NFL team season
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 [ edit ] [4]
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 [ edit ] In his NFL debut, Billy Sims had three touchdowns.[5]
Schedule [ edit ] 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 [ edit ] Game summaries [ edit ] Week 1 at Rams [ edit ] Week One: Detroit Lions (0–0) at Los Angeles Rams (0–0)
Period 1 2 3 4 Total Lions 10 7 10 14 41 Rams 6 14 0 0 20
at Anaheim Stadium , Anaheim, California
Date : September 7Game time : 4:00 p.m.Game weather : Clear; 66 °F or 18.9 °CGame attendance : 64,892Referee : Cal Lepore TV announcers (CBS) : Vin Scully and George AllenBox Score
Game information First quarter
LA – Drew Hill 98-yard kickoff return (kick failed). Rams 6–0. DET – Eddie Murray 52-yard field goal. Rams 6–3. Drive: DET – Billy Sims 10-yard run (Eddie Murray kick). Lions 10–6. Drive: Second quarter
LA – Cullen Bryant 1-yard run (Frank Corral kick). Rams 13–10. Drive: LA – Elvis Peacock 1-yard run (Frank Corral kick). Rams 20–10. Drive: DET – Billy Sims 1-yard run (Eddie Murray kick). Rams 20–17. Drive: Third quarter
DET – Eddie Murray 38-yard field goal. Tie 20–20. Drive: DET – Dexter Bussey 15-yard run (Eddie Murray kick). Lions 27–20. Drive: Fourth quarter
DET – Billy Sims 41-yard run (Eddie Murray kick). Lions 34–20. Drive: DET – Horace King 4-yard run (Eddie Murray kick). Lions 41–20. Drive: Top passers Top rushers Top receivers DET – Billy Sims – 2 receptions, 64 yards LA – Preston Dennard – 4 receptions, 63 yards
Week 2: at Green Bay Packers [ edit ] Game information First quarter
Second quarter
Third quarter
Fourth quarter
Top passers Top rushers Top receivers
Week 5: at Atlanta Falcons [ edit ] Week 13 [ edit ] Game information First quarter
Second quarter
Third quarter
DET – Gary Danielson 1-yard run (Eddie Murray kick). Lions 17–3. Drive: Fourth quarter
CHI – Bob Fisher 20-yard pass from Vince Evans (Bob Thomas kick). Lions 17–10. Drive: CHI – Vince Evans 4-yard run (Bob Thomas kick), 0:00. Tie 17–17. Drive: 14 plays, 94 yards. Overtime
Top passers Top rushers Top receivers CHI – James Scott – 6 receptions, 106 yards DET – Ray Williams – 3 receptions, 50 yards
Awards and records [ edit ] See also [ edit ] References [ edit ] ^ Season summary and stats at Sports E Cyclopedia ^ Urena, Ivan; Pro Football Schedules: A Complete Historical Guide from 1933 to the Present , p. 85 ISBN 0786473517 ^ Billy Sims, 1978 Heisman Trophy winner as a junior "Heisman Trophy" . Archived from the original on June 14, 2009. Retrieved August 4, 2008 . ^ "1980 Detroit Lions Draftees" . Pro Football Reference. Retrieved February 12, 2022 . ^ a b Sports Illustrated, Oct. 27, 2008, p.24, Vol. 109, No. 16 External links [ edit ]
Franchise Records Stadiums Culture Lore Rivalries Division championships (9) League championships (4) Media Current league affiliations