1980 Miami Dolphins season

15th season in franchise history March 2026 Miami Dolphins 1980 8–8 3rd AFC East Don Shula Orange Bowl Did not qualify None Dolphins seasons The 1980 Miami Dolphins season was the 15th year of existence for the Miami Dolphins franchise.December 2013 Quarterback Bob Griese retired after the season, following a 14-year career with the Dolphins. However, in Griese's final season the Dolphins would only play mediocre football finishing in third place with an 8–8 record. This was also the first season since 1969 that the Dolphins lost to the Buffalo Bills. For the season, the Dolphins switched the color of the facemasks on their helmets from gray to teal. No Dolphins made it to the Pro Bowl for the second consecutive season. Griese was the highest-paid quarterback in the league at just over $400,000.https://news.google.com/newspapers?id=vnZGAAAAIBAJ&sjid=R-kMAAAAIBAJ&pg=5927%2C2900653 Schenectady Gazette New York Associated Press Payton tops salary list of NFL players February 13, 1981 29 Offseason NFL draft 1980 NFL draft 1980 Miami Dolphins 1 21 Don McNeal Cornerback Alabama yes 2 48 Dwight Stephenson Center Alabama yes yes yes 3 75 Bill Barnett Defensive end Nebraska yes 4 100 Elmer Bailey Wide receiver Minnesota yes 6 158 Eugene Byrd Wide receiver Michigan State 7 185 Joe Rose Tight end California yes 8 212 Jeff Allen Defensive back UC Davis yes 8 214 David Woodley Quarterback LSU yes 9 239 Mark Goodspeed Offensive tackle Nebraska 10 271 Doug Lantz Center Miami (OH) 10 272 Ben Long Linebacker South Dakota 11 279 Phil Driscoll Defensive end Mankato State 12 325 Chuck Stone Guard North Carolina State Source:https://www.pro-football-reference.com/teams/mia/1980_draft.htm 1980 Miami Dolphins draftees Pro-Football-Reference.com December 26, 2014 Personnel Coaches / Staff 1980 Miami Dolphins Team Owner / President – Joe Robbie Executive Vice President/general manager – Mike Robbie Vice president – Don Shula Director of player personnel – Chuck Connor Head coach – Don Shula Quarterbacks/receivers – Dan Henning Offensive backs – Carl Taseff Offensive line/running game – John Sandusky Assistant head coach/defense – Bill Arnsparger Defensive line/run defense – Mike Scarry Defensive backs – Tom Keane Special teams – Steve Crosby, Carl Taseff Punting – Tom Keane Roster 1980 Miami Dolphins 45 10 10 Don Strock 16 David Woodley y 17 Pete Woods American football 34 Woody Bennett 35 Nick Giaquinto 38 Steve Howell 31 Rick Moser 22 Tony Nathan 24 Delvin Williams 88 Elmer Bailey y 81 Jimmy Cefalo 82 Duriel Harris 89 Nat Moore 84 Bruce Hardy 86 Ronnie Lee American football 80 Joe Rose American football y 63 Mark Dennard C 61 Thom Dornbrook G/C 79 Jon Giesler T 74 Cleveland Green T 67 Bob Kuechenberg G 68 Eric Laakso T 64 Ed Newman G 57 Dwight Stephenson y C 78 Carl Barisich NT 70 Bill Barnett y DE 73 Bob Baumhower NT 75 Doug Betters DE 83 Vern Den Herder DE 58 Kim Bokamper OLB 51 Rusty Chambers ILB 77 A. J. Duhe ILB 50 Larry Gordon American football OLB 54 Ralph Ortega ILB 55 Earnie Rhone OLB 59 Steve Shull y ILB 43 Jeff Allen defensive back, born 1958 y CB 46 Don Bessillieu FS 47 Glenn Blackwood SS 33 Billy Cesare FS 25 Tim Foley defensive back SS 48 Gerald Small CB 45 Ed Taylor American football CB  4 George Roberts American football P  5 Uwe von Schamann K 44 Doug Beaudoin S IR 72 Phil Driscoll y no DE IR 12 Bob Griese QB IR 37 Mike Kozlowski S IR 66 Larry Little G IR 28 Don McNeal y CB IR 38 Terry Robiskie RB IR 62 Don Sewell no G IR 60 Jeff Toews G IR 56 Steve Towle LB IR Regular season The 1980 NFL season would see the Dolphins drop to an 8–8 record, from their AFC East division winning 10–6 showing the previous year. Quarterback Bob Griese, who struggled with leg problems during 1979, lost the starting job to longtime backup Don Strock, but he did poorly in two games, leading the Dolphins to return to Griese for week 3. In week 5, however, Griese