| 1980 New England Patriots season | |
|---|---|
| Owner | Billy Sullivan |
| General manager | Bucko Kilroy |
| Head coach | Ron Erhardt |
| Home stadium | Schaefer Stadium |
| Results | |
| Record | 10–6 |
| Division place | 2ndAFC East |
| Playoffs | Did not qualify |
| All-Pros | GJohn Hannah(1st team) CBMike Haynes(2nd team) WRStanley Morgan(2nd team) |
| Pro Bowlers | DEJulius Adams FSTim Fox GJohn Hannah CBMike Haynes WRStanley Morgan LBSteve Nelson KJohn Smith |
| Uniform | |
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The1980 New England Patriots season was the franchise's 11th season in theNational Football League and 21st overall. They completed the season with a record of ten wins and six losses and finished second in theAFCEast Division. Running backSam Cunningham held out all season, so the Patriots turned to rookieVagas Ferguson to carry the bulk of the rushing game. Ferguson responded by breaking the team's rookie rushing record. The Patriots would sit at 6–1 near the midway point and were about to make the playoffs. However, the Pats collapsed and won just two of their next seven and finished with a 10–6 record that saw them fall just short of a wild-card berth.
Bill Parcells, then the linebackers coach with the team, has stated that the players on this Patriots team gave him his famous "Tuna" nickname when he asked, "What do you think I am,Charlie the Tuna?"
| 1980 New England Patriots draft | |||||
| Round | Pick | Player | Position | College | Notes |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | 14 | Roland James | Cornerback | Tennessee | |
| 1 | 25 | Vagas Ferguson | Running back | Notre Dame | |
| 2 | 45 | Larry McGrew | Linebacker | USC | |
| 3 | 73 | Steve McMichael * | Defensive tackle | Texas | |
| 5 | 124 | Doug McDougald | Defensive end | Virginia Tech | |
| 6 | 160 | Preston Brown | Wide receiver | Vanderbilt | |
| 7 | 180 | Tom Kearns | Guard | Kentucky | |
| 8 | 208 | Mike House | Tight end | Pacific | |
| 9 | 235 | Barry Burget | Linebacker | Oklahoma | |
| 10 | 266 | Tom Daniel | Center | Georgia Tech | |
| 11 | 293 | Mike Hubach | Punter | Kansas | |
| 12 | 320 | Jimmy Jordan | Quarterback | Florida State | |
| Made roster * Made at least onePro Bowl during career | |||||
| Player | Position | College |
|---|---|---|
| Mike Cusumano | Wide receiver | Cincinnati |
| Tim Tumpane | Linebacker | Yale |
| Karl Ulrich | Quarterback | Brockport State |
Front office
Head coaches
Offensive coaches
| Defensive coaches
Special teams coaches
|
| Quarterbacks(QB) Running backs(RB) Wide receivers(WR) Tight ends(TE) | Offensive linemen(OL) | Linebackers(LB)
Defensive backs(DB) Special teams(ST) | Reserve
|
The Patriots scored 441 points in 1980, a team record that stood until the2007 team surpassed it. For the second straight season, they missed the playoffs by one game.
| Week | Date | Opponent | Result | Record | Venue | Attendance | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | September 7 | Cleveland Browns | W 34–17 | 1–0 | Schaefer Stadium | 49,222 | |
| 2 | September 14 | Atlanta Falcons | L 21–37 | 1–1 | Schaefer Stadium | 48,321 | |
| 3 | September 21 | atSeattle Seahawks | W 37–31 | 2–1 | Kingdome | 61,035 | |
| 4 | September 29 | Denver Broncos | W 23–14 | 3–1 | Schaefer Stadium | 59,602 | |
| 5 | October 5 | atNew York Jets | W 21–11 | 4–1 | Shea Stadium | 53,603 | |
| 6 | October 12 | Miami Dolphins | W 34–0 | 5–1 | Schaefer Stadium | 60,377 | |
| 7 | October 19 | atBaltimore Colts | W 37–21 | 6–1 | Memorial Stadium | 53,924 | |
| 8 | October 26 | atBuffalo Bills | L 13–31 | 6–2 | Rich Stadium | 75,092 | |
| 9 | November 2 | New York Jets | W 34–21 | 7–2 | Schaefer Stadium | 60,834 | |
| 10 | November 10 | atHouston Oilers | L 34–38 | 7–3 | Astrodome | 51,524 | |
| 11 | November 16 | Los Angeles Rams | L 14–17 | 7–4 | Schaefer Stadium | 60,609 | |
| 12 | November 23 | Baltimore Colts | W 47–21 | 8–4 | Schaefer Stadium | 60,994 | |
| 13 | November 30 | atSan Francisco 49ers | L 17–21 | 8–5 | Candlestick Park | 45,254 | |
| 14 | December 8 | atMiami Dolphins | L 13–16 (OT) | 8–6 | Miami Orange Bowl | 63,292 | |
| 15 | December 14 | Buffalo Bills | W 24–2 | 9–6 | Schaefer Stadium | 58,324 | |
| 16 | December 21 | atNew Orleans Saints | W 38–27 | 10–6 | Louisiana Superdome | 38,277 | |
| Note: Intra-division opponents are inbold text. | |||||||
| AFC East | |||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| W | L | T | PCT | DIV | CONF | PF | PA | STK | |
| Buffalo Bills(3) | 11 | 5 | 0 | .688 | 4–4 | 8–4 | 320 | 260 | W1 |
| New England Patriots | 10 | 6 | 0 | .625 | 6–2 | 9–3 | 441 | 325 | W2 |
| Miami Dolphins | 8 | 8 | 0 | .500 | 3–5 | 4–8 | 266 | 305 | L1 |
| Baltimore Colts | 7 | 9 | 0 | .438 | 5–3 | 6–8 | 355 | 387 | L3 |
| New York Jets | 4 | 12 | 0 | .250 | 2–6 | 3–9 | 302 | 395 | W1 |
Steve Grogan fired for three touchdown passes (including a 10-yard pass to Harold Jackson who caught his 500th career reception) and John Smith kicked three field goals as the New England Patriots shut down the Cleveland Browns offense until late in the game and rolled to a 34-17 victory over the Browns. For the day Grogan completed 17 of 26 passes for 277 yards. It was the Patriots first home opening day win since 1977.
