Home field Rich Stadium Division place 5th AFC East | Record 2–14 | |
Head coach Kay Stephenson (weeks 1-4)
(3rd season)
Hank Bullough (weeks 5-16)
(1st season) General manager Terry Bledsoe
(Since 1984) Owner Ralph Wilson
(Since 1959) | ||
The 1985 Buffalo Bills season was the 26th season for the club and its 16th in the National Football League (NFL). 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.
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 16-game schedule. Bills 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 10 points in seven of its 16 games. The team's point-differential of negative-181 points is the third-worst in franchise history.
NFL draft
In 1985, the Bills used the first overall pick in the draft to select All-American defensive end Bruce Smith. Smith would dominated 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.