The 1985 San Diego Chargers season was the franchise's 16th season in the National Football League (NFL), its 26th overall. The team improved on their 7–9 record from 1984 to an 8–8 finish. For the third time in five years, the Chargers led the league in scoring. It was Don Coryell's final full season as the team's head coach, as he would resign halfway through the following season after a 1–7 start.
NFL draft
Personnel Staff
Roster
Preseason
Week Date Opponent Result Record Venue Attendance 1 August 4 Cleveland Browns W 12–7 1–0 Jack Murphy Stadium 2 August 11 Dallas Cowboys L 24–27 1–1 Jack Murphy Stadium 3 August 18 at San Francisco 49ers L 10–25 2–1 Candlestick Park 4 August 23 New Orleans Saints W 21–20 2–2 Jack Murphy Stadium
Regular season
Schedule Week Date Opponent Result Record Venue Attendance Recap 1 September 8 at Buffalo Bills W 14–9 1–0 Rich Stadium 67,597 Recap 2 September 15 Seattle Seahawks L 35–49 1–1 Jack Murphy Stadium 54,420 Recap 3 September 22 at Cincinnati Bengals W 44–41 2–1 Riverfront Stadium 52,270 Recap 4 September 29 Cleveland Browns L 7–21 2–2 Jack Murphy Stadium 52,107 Recap 5 October 6 at Seattle Seahawks L 21–26 2–3 Kingdome 61,300 Recap 6 October 13 Kansas City Chiefs W 31–20 3–3 Jack Murphy Stadium 50,067 Recap 7 October 20 at Minnesota Vikings L 17–21 3–4 Hubert H. Humphrey Metrodome 61,670 Recap 8 at Los Angeles Raiders L 21–34 3–5 Los Angeles Memorial Coliseum 69,297 Recap 9 November 3 Denver Broncos W 30–10 4–5 Jack Murphy Stadium 57,312 Recap 10 November 10 Los Angeles Raiders W 40–34 (OT) 5–5 Jack Murphy Stadium 58,566 Recap 11 November 17 at Denver Broncos L 24–30 (OT) 5–6 Mile High Stadium 74,376 Recap 12 November 24 at Houston Oilers L 35–37 5–7 Houston Astrodome 34,336 Recap 13 December 1 Buffalo Bills W 40–7 6–7 Jack Murphy Stadium 45,487 Recap 14 December 8 Pittsburgh Steelers W 54–44 7–7 Jack Murphy Stadium 52,098 Recap 15 December 15 Philadelphia Eagles W 20–14 8–7 Jack Murphy Stadium 45,569 Recap 16 December 22 at Kansas City Chiefs L 34–38 8–8 Arrowhead Stadium 18,178 Recap Note: Intra-division opponents are in bold text.
Game summaries All game reports use the Pro Football Researchers' gamebook archive as a source.
Week 1: at Buffalo Bills
San Diego took the opening kickoff and drove 70 yards with Fouts completing all three of his passes for 49 yards; Adams finished the drive by scoring a touchdown less than five minutes into his NFL career. After a pair of Buffalo field goals, Byrd's 3rd-down tackle forced the Bills to punt from their own 11, and San Diego took over on the Buffalo 46. Three plays later, Sievers broke a tackle and took a short pass in for a 30-yard touchdown. The Bills added another field goal to make the halftime score 14–9.
There were no points scored in the second half, despite chances for both teams. Lowe stopped a Buffalo drive by intercepting a deflected pass near midfield, but Fouts was intercepted himself five plays later. On the next Charger drive they gained a 1st and 10 at the Buffalo 12, but Fouts fumbled the snap and the Bills recovered. Buffalo then drove deep into Charger territory before Dale forced a fumble that Ransom recovered at his own 11. The Bills crossed midfield on their next two possessions as well, but one drive ended with a punt and the other with a Mike Green interception. Taking over with 3:26 to play, the Chargers gained one first down through Sievers, then reached a 4th and 3 at the Buffalo 30. They went for a game-clinching conversion, but Anthony Steels was stopped for a gain of only 2. The Bills started their final drive with no timeouts and 1:33 to work with, and reached the Charger 42 with 16 seconds left. Vince Ferragamo then completed an 18-yard pass to Eric Richardson, who was tackled by Lowe before he could get out of bounds, allowing the clock to run out.
Despite being outgained by 455 yards to 308, San Diego allowed no touchdowns for the first time since Week 1, 1982.
Week 2: vs. Seattle Seahawks
After one punt for each team, Fouts threw completions on all four plays of the first Charger touchdown drive. Fouts started the next drive with four further completions, but eventually missed on a pair of throws from the Seattle 4, leading to Thomas' first field goal for the team, Seattle pulled back to within 10–7, then Fouts was sacked at his own 4-yard line, leading to good Seahawks field position after San Diego punted. Seattle took their first lead three plays later. Following an exchange of punts, the Chargers faced a 3rd and 22 at their own 20, which James narrowly converted on a pass from Fouts. That led to Joiner's first touchdown, and Sievers' 29-yard catch on the next possession came two plays before Chandler scored to make it 23–14. Thomas came on to extend the lead with a 53-yard field goal before halftime, but never got to attempt the kick due to a bad snap.
Seattle opened the second half with a touchdown drive. Fouts and Chandler combined for 45 yards on the next play from scrimmage, setting up Sievers' short touchdown catch and a 29–21 lead. From there, Seattle scored four touchdowns without reply, with an interception and a fumble from Fouts setting up two of the scores. Overall, the Seahawks scored on their first five possessions of the second half to take a 49–29 lead less than three minutes into the final quarter. Fouts led his team to the Seattle 25 with seven minutes to play, but was sacked lost a fumble; Herrmann came in and led the threw the game's final touchdown.