The game lead tied or changed eight times asJim Zorn andSteve Grogan combined for 583 passing yards, seven touchdowns, and two picks. Trailing 27–14 after three quarters the Seahawks behind Zorn touchdowns toSteve Largent andSam McCullum took a 31–30 lead before Grogan found tight endDon Hasselbeck (whose sonMatt would quarterback the Seahawks over two decades later) for the game-winning touchdown of a 37–31 final.
The Patriots opened the first of threeMonday Night Football appearances on their schedule hosting the Broncos for the fourth time since the AFL-NFL merger. AMatt Robinson touchdown in the first quarter put the Broncos up 7–0, then the game lead changed three times in the next two quarters behind Patriot scores byVagas Ferguson,Stanley Morgan, and kickerJohn Smith and anOtis Armstrong touchdown for the Broncos, before the Patriots inched away in the fourth to a 23–14 win. It was the fourth straight win for the home team in the rivalry and would be the Patriots' last win over the Broncos until1999.
The Patriots edged the Jets 21–11, sackingRichard Todd five times. It had been a rough week leading up to the game for Todd, as he broke the little toe on his left foot after accidentally kicking a table at home, then broke the right little toe after his foot was stepped on byStan Waldemore on a play-action drill during practice – Waldemore was subbing forRandy Rasmussen after Rasmussen was injured earlier in practice.
The Patriots and Dolphins had split their season series the previous four seasons, and 1980 proved no different. The Patriots hammered the Dolphins atSchaefer Stadium 34–0 asDon Calhoun andAllan Clark had rushing touchdowns,Steve Grogan andMatt Cavanaugh each had a touchdown throw, and kickerJohn Smith kicked two field goals. The Dolphins had four fumbles and recovered all four, but also threw four picks.
| Quarter | 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | Total |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Patriots | 3 | 0 | 10 | 0 | 13 |
| Bills | 0 | 14 | 0 | 17 | 31 |
atRich Stadium,Orchard Park, New York
| Game information | ||
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In their secondMonday Night Football game the Patriots fell behind 24–6 at halftime as they faced an Oilers squad that included two players who'd haunted the Pats during theirOakland Raiders days –Ken Stabler andDave Casper. The Patriots managed four touchdowns in the second half and recovered an onside kick late in the fourth quarter, but Grogan was intercepted in the endzone and thus the Oilers had the game 38–34.
Steve Grogan started despite injuries to both knees because backupMatt Cavanaugh (a future Niners backup forJoe Montana) was coming off knee surgery. Grogan was picked off six times in a 21–17 loss and "I got crucified in the newspapers, but no one knew I was playing on two bad knees."[2]
The Dolphins got revenge in a 16–13 overtime win at theMiami Orange Bowl. The Patriots clawed to a 13–6 lead in the fourth quarter, then the Dolphins forced overtime with aDavid Woodley throw toNat Moore in the fourth. John Smith attempted to kick the game-winning field goal, but had the kick blocked, thenUwe von Schamann of the Dolphins won it with a 23-yard field goal in the extra quarter. The game, though, wound up taking a back seat to the announcement byHoward Cosell thatJohn Lennonhad been shot and killed.[3]
Needing a win and outside help for a playoff berth, the Patriots outdueled the Saints 38–27 behind threeMatt Cavanaugh touchdown throws and rushing scores byDon Calhoun andMosi Tatupu. Running backJack Holmes threw a touchdown to fellow RBJimmy Rogers as the Saints clawed to a 10–0 first quarter lead, but the lead was gone before halftime.Archie Manning threw for 301 yards and a score toWes Chandler against a Patriots organization his sonsPeyton andEli would battle in another time. A Pittsburgh win in the ensuing Monday Night game versus San Diego would have earned the Patriots a wild card, but the Chargers led it wire to wire to clinch the #1 seed in the AFC.
