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Today in Patriots History
Dec 22, 1985: NE 34, Cincy 23
Clinch playoff spot in final game of season
Fans electrocuted on Route 1 by goalpost
Dec 22, 1985: NE 34, Cincy 23
Clinch playoff spot in final game of season
Fans electrocuted on Route 1 by goalpost
Sunday, December 22, 1985 at 1:00
Week 16, Game 16 at Sullivan Stadium
New England Patriots 34, Cincinnati Bengals 23
Head Coaches: Raymond Berry, Sam Wyche
QBs: Tony Eason, Boomer Esiason
Odds: New England 7-point home favorites
TV: NBC; Phil Stone, Sam Rutigliano
Sunny, cold, 29º, 5-12 mph wind, wind chill 20º
Referee: Red Cashion; Time: 2:50
59,303 tickets distributed; 1,350 no-shows; actual attendance 57,953
Patriots finish 11-5, 3rd in AFC East, #5 seed in AFC
Bengals finish 7-9, one game behind Cleveland in AFC Central
- Three AFC teams finish 11-5. In the tiebreaker the Broncos miss the playoffs, the Pats are #5, and travel the following week to face the #4 Jets. The Patriots entered the game knowing that they were in the playoffs with a win, and most likely out with a loss. After a 2-3 start the Pats won eight of the next nine games, but a loss at Miami the previous week left a playoff spot up in the air.
- The Bengals were already eliminated, and finish one game behind the 8-8 Browns - who lost their week 16 (no byes then) game to the Jets. Cincy was up and down all season, losing to two teams that finished 5-11; they pounded favored Dallas 50-24 two weeks prior, then followed that up by losing a must-win game against Washington.
The Patriots led 20-6 at halftime on a chilly day on a 50-yard touchdown pass from Tony Eason (8-15-145-1-1) to Stanley Morgan (4 catches for 121 yards), a nine-yard run by Tony Collins (10 carries, 57 yards), and two Tony Franklin field goals. Cincy closed the gap to four points on a 33-yard touchdown from Boomer Esiason (18-39, 270, 2 TD, 1 INT) to Eddie Brown, and the third field goal of the day by Jim Breech. Craig James (25 carries for a career-high 142 yards) scored on an 11-yard run, but Esiason responded with an eight-yard TD pass to Cris Collinsworth. Robert Weathers then scored on a 42-yard run to seal the victory for the Patriots. On defense Ronnie Lippett began what would be a stellar playoff run with a 58-yard interception return.
The eleven wins tied what was then a franchise record for most regular season wins.
Check out this article written by the son of Robert Weathers:
This day in history: December 22, 1985's game against the Bengals
The date of December 22, 1985 holds a special place in this Patriots Life writer's heart. It was on this day that the Patriots clinched ...
www.nepatriotslife.com
New England's journey to the playoffs was nothing short of rocky. The Pats suffered a huge loss to a Miami Dolphins team that left them in a must win situation. Sullivan Stadium was packed to the gills as the Patriot faithful hoped to cheer their team into the playoffs. Before things even kicked off, the Pats honored Julius Adams, who was playing in his last regular season game for New England. For those that remember Julius Adams, he always knew how to get his team going. It seems like the combination of the crowd and Adams was exactly what the team needed to get pumped up.
It was the 4th quarter and the clock was very close to reaching the two minute warning. The Patriots had possession of the ball facing a 4th and 1. This dream scenario is what every kid envisions in his head. However, it is this same scenario that can make or break a coach's career. With his team leading, 27-24, Coach Raymond Berry was left with a difficult decision of going for it on 4th down or punting away to a red hot Boomer Esiason. Feeling very lucky, Berry decided to call upon the services of employee #24 aka Robert Weathers.
As a four year old (at the time), you have no vivid memories of what really happened. However, I remember hearing my dad tell the story to me like it was yesterday:
The play called was an inside run. Coach said to break it outside if it was there. Sure enough thanks to blocks from Daws (Lin Dawson) & Hawthorne (Greg Hawthorne), I was able to break a tackle and saw the daylight I needed. Next thing I know I am taking it to the house as I celebrated before thousands of fans! Most people don't know that the night before the game, I had a dream about scoring on that same exact play.
The fans almost got shocked when a piece of the goalpost broke off and hit a nearby power line. After hearing this news, I quickly realized how much it meant to the fans that we clinched a playoff spot.
Tony Collins scores on a 9-yard run to give the Patriots a 17-6 2nd quarter lead
Craig James (32) and Cedric Jones celebrate a touchdown in the fourth quarter
Fans gave their team a spirited send-off into the playoffs. Brian Holloway fought his way to the dressing room at Sullivan Stadium after the 34-23 win over Cincinnati put the Pats into the postseason.
Following a crucial 34-23 victory over the Bengals, which assured the Patriots of a playoff berth, thousands of fans spilled onto the field, pushed over the goal posts and carried them away.
The game is notable in Patriot history for what happened outside the stadium after the clock reached all zeros.
Fans recuperating from electric shock thru goal post - UPI Archives
The New England Patriots expressed sadness Monday 'that the enthusiasm turned into tragedy' for five fans who were electrically shocked when a goal post they...
www.upi.com
Thousands of fans poured onto the field and tore down the goal posts Sunday, carrying part of one of them out of Sullivan Stadium.
