1985 New England Patriots Team Season Highlights "AFC Champions"

[Music] On January 26 1986 the AFC champion New England Patriots arrived at the New Orleans Superdome primed for a date with destiny in Super Bowl 20 to get there this team traveled further than any in history winning three straight playoff games on the road for the players particularly certain veterans appearing in a Super Bowl was the crowning achievement of a career what it means to me most of all is that I got a chance to go out and compete in the ultimate sports experience when any player comes in the NFL his dream is playing a Super Bowl and win and you know I'm one step away from it right now your money probably will be spent before your life is over with but that ring you'll never lose it he'll always have it you can't buy it the wealthiest man in the world can't go buy that ring you've got to earn it we're right there with the pot of gold there are only two people with their hands on it but the strongest the one with most concentration and the one who has the least amount of errors is gonna take the whole thing home we're gonna have to have perfect execution against this great team the Patriots execution was less than perfect and the Chicago Bears were a great team holding New England to a single touchdown the result was a bitter defeat for the coach who took his team to the summit his first full season and the raft of veterans who waited for this moment so long it was a frustrating finale to the greatest season in the history of the franchise [Music] the Pats super season began at home against Green Bay thousand yard rusher Craig James put the game out of reach with the first of a season long list of big plays decent pitch comes back [Applause] the impressive opening day victory offered bright promise but one week later in Chicago the Bears brought bad news [Music] Tonie Easons rainbow - Craig James was the longest pass in Patriot history but the 90-yard touchdown was New England's only points the team lost three of its next four games due primarily to an offense that couldn't get on track the situation worsened against Buffalo when Tony Eason was lost with his shoulder separation for the first time in over a year Steve Grogan came off the bench the veteran quarterback quickly shook off the rust and flipped the Pats ahead for the fifth straight game the offense scored only a touchdown but this time they won due to broken and break defense [Applause] the impact force TV growing has been one greatness he immediately came in and took charge he called his own plays and he's turned our team around I had doubts whether I could still play at times most of the press and the people in the Boston area had me one foot in the grave and and out of football so I would have to say and in most respects I have made a comeback strong right formation [Applause] in his first start Brogan led his team to a win which was preserved when number 38 strong safety roland james sniffed out and stuffed a Jets pass on the one-yard line rookie Garen varus recovered the fumble and the Patriots had their second straight success over a divisional rival seven days later in Tampa the offense continued its comeback Don Blackmon led the defense with his second safety of the season and the Patriots had their third straight win against Miami they got number four sacking Dan Marino five times [Music] the game's biggest play came on fourth down and produced the first of a pair of fourth-quarter touchdowns [Applause] [Music] [Applause] [Music] [Applause] when Steve Grogan rolled right for the final score it ended a pressure-packed 80-yard Drive that beat archrival Miami and underlined Brogan's inspirational effect on his team Steve came into the hello and we were probably 5 or 10 yard line it was a long way than what we wanted to be Steve said hey guys this is what championships they're made if you want to win a championship when you take it down the field you also win championships with great special teams and defense both were showcased week 10 colt quarterbacks were sacked seven times while Irving fryer sprinted 77 yards on a punt return his second such touchdown of the season [Music] with his many happy returns and touchdown catches in 1985 prior the flyer blossomed as a true triple threat seven days later in Seattle's Kingdome his explosiveness flashed again [Music] in one of the biggest games of the season Steve Brogan spearheaded a furious fourth-quarter comeback and again the defense chipped in with a critical turnover [Applause] Lari Magoo's tipped - Fred Marion was one of the most crucial plays of the season it set up the winning score in a stadium where victories for visitors are few and far between the Patriots had now won six in a row and were riding high but the next Sunday Steve Grogan suffered a broken leg and in sudden death the Jets ended New England streak [Music] [Applause] [Laughter] on this dark November evening Raymond berry witnessed both the end of the streak and the loss of the player most responsible for it the office is all made a lot of progress Steve put in a lot of things in terms of quantity and quality and ethic dolphins meant a lot of growth stirring up the time Carrie Eason also grew maturing during his stint on the bench now with Grogan giving support from the sidelines the whole season rode on Tony Easons right arm [Music] in the Hoosier dome the Colts were Easons first victims followed by the Detroit Lions at home [Applause] [Music] led by a reborn Tony Eason New England was surging toward the playoffs stay tuned for more film session on the NFL Network film session on the NFL Network next was a Monday night matchup with Miami in the Orange Bowl the Patriots personal house of horrors where they had lost 18 straight against the Dolphins the special teams pulled off the play of the night and helped the Patriots put 27 points on the scoreboard [Music] but Miami scored 30 the notorious jinx had prevailed setting up a must-win situation in the regular season finale week 16 brought a stirring tribute to the man who played more games than any Patriot ever the man they call the jewel [Applause] [Music] [Applause] [Music] [Applause] [Music] [Applause] in julius adam's final home appearance his team honored him by playing one of its greatest games magazines to look at