1980 Detroit Lions season

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1980 Detroit Lions season
Head coachMonte Clark
Home fieldPontiac Silverdome
Results
Record9–7
Division place2nd NFC Central
Playoff finishDid not qualify
Pro BowlersRB Billy Sims
DE Al Baker
K Eddie Murray

The 1980 Detroit Lions season was the 51st season in franchise history. As the result of their 2–14 1979 season, the Lions were able to select Heisman Trophy-winning Oklahoma Sooner halfback Billy Sims with the first pick in the NFL draft. In his rookie season, Sims rushed his way to the Offensive Rookie of the Year Award while carrying the Lions back to respectability. After winning their first four games, the Lions stumbled down the stretch including costly 1-point losses to the Colts and lowly Cardinals, where Cardinals running back Nathan Micknick out ran the Lions newly signed, struggling linebacker Aidan Smith to put the Cardinals up by 1 in the closing minutes. While they vastly improved overall, finishing 9–7, the Lions narrowly lost the NFC Central Division title to the Minnesota Vikings by virtue of a conference record tiebreaker. The Lions won nine NFC games to the Vikings’ eight, but Minnesota had a better winning percentage in the conference.[1] The Lions’ 1979 fifth-place finish meant they played two extra NFC games, resulting in five conference losses to the Vikings' four losses.[2]

Offseason[]

NFL Draft[]

Main article: 1980 NFL Draft
Round Pick Player Position School
1 1 Billy Sims[3] Running back Oklahoma
3 57 Tom Turnure Center Washington
3 62 Mike Friede Wide Receiver Indiana
4 85 Eric Hipple Quarterback Baylor
5 111 Mark Streeter Defensive Back Arizona
5 120 Tom Ginn Guard Arkansas
6 140 Chris Dieterich Offensive Tackle North Carolina State
7 166 Eddie Murray Kicker Tulane
9 222 DeWayne Jett Wide receiver Hawaii
9 223 Tom Tuinei Defensive Tackle Hawaii
10 251 Henry Henderson Defensive Back Utah State
11 278 Wayne Smith Defensive Back Purdue
12 307 Charles Vaclavik Wide receiver Washington

Roster[]

1980 Detroit Lions roster
Quarterbacks

Running backs

Wide receivers

Tight ends

Offensive linemen

Defensive linemen

Linebackers

Defensive backs

Special teams

Reserve lists
  • 78 Doug English DT (IR) Injury icon 2.svg
  • 51 James Harrell OLB (IR) Injury icon 2.svg
  • -- WR (IR) Injury icon 2.svg
  • 77 John Woodcock DE (IR) Injury icon 2.svg


Practice squad



Rookies in italics

Regular season[]

In his NFL debut, Billy Sims had three touchdowns.[4]

Schedule[]

Week Date Opponent Result Attendance
1 September 7 at Los Angeles Rams W 41–20
64,892
2 September 14 at Green Bay Packers W 29–7
53,099
3 September 21 St. Louis Cardinals W 20–7
80,027
4 September 28 Minnesota Vikings W 27–7
80,291
5 October 5 at Atlanta Falcons L 43–28
57,652
6 October 12 New Orleans Saints W 24–13
78,147
7 October 19 at Chicago Bears L 24–7
58,508
8 October 26 at Kansas City Chiefs L 20–17
59,391
9 November 2 San Francisco 49ers W 17–13
78,845
10 November 9 at Minnesota Vikings L 34–0
46,264
11 November 16 Baltimore Colts L 10–9
77,677
12 November 23 at Tampa Bay Buccaneers W 24–10
64,976
13 November 27 Chicago Bears L 23–17 OT
75,397
14 December 7 at St. Louis Cardinals L 24–23
46,966
15 December 14 Tampa Bay Buccaneers W 27–14
77,098
16 December 21 Green Bay Packers W 24–3
75,111

Standings[]

NFC Central
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 W L T PCT DIV CONF PF PA STK
Minnesota Vikings(3) 9 7 0 .563 5–3 8–4 317 308 L1
Detroit Lions 9 7 0 .563 5–3 9–5 334 272 W2
Chicago Bears 7 9 0 .438 5–3 7–5 304 264 W1
Tampa Bay Buccaneers 5 10 1 .344 1–6–1 4–7–1 271 341 L3
Green Bay Packers 5 10 1 .344 3–4–1 4–7–1 231 371 L4

Game Summaries[]

Week 1 at Rams[]

See also: 1980 Los Angeles Rams season
Week One: Detroit Lions (0–0) at Los Angeles Rams (0–0)
1 2 34Total
Lions 10 7 101441
Rams 6 14 0020

at Anaheim Stadium, Anaheim, California

  • Date: September 7
  • Game time: 4:00 p.m.
  • Game weather: Clear; 66 °F (19 °C)
  • Game attendance: 64,892
  • Referee: Cal Lepore
  • TV announcers (CBS): Vin Scully and George Allen
  • Box Score

Week 2: at Green Bay Packers[]

Week 2: Detroit Lions at Green Bay Packers
1 2 34Total
Lions 3 13 6729
Packers 0 7 007

at Milwaukee County Stadium, Milwaukee, Wisconsin

  • Date: September 14, 1980
  • Game time: 1:00 p.m. CST
  • Game weather: Overcast, 64 °F (18 °C)
  • Referee: Bob Frederic
  • TV announcers (CBS): Frank Glieber and Roger Staubach
  • [1]

Week 5: at Atlanta Falcons[]

1 2 34Total
Lions 3 3 02228
Falcons 17 17 2743

at Atlanta-Fulton County Stadium, Atlanta

  • Date: October 5
  • Game time: 1:00 p.m.
  • Game weather: 61 °F (16.1 °C), wind 12 miles per hour (19 km/h; 10 kn)
  • Referee: Dick Jorgensen
  • TV: CBS
  • Box Score

Week 13[]

Week Thirteen: Chicago Bears (4–8) at Detroit Lions (7–5)
1 2 34OTTotal
Bears 0 3 014623
Lions 3 7 70017

at Pontiac Silverdome, Pontiac, Michigan

  • Date: November 27, 1980
  • Game time: 12:30 p.m. EST
  • Game weather: Indoors (dome)
  • Game attendance: 75,397
  • Referee: Fred Silva
  • TV announcers (CBS): Pat Summerall, Tom Brookshier, and Irv Cross
  • Pro-Football-Reference.com

Awards and records[]

  • Billy Sims, Pro Bowl selection (1980
  • Billy Sims, 1980 Offensive Rookie of the Year
  • Billy Sims, 1980 UPI NFL-NFC Rookie of the Year
  • Billy Sims, Associated Press Offensive Rookie of the Year[4]

See also[]

References[]

  1. ^ Season summary and stats at Sports E Cyclopedia
  2. ^ Urena, Ivan; Pro Football Schedules: A Complete Historical Guide from 1933 to the Present, p. 85 ISBN 0786473517
  3. ^ Billy Sims, 1978 Heisman Trophy winner as a junior "Heisman Trophy". Archived from the original on 14 June 2009. Retrieved 2008-08-04.
  4. ^ a b Sports Illustrated, Oct. 27, 2008, p.24, Vol. 109, No. 16

External links[]

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