall of Famers	Cliff Battles Sammy Baugh Bill Dudley Turk Edwards Joe Gibbs Darrell Green Russ Grimm Chris Hanburger Ken Houston Sam Huff Deacon Jones Stan Jones Sonny Jurgensen Paul Krause Vince Lombardi Wayne Millner Bobby Mitchell Art Monk John Riggins Bruce Smith Charley Taylor
Affiliations	League: National Football League Conference: National Football Conference Division: East Division
Category Commons

v t e Washington Commanders seasons
Formerly the Boston Braves (1932), Boston Redskins (1933–1936), Washington Redskins (1937–2019), and Washington Football Team (2020–2021)
1932 1933 1934 1935 1936 1937 1938 1939 1940 1941 1942 1943 1944 1945 1946 1947 1948 1949 1950 1951 1952 1953 1954 1955 1956 1957 1958 1959 1960 1961 1962 1963 1964 1965 1966 1967 1968 1969 1970 1971 1972 1973 1974 1975 1976 1977 1978 1979 1980 1981 1982 1983 1984 1985 1986 1987 1988 1989 1990 1991 1992 1993 1994 1995 1996 1997 1998 1999 2000 2001 2002 2003 2004 2005 2006 2007 2008 2009 2010 2011 2012 2013 2014 2015 2016 2017 2018 2019 2020 2021 2022 2023 2024
Bold indicates NFL Championship or Super Bowl victory Italics indicates NFL Championship or Super Bowl appearance

NFL on ABC

Related programs

Non-NFL programs	College Football on ABC USFL on ABC World League of American Football on ABC

History of Monday Night Football
NFL on television (history)
- 1950s
- 1960s
- 1970s
- 1980s
- 1990s
- 2000s
- 2020s
Monday Night Mayhem (film)
ABC Monday Night Football (video game)
Super Bowl TV ratings (lead-out programs)

Chicago Bears (home games)	1953 1954 1955
Chicago Cardinals (home games)	1953 1954 1955
Los Angeles Rams (Pacific Time Zone affiliates)	1955
San Francisco 49ers (Pacific Time Zone affiliates)	1955
Washington Redskins (home games)	1954

Commentators

Postseason commentators	AFL Championship Game NFL Championship Game Super Bowl

Lore televised by ABC

"Body Bag Game"
Death of John Lennon
Brett Favre wins one for his father
"Monday Night Miracle"
Montana outduels Elway
"Snowball Game"
Joe Theismann's career-ending sack
"The Night That Courage Wore Orange"
World Bowl '91
Collapse of Damar Hamlin

Postseason lore	"Music City Miracle" "One Yard Short" "The Star-Spangled Banner" (Whitney Houston recording) "Wide Right"

Music

Songs	"All My Rowdy Friends Are Here on Monday Night" "Heavy Action" "The Party's Over"

NFL Championship

1948
1950

Super Bowl

XIX (1984)
XXII (1987)
XXV (1990)
XXIX (1994)
XXXIV (1999)
XXXVII (2002)
XL (2005)
LXI (2026)
LXV (2030)

Pro Bowl

AFL Championship

Results and standings

Yearly results	1970–1989 1990–2005 2015–present

NFL draft

NFL Honors

2022

Website: ABC News - NFL News

1985 NFL season

East	Central	West	East	Central	West
Buffalo	Cincinnati	Denver	Dallas	Chicago	Atlanta
Indianapolis	Cleveland	Kansas City	NY Giants	Detroit	LA Rams
Miami	Houston	LA Raiders	Philadelphia	Green Bay	New Orleans
New England	Pittsburgh	San Diego	St. Louis	Minnesota	San Francisco
NY Jets		Seattle	Washington	Tampa Bay