The 1985 Detroit Lions season was their 56th in the National Football League. In Darryl Rogers first year as head coach, the team improved upon their previous season’s output of 4–11–1, winning seven games. The Lions beat four playoff teams at home, Dallas, San Francisco, Miami, and the New York Jets, but lost to Tampa Bay and Indianapolis on the road. The Lions stood at 5–3 at the halfway point of the season. However, despite their overall improvement, the Lions went winless in December (0–3) and missed the playoffs for the second straight year with a 7–9 record.
Offseason
NFL draft
| Round | Pick | Player | Position | School |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | 6 | Lomas Brown | OT | Florida |
| 2 | 34 | Kevin Glover | C | Maryland |
| 3 | 62 | James Johnson | LB | San Diego State |
| 4 | 90 | Kevin Hancock | LB | Baylor |
| 5 | 118 | Joe McIntosh | RB | North Carolina State |
| 6 | 146 | Stan Short | G | Penn State |
| 7 | 174 | Tony Staten | DB | Angelo State |
| 8 | 202 | Scott Caldwell | RB | Texas-Arlington |
| 9 | 230 | June James | LB | Texas |
| 10 | 258 | Clayton Beauford | WR | Auburn |
| 11 | 286 | Kevin Harris | DB | Georgia |
| 12 | 314 | Mike Weaver | G | Georgia |
Personnel
Staff
|
Front office
Head coaches
Offensive coaches
|
Defensive coaches
Special teams coaches
Strength and conditioning
|
Roster
Schedule
| Week | Date | Opponent | Result | Record | Attendance |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | September 8 | at Atlanta Falcons | W 28–27 | 1–0 | 37,785 |
| 2 | September 15 | Dallas Cowboys | W 26–21 | 2–0 | 72,985 |
| 3 | September 22 | at Indianapolis Colts | L 14–6 | 2–1 | 60,042 |
| 4 | September 29 | Tampa Bay Buccaneers | W 30–9 | 3–1 | 45,023 |
| 5 | October 6 | at Green Bay Packers | L 43–10 | 3–2 | 55,914 |
| 6 | October 13 | at Washington Redskins | L 24–3 | 3–3 | 52,845 |
| 7 | October 20 | San Francisco 49ers | W 23–21 | 4–3 | 67,715 |
| 8 | October 27 | Miami Dolphins | W 31–21 | 5–3 | 75,291 |
| 9 | November 3 | at Minnesota Vikings | L 16–13 | 5–4 | 58,012 |
| 10 | November 10 | at Chicago Bears | L 24–3 | 5–5 | 53,467 |
| 11 | November 17 | Minnesota Vikings | W 41–21 | 6–5 | 54,647 |
| 12 | November 24 | at Tampa Bay Buccaneers | L 19–16(OT) | 6–6 | 43,471 |
| 13 | November 28 | New York Jets | W 31–20 | 7–6 | 65,531 |
| 14 | December 8 | at New England Patriots | L 23–6 | 7–7 | 59,078 |
| 15 | December 15 | Green Bay Packers | L 26–23 | 7–8 | 49,379 |
| 16 | December 22 | Chicago Bears | L 37–17 | 7–9 | 74,042 |
| Note: Intra-divisional opponents are in bold text | |||||
Season summary
Week 1
| ||||||||||||||||||
|
|
Standings
| NFC Central | |||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| W | L | T | PCT | DIV | CONF | PF | PA | STK | |
| Chicago Bears(1) | 15 | 1 | 0 | .938 | 8–0 | 12–0 | 456 | 198 | W3 |
| Green Bay Packers | 8 | 8 | 0 | .500 | 6–2 | 8–4 | 337 | 355 | W2 |
| Minnesota Vikings | 7 | 9 | 0 | .438 | 3–5 | 5–9 | 346 | 359 | L2 |
| Detroit Lions | 7 | 9 | 0 | .438 | 2–6 | 5–7 | 307 | 366 | L3 |
| Tampa Bay Buccaneers | 2 | 14 | 0 | .125 | 1–7 | 2–10 | 294 | 448 | L4 |
References
- ^ Gainesville Sun. 1985 Sep 9. Retrieved 2017-Nov-01.
- ^ Pro-Football-Reference.com. Retrieved 2017-Nov-01.