NFL team season
The 1980 Atlanta Falcons season was the Falcons' 15th season and culminated in their first division title in franchise history. After a 3–3 start, the Falcons went on a nine-game winning streak as quarterback Steve Bartkowski passed for a career-best 3,544 yards while connecting on 31 touchdown passes. As the NFC's top seed, the Falcons gained home-field advantage throughout the playoffs. The Falcons' season ended with a 30–27 divisional playoff loss to the Dallas Cowboys before 60,022 fans at Fulton County Stadium.
Offseason [ edit ] [1]
Personnel [ edit ] 1980 Atlanta Falcons staff Front office
Head coaches
Offensive coaches
Defensive coaches
1980 Atlanta Falcons final roster Quarterbacks Running backs
Wide receivers
Tight ends
Offensive linemen Defensive linemen
Linebackers Defensive backs
Special teams
Reserve lists
Rookies in italics
Regular season [ edit ] Schedule [ edit ] Week Date Opponent Result Record Venue Attendance Recap 1 September 7 at Minnesota Vikings L 23–24 0–1 Metropolitan Stadium 44,773 Recap 2 September 14 at New England Patriots W 37–21 1–1 Schaefer Stadium 48,321 Recap 3 September 21 Miami Dolphins L 17–20 1–2 Atlanta–Fulton County Stadium 55,470 Recap 4 September 28 at San Francisco 49ers W 20–17 2–2 Candlestick Park 56,518 Recap 5 October 5 Detroit Lions W 43–28 3–2 Atlanta–Fulton County Stadium 57,652 Recap 6 October 12 New York Jets L 7–14 3–3 Atlanta–Fulton County Stadium 57,458 Recap 7 October 19 at New Orleans Saints W 41–14 4–3 Louisiana Superdome 62,651 Recap 8 October 26 Los Angeles Rams W 13–10 5–3 Atlanta–Fulton County Stadium 57,401 Recap 9 November 2 at Buffalo Bills W 30–14 6–3 Rich Stadium 57,959 Recap 10 November 9 at St. Louis Cardinals W 33–27 7–3 Busch Memorial Stadium 48,662 Recap 11 November 16 New Orleans Saints W 31–13 8–3 Atlanta–Fulton County Stadium 53,871 Recap 12 November 23 Chicago Bears W 28–17 9–3 Atlanta–Fulton County Stadium 49,156 Recap 13 November 30 Washington Redskins W 10–6 10–3 Atlanta–Fulton County Stadium 55,665 Recap 14 December 7 at Philadelphia Eagles W 20–17 11–3 Veterans Stadium 70,205 Recap 15 December 14 San Francisco 49ers W 35–10 12–3 Atlanta–Fulton County Stadium 55,767 Recap 16 December 21 at Los Angeles Rams L 17–20 12–4 Anaheim Stadium 62,469 Recap Note: Intra-division opponents are in bold text.
Game summaries [ edit ] 1 2 3 4 Total Falcons 6 0 7 10 23 • Vikings 7 7 7 3 24
1 2 3 4 Total • Falcons 14 14 3 6 37 Patriots 7 14 0 0 21
1 2 3 4 Total • Dolphins 3 0 0 17 20 Falcons 0 7 7 3 17
1 2 3 4 Total • Falcons 3 0 3 14 20 49ers 0 3 0 14 17
Date: September 28Location: Candlestick Park Referee: Bob FredericTV announcers (CBS): Vin Scully and George Allen
1 2 3 4 Total Lions 3 3 0 22 28 • Falcons 17 17 2 7 43
Date: October 5Location: Atlanta-Fulton County StadiumReferee: Dick JorgensenTelevision network: CBS
1 2 3 4 Total • Jets 7 0 0 7 14 Falcons 0 0 0 7 7
Date: October 12Location: Atlanta-Fulton County StadiumReferee: Gordon McCarterTelevision network: NBC
1 2 3 4 Total • Falcons 7 6 21 7 41 Saints 7 7 0 0 14
Date: October 19Location: Louisiana Superdome Game start: 1:00 p.m. Game weather: Indoors (dome)Referee: Jerry SeemanTV announcers (CBS): Jim Kelly and Sonny Jurgenson Scoring summary Q1 NO Chandler 18 yard pass from Manning (Ricardo kick)NO 7–0 Q1 ATL Miller 11 yard pass from Bartkowski (Mazzetti kick)Tie 7–7 Q2 NO Galbreath 15 yard pass from Manning (Ricardo kick)NO 14–7 Q2 ATL Francis 24 yard pass from Bartkowski (kick failed)NO 14–13 Q3 ATL Jenkins 49 yard pass from Bartkowski (Mazzetti kick)ATL 20–14 Q3 ATL Cain 1 yard run (Mazzetti kick)ATL 27–14 Q3 ATL Miller 4 yard pass from Bartkowski (Mazzetti kick) ATL 34–14 Q4 ATL Andrews 13 yard run (Mazzetti kick)ATL 41–14
[2]
1 2 3 4 Total Rams 0 3 7 0 10 • Falcons 6 0 0 7 13
Date: October 26Location: Atlanta-Fulton County StadiumReferee: Jerry MarkbreitTelevision network: CBS
1 2 3 4 Total • Falcons 0 10 10 10 30 Bills 7 7 0 0 14
Date: November 2Location: Rich Stadium Referee: Chuck HeberlingTelevision network: CBS
Week 10 [ edit ] 1 2 3 4 OT Total • Falcons 3 3 14 7 6 33 Cardinals 17 7 3 0 0 27
Week 11 [ edit ] 1 2 3 4 Total Saints 7 0 0 6 13 • Falcons 3 7 7 14 31
Date: November 16Location: Atlanta-Fulton County Stadium
Week 12 [ edit ] 1 2 3 4 Total Bears 7 3 7 0 17 • Falcons 0 14 0 14 28
Date: November 23Location: Atlanta-Fulton County StadiumReferee: Fred WyantTelevision network: CBS
Week 13 [ edit ] 1 2 3 4 Total Redskins 0 3 0 3 6 • Falcons 0 0 7 3 10
Date: November 30Location: Atlanta-Fulton County Stadium
Week 14 [ edit ] 1 2 3 4 Total • Falcons 3 7 7 3 20 Eagles 0 14 0 3 17
Date: December 7Location: Veterans Stadium Referee: Pat HaggertyTV announcers (CBS): Gary Bender and John Madden
Week 15 [ edit ] 1 2 3 4 Total 49ers 0 3 0 7 10 • Falcons 7 0 14 14 35
Date: December 14Location: Atlanta-Fulton County Stadium
Week 16 [ edit ] 1 2 3 4 OT Total Falcons 7 7 0 3 0 17 • Rams 3 0 14 0 3 20
Playoffs [ edit ] Divisional [ edit ] 1 2 3 4 Total • Cowboys 3 7 0 20 30 Falcons 10 7 7 3 27
Standings [ edit ] References [ edit ] External links [ edit ]
Franchise Stadiums Culture Lore Rivalries Wild card / First round berths (8) Division championships (6) Conference championships (2) Ring of Honor Current league affiliations