Fouts had 306 of his 440 passing yards in the first half. As a team, the Chargers had 494 passing yards, a franchise record that still stands . The combined 10 touchdowns were the most in an NFL game since 1969.
Week 3: at Cincinnati Bengals
Steels ran the opening kickoff back 54 yards, but Fouts was intercepted three plays later. Boomer Esiason was intercepted by Walters two plays after that, leading to a missed 52-yard field goal from Thomas; he made a 20-yard chip shot on the next Charger drive. On the ensuing drive, San Diego committed an offsides penalty on a 4th and 2, leading to the game's first touchdown. The Chargers responded through Sievers' 4-yard touchdown catch on 3rd and 3. Cincinnati moved to a 2nd and goal from the 7, but King sacked Esiason, forcing a fumble that Ferguson recovered. San Diego soon scored again, with James' leaping 34-yard catch setting up another Sievers touchdown. The Charger defense forced a three-and-out, but a Fouts pass was tipped and intercepted on the next play, and the Bengals converted the turnover into a touchdown. Late in the half, another tipped ball was intercepted by Walters, setting up a field goal and a 20–13 lead at the interval.
Cincinnati took the second half kickoff and tied the score with a touchdown drive that took barely a minute. San Diego were even quicker in their response: James ran the kickoff back 36 yards, Joiner had a 22-yard catch, James ran for 39 yards to the Cincinnati 3 and Holohan made a one-handed touchdown catch. The Bengals then tied the score again, before James had a 100-yard kickoff return touchdown nullified by penalty. San Diego were forced to punt, and Cincinnati drove for another touchdown to take the lead. James tied the game again at 34–34 when he took a draw play up the middle of the field and went untouched for 56 yards. In the final quarter, Smith recovered a Bengals fumble, but Joiner also lost a fumble on the ensuing drive, setting the Bengals up for a short touchdown drive and another lead. Two plays later, James again tied the game, this time catching a Fouts pass in stride 30 yards downfield behind two defenders before completing a 60-yard touchdown. The Bengals advanced to their own 42 before former Charger James Brooks fumbled and Ehin recovered with 2:26 to play. After three James runs and two Fouts completions, Thomas hit the winning kick with 4 seconds left.
James became the first Charger to both rush and receive for at least 100 yards in the same game; the next was Austin Ekeler in 2019. With a further 71 yards in punt and kickoff returns, he had 316 all-purpose yards, and would have broken the NFL record if his 100-yard return had counted. San Diego had five takeaways to three for the Bengals, and outgained their opponents by 517 yards to 448.
Week 4: vs. Cleveland Browns
Cleveland's Kevin Mack opened the game with a 61-yard run, with Dale catching him from behind to prevent a touchdown. John Hendy forced a fumble three plays later, with Byrd recovering, and the Chargers drove 93 yards the other way for their touchdown, with Bendross catching Fouts' pass at the 27 and capitalizing on Joiner's block to score. Fouts was knocked over while completing a pass on the next time San Diego had the ball, sustaining knee ligament damage and being forced out of the game soon afterwards. The Chargers did not score again. Herrmann did lead a 66-yard drive that bridged the 1st and 2nd quarters, but it ended with Thomas missing a 34-yard kick wide right. Herrmann's interception later in the quarter set up Cleveland for a 37-yard touchdown drive, which featured Gary Danielson's 12-yard run on 4th and 6. The halftime score was 7–7.
The second half featured only three drives for each team. San Diego crossed midfield on each of their first two possessions, but had to punt both times, and Cleveland responded with a touchdown both times. Herrmann led his offense as far as the Browns' 26, but was sacked for a loss of 9 yards and intercepted on the next play. Cleveland then ran off the final seven minutes of the game with five rushing first downs.
Week 5: at Seattle Seahawks
In the opening quarter, the newly-arrived Anderson was unable to hold Herrmann's pitch; Seattle recovered and capitalized with a field goal. They added another field goal after a 40-yard pass interference penalty on Davis. San Diego failed to cross midfield until their eighth possession, when Chandler's 59-yard reception moved the ball to the 7 yard line. Chandler seemed to have scored on the next play, but was ruled to have come down out of bounds; he protested the decision and was penalized 15 yards for unsportsmanlike conduct. Herrmann was intercepted two plays later. The Chargers soon got another chance when Williams sacked Krieg, forcing a fumble that Fred Robinson recovered. Chandler converted a 3rd and 6 with a 14-yard catch, and scored on the following play, putting the Chargers up 7–6 shortly before halftime.
Herrmann fumbled the snap on the first Charger play of the second half, with Seattle recovering and soon scoring a touchdown. After two punts each, Herrmann was intercepted to set up another Seahawks touchdown. A penalty on the ensuing kickoff forced the Chargers to start at their own 6, but Spencer took a pass 43 yards on the next play sparking a rapid drive for Chandler's second touchdown with 8:33 to play. San Diego's defense were unable to stop Seattle on the next drive, as they ran five minutes off the clock. Krieg converted a 3rd and 4 with a quarterback draw for 8 yards, and threw a touchdown to Steve Largent two plays later. Herrmann led another quick drive, completing 5 of 6 passes for 64 yards and a touchdown to Joiner, but the Seahawks recovered an onside kick, gained a first down and ran out the clock.
Williams had three of the Chargers' five sacks. San Diego outgained the Seahawks by 345 yards to 253, but committed five of the game's six turnovers.
Week 6: vs. Kansas City Chiefs