The celebrants took the post through an exit tunnel behind the north end zone, across a parking lot to nearby Route 1 where 600 marched down the highway tying up traffic in both directions.
When police arrived, shortly before 4:30 p.m., the fans moved from the northbound lanes to the southbound lanes, where they stuck the goal post in a steel barrel.
The barrel tipped over and the metal post struck a power line carrying 20,000 volts along the side of the road, police said.
Two fans were thrown through the air and landed on the opposite side of Route 1, said state trooper David Rea. Two other people fell to the ground and a fifth was thrown into the middle of the street, Rea said.
'It was just mass confusion,' said Rea. 'There were bodies all over the place and several hundred drunk people trying to tell state troopers what to do.'
The Patriots would go on to defeat the Jets, Raiders and Dolphins to become the first NFL team to make it to the Super Bowl winning three playoff games on the road. They were the first team in franchise history to win an AFC Championship and first to compete for the Lombardi Trophy. That may not sound like anything special now given all the success the team has had this century, but it was a very special, magical time for Patriot fans at that time back then.
The 1985 Patriots' historic journey to the franchise's first ever Super Bowl - Patriots.com
Six days later, the Patriots rode their rushing game in a must-win regular season finale against Cincinnati at Sullivan Stadium. The offense pounded out 281 yards on the ground on their way to a 34-23 victory. An AFC wild-card berth and a matchup with the Jets was secured when Robert Weathers broke free through the right side of the line on a fourth-and-one play for a 42-yard touchdown run after the two-minute warning. New England finished the season 11-5 and claimed the AFC's final wild card berth over Denver because of the "common opponents" tiebreaker.
The 1985 Patriots truly had weathered the storm. "We came away from that Miami game feeling if we played them again, we'd beat them," said Nelson. "We had a short week, then beat Cincinnati to get in the playoffs. From there, we just took off."
1:05 Highlight Video
New England Patriots Alumni Club 1985 Season Highlight
1:02:54 Video
Bengals at Patriots, 1st Half
1:11:43 Video
Bengals at patriots, 2nd Half
New England Patriots Alumni Club 1985 Season Highlight
1:02:54 Video
Bengals at Patriots, 1st Half
1:11:43 Video
Bengals at patriots, 2nd Half
Patriots Win For Playoff Berth - New York Times/AP
Craig James rushed for a career-high 142 yards and tiptoed along the sideline for an 11-yard, fourth-quarter touchdown, as the New England Patriots captured an American Conference wild-card playoff berth today with a 34-23 victory over the Cincinnati Bengals.
The Patriots (11-5) earned the playoff spot as they tied a club record for victories in a season.
The Patriots appeared in control with a 20-6 halftime lead, but the Bengals quickly got closer.
Esiason threw a 33-yard touchdown pass to Eddie Brown on the fifth play of the third quarter and Jim Breech kicked his third field goal, a 30-yarder with 11:17 left in the game, to make the score 20-16.
Tony Eason, who had thrown a 50-yard touchdown pass to Stanley Morgan in the first quarter, hooked up with him for a 48-yard completion on the second play after the kickoff to bring the ball to the Cincinnati 17-yard line.
James, the A.F.C.'s third-ranked rusher going into the game, ran twice for 6 yards, then took a lateral from Eason, cut up the right side and barely stayed inbounds as he went into the end zone.
Anyone recall the details of the goalpost story...
from years ago when a fan was electrocuted walking down Route 1. Did that incident occur after a Monday Night game and was it the reason the Patriots were omitted from Monday night broadcasts for so long???
www.patsfans.com
Box Score, Halftime & Full Game Summaries, Team & Individual Stats, and Full Play-by-Play:
Cincinnati Bengals at New England Patriots - December 22nd, 1985 | Pro-Football-Reference.com
Cincinnati Bengals 23 at New England Patriots 34 on December 22nd, 1985 - Full team and player stats and box score
www.pro-football-reference.com
December 22, 1985 - Cincinnati Bengals at New England Patriots Box Score and Game Statistics
The most complete, accurate and reliable reference source for December 22, 1985 - Cincinnati Bengals at New England Patriots boxscore and game statistics.
www.profootballarchives.com
Patriots Starting Offense:
86 WR Stanley Morgan
76 LT Brian Holloway
73 LG John Hannah
58 C Pete Brock
61 RG Ron Wooten
67 RT Steve Moore
87 TE Lin Dawson
80 WR Irving Fryar
11 QB Tony Eason
33 HB Tony Collins
32 FB Craig James
Patriots Starting Defense:
60 LDE Garin Veris
72 NT Lester Williams
85 RDE Julius Adams
66 LOLB Andre Tippett
57 LILB Steve Nelson
50 RILB Larry McGrew
55 ROLB Don Blackmon
42 LCB Ronnie Lippett
38 SS Roland James
31 FS Fred Marion
26 RCB Ray Clayborn
Patriots Special Teams:
1 K Tony Franklin
3 P Rich Camarillo
81 KR Stephen Starring
27 KR Greg Hawthorne
80 PR Irving Fryar
