1980 Minnesota Vikings season

1980 Minnesota Vikings season
Head Coach	Bud Grant
General Manager	Mike Lynn
Home Field	Metropolitan Stadium
Results
Record	9–7
Place	1st NFC Central
Playoff Finish	Lost NFC Divisional Playoff (at Eagles) 16-31
Timeline
Previous season	Next season
1979	1981

The 1980 season was the Minnesota Vikings' 20th in the National Football League and their 14th under head coach Bud Grant. The Vikings finished with a 9–7 record, equal to that of the Detroit Lions, but won the NFC Central division title on the tiebreaker.

The most dramatic game of the season came in a Week 15 home game against Cleveland, with Minnesota at 8–6. The Vikings trailed 23–9 early in the fourth quarter, but with five seconds left in regulation, despite missing two field goals and two extra points in the game, they were on the Cleveland 46-yard line having reduced the Browns' lead to one point. Quarterback Tommy Kramer threw a Hail Mary pass that Ahmad Rashād at the 2-yard line before backing into the end zone to give Minnesota a 28–23 win.

Offseason

1980 Draft

Main article: 1980 NFL draft

1980 Minnesota Vikings Draft
Draft order		Player name	Position	College	Notes
Round	Selection
1	9	Doug Martin	Defensive tackle	Washington
2	30	Willie Teal	Defensive back	Louisiana State	from 49ers
	39	Traded to the San Francisco 49ers
3	65	Traded to the San Francisco 49ers
	68	Brent Boyd	Center	UCLA	from Saints
4	92	Dennis Johnson	Linebacker	USC
5	121	Doug Paschal	Running back	North Carolina
	122	Paul Jones	Running back	California	from Saints
6	148	Ray Yakavonis	Defensive end	East Stroudsburg (PA)
7	175	Henry Johnson	Linebacker	Georgia Tech
8	205	Traded to the Seattle Seahawks
9	233	Dennis Mosley	Running back	Iowa	in lieu of #232 (passed)
10	259	Kenny Brown	Wide receiver	Nebraska
11	289	Sam Harrell	Running back	East Carolina
12	316	Thomas Lane	Defensive back	Florida A&M

^{^[a]} The Vikings traded their second- and third-round selections (39th and 65th overall) to the San Francisco 49ers in exchange for San Francisco's second-round selection (30th overall).

^{^[b]} The Vikings traded RB Steve Riley to the New Orleans Saints in exchange for New Orleans' third- and fifth-round selections (68th and 122nd overall).

^{^[c]} The Vikings traded their eighth-round selection (205th overall) to the Seattle Seahawks in exchange for DL Steve Niehaus.

^{^[d]} The Vikings originally had the 232nd overall selection, but passed allowing Buffalo to move up and Minnesota to choose 233rd overall.

Roster

1980 Minnesota Vikings roster
	Quarterbacks 12 Steve Dils 9 Tommy Kramer Running backs 23 Ted Brown FB 35 Robert Miller 40 Doug Paschal 31 Eddie Payton 34 Rickey Young Wide receivers 80 Terry LeCount 87 Kevin Miller 28 Ahmad Rashād 85 Sammy White Tight ends 82 Bob Bruer 81 Joe Senser 38 Bob Tucker		Offensive linemen 62 Brent Boyd G 61 Wes Hamilton G 51 Jim Hough G 56 Dave Huffman G 58 Jim Langer C 68 Melvin Mitchell T 78 Steve Riley T 67 Dennis Swilley C 71 John Vella T 73 Ron Yary T Defensive linemen 75 Randy Holloway DE 79 Doug Martin DE 77 Mark Mullaney DE 76 Dave Roller DT 89 Ken Sanders DE 69 Doug Sutherland DT 72 James White DT		Linebackers 59 Matt Blair 52 Dennis Johnson 53 Henry Johnson 54 Fred McNeill 55 Scott Studwell Defensive backs 24 Larry Brune 26 Marvin Cobb 45 Tom Hannon SS 25 Kurt Knoff FS 49 Keith Nord FS 37 Willie Teal CB 27 John Turner CB Special teams 8 Greg Coleman P 7 Rick Danmeier K		Reserve lists Practice squad Rookies in italics 53 Active, 5 Inactive, 5 Practice squad

Preseason

Week	Date	Opponent	Result	Record	Venue	Attendance
1	August 9	San Diego Chargers	W 21–17	1–0	Metropolitan Stadium	45,179
2	August 18	at Kansas City Chiefs	L 10–14	1–1	Arrowhead Stadium	39,879
3	August 23	at Miami Dolphins	W 17–10	2–1	Miami Orange Bowl	36,116
4	August 30	Cleveland Browns	W 38–16	3–1	Metropolitan Stadium	47,262

