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1980 Miami Dolphins season
Head Coach Don Shula
Home Field
Results
Record 8–8
Place 3rd AFC East
Playoff Finish did not qualify
Timeline
Previous season Next season
1979 1981

Offseason[]

NFL Draft[]

Round Pick Player Position School
1

Regular season[]

The 1980 NFL season would see the Dolphins drop to an 8–8 record, from their 10–6 showing the previous year.

Quarterback Bob Griese, who struggled with leg problems during 1979, lost the starting job to longtime backup Don Strock, but he did poorly in two games, leading the Dolphins to return to Griese for Week 3. In Week 5, however, Griese suffered a career-ending shoulder injury against the Baltimore Colts and was succeeded by David Woodley, a rookie fresh from LSU.

The final game of the season was played against the New York Jets on December 20. NBC tried a novel experiment by broadcasting the game with no commentators, and with none of the players or staff wearing microphones. The effect was to give television viewers the feel of actually being in the stadium. To date, this was the only NFL game ever aired on TV without commentaries. The Jets won by a score of 24–17, costing the Dolphins a chance at a playoff berth.

It was during the Monday Night Football game on December 8, 1980 against the Patriots that Howard Cosell announced that John Lennon has been shot and killed.

Schedule[]

Week Date Opponent Result
1 September 7, 1980 at Buffalo Bills L 17–7
2 September 14, 1980 Cincinnati Bengals W 17–16
3 September 21, 1980 at Atlanta Falcons W 20–17
4 September 28, 1980 New Orleans Saints W 21–16
5 October 5, 1980 Baltimore Colts L 30–17
6 October 12, 1980 at New England Patriots L 34–0
7 October 19, 1980 Buffalo Bills W 17–14
8 October 27, 1980 at New York Jets L 17–14
9 November 2, 1980 at Oakland Raiders L 16–10
10 November 9, 1980 at Los Angeles Rams W 35–14
11 November 16, 1980 San Francisco 49ers W 17–13
12 November 20, 1980 San Diego Chargers L 27–24
13 November 30, 1980 at Pittsburgh Steelers L 23–10
14 December 8, 1980 New England Patriots W 16–13
15 December 14, 1980 at Baltimore Colts W 24–14
16 December 20, 1980 New York Jets L 24–17

Standings[]

AFC East
Team W L T PCT PF PA
Buffalo Bills 11 5 0 .688 320 260
New England Patriots 10 6 0 .625 441 325
Miami Dolphins 8 8 0 .500 266 305
Baltimore Colts 7 9 0 .438 355 387
New York Jets 4 12 0 .250 302 395

Notes and references[]

AFC East Central West East Central West NFC
Baltimore Cincinnati Denver Dallas Chicago Atlanta
Buffalo Cleveland Kansas City NY Giants Detroit Los Angeles
Miami Houston Oakland Philadelphia Green Bay New Orleans
New England Pittsburgh San Diego St. Louis Minnesota San Francisco
NY Jets Seattle Washington Tampa Bay
1980 NFL DraftNFL PlayoffsPro BowlSuper Bowl XV
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