1985: First Super Bowl Appearance
After struggling to start the 1985 season, new coach Raymond Berry replaced Eason with Grogan. But Grogan broke his leg late in the season, and Eason got the starting job again. New England won six straight games and finished 11–5, with a wild card playoff berth. During the season Stanley Morgan, Irving Fryar, Lin Dawson and Craig James all led the Patriots in touchdowns. In the first round the Patriots beat the New York Jets for their first playoff win since 1963. Stanley Morgan received a touchdown pass from Eason. Then later Ronnie Lippett returned a fumble for a TD to end the Patriots-Jets game for good. In the divisional playoff against the Los Angeles Raiders the Patriots forced six turnovers and won 27–20, gaining a measure of revenge for their crushing 1976 defeat. Lin Dawson started the game with a touchdown, then when the Patriots were kicking off in the 4th quarter a fumble by the Raider returner resulted in a touchdown for Jim Bowman. After winning two playoff games this set up an AFC Championship showdown against the rival Miami Dolphins. The Patriots had lost 20 straight games in Miami at the time, but won this one, dominating the Dolphins defensively again en route to a 31–14 win.Tony Eason threw touchdowns to Tony Collins and Derrick Ramsey to get game started. Later a Mosi Tatupu touchdown ended the AFC Championship game with the Patriots as the AFC Champions of 1985. Thus the Patriots completed an improbable run to Super Bowl XX, where they faced the Chicago Bears.
Unfortunately for the Patriots, they would be caught in the middle of a bizarre Super Bowl week subplot. Prior to the AFC Championship game, Irving Fryar had cut two fingers with a kitchen knife, requiring them to be put in a cast. At first it was dismissed as a freak accident, but after the conference championship that the truth came out: Fryar's wife Jacqueline had slashed him in a domestic incident after Fryar had knocked her down. It was a distraction that, many thought, epitomized the history of these Patriots - coming as it did in what was otherwise to that point the franchise's finest hour.
In the Super Bowl, though the Bears had not allowed a point in the playoffs, the Patriots took an early 3–0 lead after a Walter Payton fumble in the first quarter. This resulted a field goal by Tony Franklin.
The opening drive would be marked by an injury to tight end Lin Dawson who would be forced to leave the contest with a broken leg. The Bears would go on to score the next 46 points, including a touchdown by rookie defensive end William "The Refrigerator" Perry. The Patriots would add a meaningless touchdown (a 8-yard touchdown pass to Fryar from Grogan) at the end to make the final score 46–10, the most lopsided defeat in Super Bowl history at the time.
Read more about this topic: History Of The New England Patriots
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