Regular season

Schedule

Week	Date	Opponent	Result	Record	Venue	Attendance
1	September 7	Atlanta Falcons	W 24–23	1–0	Metropolitan Stadium	44,773
2	September 14	Philadelphia Eagles	L 7–42	1–1	Metropolitan Stadium	46,460
3	September 21	at Chicago Bears	W 34–14	2–1	Soldier Field	59,983
4	September 28	at Detroit Lions	L 7–27	2–2	Silverdome	80,291
5	October 5	Pittsburgh Steelers	L 17–23	2–3	Metropolitan Stadium	47,583
6	October 12	Chicago Bears	W 13–7	3–3	Metropolitan Stadium	46,751
7	October 19	at Cincinnati Bengals	L 0–14	3–4	Riverfront Stadium	44,487
8	October 26	at Green Bay Packers	L 3–16	3–5	Lambeau Field	56,191
9	November 2	at Washington Redskins	W 39–14	4–5	Robert F. Kennedy Memorial Stadium	52,060
10	November 9	Detroit Lions	W 34–0	5–5	Metropolitan Stadium	46,264
11	November 16	Tampa Bay Buccaneers	W 38–30	6–5	Metropolitan Stadium	46,032
12	November 23	Green Bay Packers	L 13–25	6–6	Metropolitan Stadium	47,234
13	November 30	at New Orleans Saints	W 23–20	7–6	Louisiana Superdome	30,936
14	December 7	at Tampa Bay Buccaneers	W 21–10	8–6	Tampa Stadium	65,649
15	December 14	Cleveland Browns	W 28–23	9–6	Metropolitan Stadium	42,202
16	December 21	at Houston Oilers	L 16–20	9–7	Astrodome	51,064

Note: Intra-division opponents are in bold text.

Game summaries

Week 15

Week 15: Cleveland Browns at Minnesota Vikings – Game summary 1 2 3 4 Total Browns 7 6 3 7 23 Vikings 0 0 9 19 28 at Metropolitan Stadium, Bloomington, Minnesota Date: December 14, 1980 Game time: 12:00 p.m. CST Game weather: 23 °F (−5 °C) Referee: Ben Dreith TV announcers (NBC): Charlie Jones and Len Dawson Game information First quarter CLE – Calvin Hill 18-yard pass from Brian Sipe (Don Cockroft kick). Browns 7–0. Second quarter CLE – Brian Sipe 2-yard run (kick failed). Browns 13–0. Third quarter MIN – Joe Senser 31-yard pass from Tommy Kramer (kick failed). Browns 13–6. CLE – Don Cockroft 32-yard field goal. Browns 16–6. MIN – Rick Danmeier 24-yard field goal. Browns 16–9. Fourth quarter CLE – Cleo Miller 1-yard run (Don Cockroft kick). Browns 23–9. MIN – Ted Brown 7-yard pass from Tommy Kramer (kick failed). Browns 23–15. MIN – Ahmad Rashād 12-yard pass from Tommy Kramer (Rick Danmeier kick). Browns 23–22. MIN – Ahmad Rashād 46-yard pass from Tommy Kramer (kick failed). Vikings 28–23.

Trailing 23–9 entering the fourth quarter the Vikings came back and won on a desperation Hail Mary pass from quarterback Tommy Kramer to wide receiver Ahmad Rashād to clinch the NFC Central Division title in what became known as the "Miracle at the Met".

Standings

NFC Central
	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

Postseason

Week	Date	Opponent	Result	Venue	Attendance
Divisional	January 3	at Philadelphia Eagles	L 16–31	Veterans Stadium	68,434

Statistics

Team leaders

Category	Player(s)	Value
Passing yards	Tommy Kramer	3,582
Passing touchdowns	Tommy Kramer	19
Rushing yards	Ted Brown	912
Rushing touchdowns	Ted Brown	8
Receiving yards	Ahmad Rashād	1,095
Receiving touchdowns	Joe Senser	7
Points	Rick Danmeier	81
Kickoff return yards	Eddie Payton	1,184
Punt return yards	Eddie Payton	251
Interceptions	John Turner	6

League rankings

Category	Total yards	Yards per game	NFL rank (out of 28)
Passing offense	3,688	230.5	3rd
Rushing offense	1,642	102.6	27th
Total offense	5,330	333.1	11th
Passing defense	3,400	212.5	24th
Rushing defense	2,456	153.5	25th
Total defense	5,856	366.0	26th