The 1985 Green Bay Packers were caught in a weird, uncomfortable purgatory. If you grew up in Wisconsin during the mid-eighties, you remember the vibe. It wasn't the glory of the Lombardi years, and it certainly wasn't the "Gunslinger" era of Favre that saved the franchise a decade later. It was just... gritty. Honestly, it was a year defined by mud, missed opportunities, and a head coach who was trying to beat the "old school" back into a team that was struggling to find its identity in a changing NFL.
Forrest Gregg was a legend. Everyone knew that. Lombardi called him the finest player he ever coached. But by 1985, Gregg was trying to steer a ship that felt like it was taking on water. The team finished 8-8. That sounds mediocre on paper, but the way they got there was a rollercoaster of high-octane offense and a defense that, frankly, couldn't stop a nosebleed when it mattered most.
Why the 1985 Green Bay Packers Were Better (and Worse) Than You Remember
You look at that 8-8 record and think, "Okay, average team." But that's not the whole story. The 1985 Green Bay Packers actually led the entire NFL in passing yards. Think about that for a second. In an era where the Chicago Bears were suffocating people with the 46 Defense and everyone was trying to run the ball down your throat, Lynn Dickey was out there airing it out.
Dickey was a pure pocket passer. He didn't move well—his legs were basically held together by tape and prayer at that point in his career—but the man had a cannon. He threw for over 3,800 yards that season. That was a massive number for 1985. He had weapons, too. James Lofton was in his prime, gliding past defensive backs like they were standing still. Lofton averaged 17.8 yards per catch that year. Paul Coffman was still one of the best tight ends in the business.
But there was a catch.
There is always a catch with those 80s Packers teams. While they could score from anywhere on the field, they turned the ball over at a rate that would make a modern coach lose their mind. Dickey threw 17 touchdowns, but he also threw 17 interceptions. The team lost 20 fumbles. You can't win in the NFL giving the ball away 37 times in 16 games. It’s impossible. You’re basically handing the opponent free points every Sunday.
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The Defensive Meltdown and the "Snow Bowl"
If the offense was a Ferrari with a leaky gas tank, the defense was a beat-up truck with no brakes. They ranked near the bottom of the league in almost every meaningful category. They couldn't rush the passer, and they couldn't stop the run. It was painful to watch at times. Opposing quarterbacks had a field day because there was almost zero pressure coming from the front four.
However, there was one Sunday where everything felt right. December 1, 1985. The "Snow Bowl."
If you ask any die-hard fan about the 1985 Green Bay Packers, this is the game they bring up. A massive blizzard hit Milwaukee (where the Packers played some of their home games back then). We’re talking over a foot of snow. Only about 20,000 people actually showed up at County Stadium, and honestly, those people deserve a medal.
The Packers absolutely demolished the Tampa Bay Buccaneers 21-0. It wasn't even that close. The Bucs looked like they had never seen snow before, which, to be fair, they probably hadn't. Green Bay outgained them 512 to 65. It remains one of the most statistically lopsided games in NFL history. It was pure, unadulterated joy in the middle of a frustrating season. It showed what that team could have been if they played with that kind of intensity every week.
The Forrest Gregg Discipline Experiment
Forrest Gregg wasn't a "player's coach." Not by a long shot. He was brought in to bring discipline to a locker room that had grown a bit soft under Bart Starr. In 1985, Gregg’s approach was starting to grate on some of the veterans. He was tough. He was demanding. He wanted the Packers to be the "Monsters of the Midway," but he didn't have the personnel.
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- The Transition: The team was moving away from the stars of the 70s.
- The Toughness: Gregg famously made the team practice in brutal conditions.
- The Result: A team that played hard but lacked the depth to compete with the elite.
Gregg’s philosophy was built on the idea that if you worked harder than everyone else, you’d win. But the 1985 Green Bay Packers proved that work ethic only takes you so far when your secondary is getting shredded by divisional rivals like the Bears and Vikings.
The 1985 season was also the year the Chicago Bears went 15-1 and won the Super Bowl. For Packers fans, watching your biggest rival have arguably the greatest season in NFL history while you're stuck at .500 is a special kind of hell. The Packers lost both games to Chicago that year. The first was a 23-7 loss where William "The Refrigerator" Perry scored a touchdown, which felt like a direct insult to the entire state of Wisconsin. The second was a closer 16-10 loss, but it still hurt. It showed the gap between a "good" offense and a "complete" championship team.
Statistics That Tell the Real Story
To understand the 1985 Green Bay Packers, you have to look at the weird disparity in their numbers.
They had two 800-yard rushers in Eddie Lee Ivery and Jessie Clark. That’s actually a really solid ground game. When you combine that with the #1 passing attack, you’d assume this team was a juggernaut. They scored 337 points, which was respectable. But they gave up 355.
Basically, the Packers were a team that could beat anyone on a given Sunday—they beat a very good 49ers team late in the season—but they could also lose to anyone. They lost to a mediocre Detroit Lions team twice. Consistency just wasn't in their vocabulary.
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The Lofton Factor
James Lofton was the heartbeat of the team's big-play capability. In 1985, he was a Pro Bowler, and for good reason. He had 1,153 receiving yards. He was the kind of player who kept defensive coordinators awake at night. If the 1985 Green Bay Packers had a league-average defense, Lofton probably would have been playing in the postseason. Instead, his brilliant years were largely wasted on teams that hovered around .500.
It's also worth noting that the 1985 season was one of the last "normal" years before the 1987 strike and the total roster overhaul that followed. The names on the jersey back then—Dickey, Lofton, Coffman, Ivery—these were guys who had been the face of the franchise for a long time. 1985 felt like the beginning of the end for that specific group.
What We Can Learn From the 1985 Packers
Looking back, the 1985 season is a masterclass in why balance matters in football. You can have the best passing game in the world, but if you can't protect the ball and you can't stop the run, you're going to finish 8-8. Every time.
The 1985 Green Bay Packers were a bridge. They were the bridge between the greatness of the past and the greatness of the future. They weren't a "bad" team, but they were a flawed one. They played in one of the most memorable weather games ever, they featured a Hall of Fame receiver at his peak, and they had a coach who was a living legend.
If you’re researching this era or just looking back at Packers history, don't just dismiss 1985 as a mediocre year. It was a season of extreme highs and baffling lows. It was the year Green Bay proved they could out-throw anyone, but also proved they could out-fumble anyone.
Actionable Insights for History Buffs and Collectors:
- Watch the Snow Bowl Highlights: If you want to see what 1980s football was really about, find the footage of the December 1, 1985, game against Tampa Bay. It’s the definitive visual of that season.
- Appreciate Lynn Dickey’s Stats: Look at Dickey's 1983-1985 stretch. In a modern offense, with modern rules protecting the quarterback, his numbers would be astronomical.
- Study the 1985 Draft: Part of why the team struggled in the mid-80s was a string of draft picks that didn't pan out. Investigating the 1985 draft (where they took Ken Ruettgers) shows the start of an attempt to rebuild the offensive line, which eventually paid off years later.
- Check Out "Lombardi's Left Guard": To understand why Forrest Gregg coached the way he did, read about his playing days. His coaching style in 1985 was a direct reflection of the 1960s Packers culture, for better or worse.