Changes: 1980 Detroit Lions season

1980 Detroit Lions season
Head Coach	Monte Clark
Home Field	Pontiac Silverdome
Results
Record	9–7
Place	2nd NFC Central
Playoff Finish	did not qualify
Timeline
Previous season	Next season
1979	1981

Latest revision as of 01:42, 6 September 2019

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. 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

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

81 David Hill
80 Ulysses Norris

Offensive Linemen

76 Karl Baldischwiler T
73 Russ Bolinger G
72 Chris Dieterich T/G
70 Keith Dorney T
61 Homer Elias G
65 Amos Fowler C
68 Tommie Ginn C
66 Burton Lawless G
62 Willie Parker C
74 Mike Whited T

Defensive Linemen

60 Al Baker DE
79 William Gay DT
90 Leon Hayes DE
74 Mike McCoy DT
64 John Mendenhall DT
75 Dave Pureifory DE
78 Tom Tuinei DE
77 John Woodcock DE

Linebackers

59 Charlie Weaver OLB
58 Dave Simmons OLB
50 Eddie Cole OLB
57 Ken Fantetti MLB
53 Garry Cobb
55 Derrel Luce MLB
52 Stan White OLB
51 James Harrell OLB

Defensive Backs

35 Jimmy Allen SS
29 Luther Bradley CB
28 James Hunter CB
44 Wayne Smith CB
21 Walt Williams CB
23 Ray Oldham FS
22 Eddie Lewis FS
26 Prentice McCray SS

Special Teams

3 Eddie Murray K
15 Tom Skladany P

Reserve Lists

Currently vacant

Rookies in italics

Regular season

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

Schedule

Week	Date	Opponent	Result	Attendance
1	September 7, 1980	at Los Angeles Rams	W 41–20	64,892
2	September 14, 1980	at Green Bay Packers	W 29–7	53,099
3	September 21, 1980	St. Louis Cardinals	W 20–7	80,027
4	September 28, 1980	Minnesota Vikings	W 27–7	80,291
5	October 5, 1980	at Atlanta Falcons	L 43–28	57,652
6	October 12, 1980	New Orleans Saints	W 24–13	78,147
7	October 19, 1980	at Chicago Bears	L 24–7	58,508
8	October 26, 1980	at Kansas City Chiefs	L 20–17	59,391
9	November 2, 1980	San Francisco 49ers	W 17–13	78,845
10	November 9, 1980	at Minnesota Vikings	L 34–0	46,264
11	November 16, 1980	Baltimore Colts	L 10–9	77,677
12	November 23, 1980	at Tampa Bay Buccaneers	W 24–10	64,976
13	November 27, 1980	Chicago Bears	L 23–17 OT	75,397
14	December 7, 1980	at St. Louis Cardinals	L 24–23	46,966
15	December 14, 1980	Tampa Bay Buccaneers	W 27–14	77,098
16	December 21, 1980	Green Bay Packers	W 24–3	75,111

Standings

NFC Central
view · talk · edit	W	L	T	PCT	PF	PA
Minnesota Vikings	9	7	0	.563	317	308
Detroit Lions	9	7	0	.563	334	272
Chicago Bears	7	9	0	.438	304	264
Tampa Bay Buccaneers	5	10	1	.344	271	341
Green Bay Packers	5	10	1	.344	231	371

^[5]

Game Summaries

Week 2: at Green Bay Packers

	1	2	3	4	Total
Lions	3	13	6	7	29
Packers	0	7	0	0	7

at Milwaukee County Stadium, Milwaukee

Date: September 14
Game time: 1:00 p.m.
Game weather: 64 °F (17.8 °C), wind 14 miles per hour (23 km/h; 12 kn)
Box Score

Scoring summary

Quarter	Time	Drive			Team	Scoring Information	Score
Quarter	Time	Plays	Yards	TOP	Team	Scoring Information	Lions	Packers
1					Lions	32-yard field goal by Eddie Murray	3	0
2					Lions	39-yard field goal by Eddie Murray	6	0
2					Packers	Eddie Lee Ivery 5-yard touchdown run, Chester Marcol kick good	6	7
2					Lions	Billy Sims 1-yard touchdown run, Eddie Murray kick good	13	7
2					Lions	43-yard field goal by Eddie Murray	16	7
3					Lions	42-yard field goal by Eddie Murray	19	7
3					Lions	23-yard field goal by Eddie Murray	22	7
4					Lions	Billy Sims 87-yard touchdown reception from Gary Danielson, Eddie Murray kick good	29	7
"TOP" = Time of Possession. For other American football terms, see Glossary of American football.							29	7

Week 5: at Atlanta Falcons

	1	2	3	4	Total
Lions	3	3	0	22	28
Falcons	17	17	2	7	43

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)
Box Score