the throw and he sends it deep against the Bengals the key play came when Raymond Barry disdained a punt and gambled on fourth down from the 42 with just two minutes remaining [Music] [Applause] Robert whether his electrifying run thrust the high-flying Patriots into the playoffs for 58,000 fans the war cry became bring on the Jets [Applause] [Music] more film session on the NFL Network New England employed an equal-opportunity unit that gave everyone a chance to shine we're playing more as a team this year we really ain't care about each other when we're out there playing it no one wants to let anyone down everybody's looking to make big plays and get off the field no one made more big plays than Don Blackmon and Andre tippet the pair presented a quandary for quarterbacks go right and challenge all-pro tippet or try the left and risk the wrath of Don Blackman number 55 ever the unsung hero Blackmon had a super season 76 tackles and eight sacks but the big noise around the league came from the karate King the NFL's Defensive Player of the Year Andre tippet unfortunate enough to have a lot of god-given ability of quick have a lot of speed for the big guy strength and I think I'm a little stronger than most outside linebackers attitude hey I think I have the right attitude for planet position [Music] it's like a fight you can't stand around waiting for a guy to beat you on top of your head you really want to put something wrong to try to get a knock out parts [Music] parked by tippet New England's defense was superb but for a key injury it might have been even better Kenneth since injury was very damaging to us losing a player of Kenneth's caliber as serious blow the only reason that it is not appeared to be as damaging this because Garen has played well in his rookie year number 60 Garen varus became a big play performer with 14 quarterback sacks this pension for big plays characterized the entire defensive unit especially the subtle and arcane art of stripping the football [Music] stripping the ball from opponents was one of the quirky details in which Raymond berry schooled his squad and following the bouncing ball quickly became a team trademark [Music] it was considered the patriotic duty of every player to try to pick a pocket or two the results were spectacular the pickpocket Patriots forced 65 turnovers five four touchdowns defensive mastermind rod rust explains Raymond Berry's philosophy when Raymond Barry came in he started talking about turnovers and we practiced fumble recovery daily the teams that get turnovers look for the football tripping is the state of mind it's a state of mind because it happens so quickly it has to be a habit and they just have to be doing it [Music] Oh session on the NFL Network as a wild-card the Patriots took to the road far from the friendly fans of Foxborough the team traveled to three of the toughest arenas in football and each time with the home team the first stop was the Meadowlands for the rubber match with the favored Jets keyed by the cool performance of Tony Eason the Patriots played a near-perfect game the first touchdown came courtesy of an all-out blitz while placekicker Tony Franklin tied a playoff record with four field goals what turnovers turn the tide New England caused four including one where number 52 Johnny rember stripped the ball then scrambled into the end zone to put the game on ice the historical victory was the Patriots first postseason win since the old AFL the Jets were just the first scalp to be collected on the road to Super Bowl 20 [Music] [Applause] [Music] amid the locker room celebration thoughts already turned to the Raiders the next stop on the playoff journey they play that tough aggressive cheap whatever you want to call it Raider ball that's their nature we're gonna have to go into their territory take it away [Applause] [Music] [Applause] in the Colosseum six turnovers led to 20-point as the Patriots literally stripped the Raiders of their pride and their boys [Applause] [Music] [Applause] all day the defense measured up to the monumental task of stopping the raider attack in its own backyard third year cornerback Ronnie lipet rose to the occasion by intercepting a pair of passes as they had all season New England's massive offensive line manhandled the enemy shredding the silver and black and paving the way for Craig James to become the first back to gain 100 yards against LA all year and Tony Eason continued to play error-free football CSUN rolling out to the right side avoiding the pressure [Music] [Applause] with their stunning upset in the Colosseum New England had taken another step toward locker room space in Super Bowl 20 as a team just has to be one of the biggest wins in the franchise's the last two weeks what we've done has been really remarkable you saw one of the finest games this year maybe the second finest you will see here we are at the Orange Bowl in Miami Florida for the AFC Championship game who ever would have believed in the early part of the season that the Patriots would be here hideous if not won here at 18 straight games this one is for the right to play in Super Bowl 20 [Music] [Applause] [Music] on a trio of touchdown passes the Patriots reeled off 21 unanswered points and the Miami jinx appeared a thing of the past [Music] [Applause] six Miami turnovers allowed New England to control the ball and amazing 40 minutes [Music] using two sets of fresh backs on the soggy turf the Patriots overpowered the Dolphins 31 to 14 [Music] [Applause] tremendous feeling over on that sideline for these New England Patriots what a job they've done the conversation is they fans they're letting the clock run away well it's a real bond among these players very close-knit group they feel like they've done this together and they certainly have and the Patriots are jumping up and down that means that the Patriots are indeed the champions of the American Football Conference of the National Football League it means that they have destroyed the Orange Bowl Kings by beating the Dolphins winning the AFC championship and opening the door to the Super Bowl in New Orleans Louisiana what a day [Music]

Channel: Sports Odyssey

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Id: 6Iw06cdVVZY

Length: 22min 5sec (1325 seconds)

Published: Sun Sep 29 2019