1980 Detroit Lions season
Head coachMonte Clark
Home fieldPontiac Silverdome
Results
Record9–7
Division place2nd NFC Central
Playoff finishDid not qualify
Pro Bowlers
3
AP All-Pros
2

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

Draft

1980 Detroit Lions draft
Round Pick Player Position College Notes
1 1 Billy Sims *  Running back Oklahoma [3]
3 57 Tom Turnure  Center Washington
3 62 Mike Friede  Wide receiver Indiana
4 85 Eric Hipple  Quarterback Utah State
5 111 Mark Streeter  Defensive back Arizona
5 120 Tommie Ginn  Center Arkansas
6 140 Chris Dieterich  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 Donnie Henderson  Defensive back Utah State
11 278 Wayne Smith  Defensive back Purdue
12 307 Ray Williams  Running back Washington State
      Made roster    *   Made at least one Pro Bowl during career

[4]

Roster

1980 Detroit Lions roster
Quarterbacks

Running backs

Wide receivers

Tight ends

 Offensive linemen

Defensive linemen

 Linebackers

Defensive backs

Special teams

 Reserve lists


Practice squad



Rookies in italics

Regular season

In his NFL debut, Billy Sims had three touchdowns.[5]

Schedule

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

Standings

NFC Central
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

Week One: Detroit Lions (0–0) at Los Angeles Rams (0–0)
Period 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 or 18.9 °C
  • Game attendance: 64,892
  • Referee: Cal Lepore
  • TV announcers (CBS): Vin Scully and George Allen
  • Box Score
Game information

Week 2: at Green Bay Packers

Week 2: Detroit Lions at Green Bay Packers
Period 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 or 17.8 °C
  • Referee: Bob Frederic
  • TV announcers (CBS): Frank Glieber and Roger Staubach
Game information

Week 5: at Atlanta Falcons

Period 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)
Period 1 2 34OTTotal
Bears 0 3 014623
Lions 3 7 70017

at Pontiac Silverdome, Pontiac, Michigan

Game information

Awards and records

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 June 14, 2009. Retrieved August 4, 2008.
  4. ↑ "1980 Detroit Lions Draftees". Pro Football Reference. Retrieved February 12, 2022.
  5. 1 2 Sports Illustrated, Oct. 27, 2008, p.24, Vol. 109, No. 16
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