suffered a career-ending shoulder injury against the Baltimore Colts and was succeeded by David Woodley, a rookie fresh from LSU. Their week-1 loss to the Buffalo Bills was the Dolphins' first loss to that team since 1969, snapping a 20 game winning streak for Miami in the Bills-Dolphins rivalry. After the win, Bills fans rushed the field and tore down the goalposts. This was also Don Shula's first loss to Buffalo in 21 career games against them. The final game of the season was played against the New York Jets on December 20. NBC tried a novel experiment by broadcasting the game with no commentators, and with none of the players or staff wearing microphones. The effect was to give television viewers the feel of actually being in the stadium. To date, this was the only NFL game ever aired on TV without commentaries. The Jets won by a score of 24–17, though both teams had already been eliminated from playoff contention. It was during the ABC broadcast of the Monday Night Football game on December 8, 1980, against the Patriots that Howard Cosell announced that John Lennon had been shot and killed. Schedule Week Date Opponent Result Record Venue Attendance 1 September 7 at Buffalo Bills L 7–17 0–1 Rich Stadium 79,598 2 September 14 Cincinnati Bengals W 17–16 1–1 Miami Orange Bowl 38,322 3 September 21 at Atlanta Falcons W 20–17 2–1 Atlanta–Fulton County Stadium 55,470 4 September 28 New Orleans Saints W 21–16 3–1 Miami Orange Bowl 40,946 5 October 5 Baltimore Colts L 17–30 3–2 Miami Orange Bowl 50,631 6 October 12 at New England Patriots L 0–34 3–3 Schaefer Stadium 60,377 7 October 19 Buffalo Bills W 17–14 4–3 Miami Orange Bowl 41,636 8 October 27, 1980 at New York Jets L 14–17 4–4 Shea Stadium 53,046 9 November 2 at Oakland Raiders L 10–16 4–5 Oakland–Alameda County Coliseum 46,378 10 November 9 at Los Angeles Rams W 35–14 5–5 Anaheim Stadium 62,198 11 November 16 San Francisco 49ers W 17–13 6–5 Miami Orange Bowl 45,135 12 November 20, 1980 San Diego Chargers L 24–27 (OT) 6–6 Miami Orange Bowl 63,013 13 November 30 at Pittsburgh Steelers L 10–23 6–7 Three Rivers Stadium 51,384 14 December 8, 1980 New England Patriots W 16–13 (OT) 7–7 Miami Orange Bowl 63,292 15 December 14 at Baltimore Colts W 24–14 8–7 Memorial Stadium 30,564 16 December 20, 1980 New York Jets L 17–24 8–8 Miami Orange Bowl 41,854 Note: Intra-division opponents are in bold text. Game summaries Week 1 at Bills Miami Dolphins 1980 2; text-align:center collapsed Week One: Miami Dolphins (0–0) at Buffalo Bills (0–0) September 7 1:00 p.m. EDT Dolphins 0 0 7 0 Bills 0 3 0 14 Rich Stadium, Orchard Park, New York 79,598 64 F C Gordon McCarter NBC Bob Costas and Mike Haffner Box Score First quarter No scoring Second quarter BUF – Nick Mike-Mayer 40-yard field goal. Bills 3–0. Third quarter MIA – Tony Nathan 4-yard pass from Bob Griese (Uwe von Schamann kick). Dolphins 7–3. Fourth quarter BUF – Roosevelt Leaks 4-yard pass from Joe Ferguson (Nick Mike-Mayer kick). Bills 10–7. BUF – Joe Cribbs 2-yard run (Nick Mike-Mayer kick). Bills 17–7. Top passers MIA – Bob Griese – 11/18, 101 yards, TD, 2 INT BUF – Joe Ferguson – 20/32, 198 yards, TD, 5 INT Top rushers MIA – Steve Howell – 6 rushes, 43 yards BUF – Joe Cribbs – 18 rushes, 60 yards, TD Top receivers MIA – Duriel Harris – 3 receptions, 42 yards BUF – Joe Cribbs – 9 receptions, 71 yards Week 7 vs Bills Miami Dolphins 1980 2; text-align:center collapsed Week Seven: Buffalo Bills (5–1) at Miami Dolphins (3–3) October 19 1:00 p.m. EDT Bills 0 0 7 7 Dolphins 7 7 3 0 Orange Bowl, Miami, Florida 41,636 80 F C Red Cashion NBC Dick Enberg and Merlin Olsen Box Score First quarter MIA – Don Bessillieu 44-yard fumble return (Uwe von Schamann kick). Dolphins 7–0. Second quarter MIA – Nat Moore 3-yard pass from David Woodley (Uwe von Schamann kick). Dolphins 14–0. Third quarter BUF – Joe Cribbs 2-yard run (Nick Mike-Mayer kick). Dolphins 14–7. MIA – Uwe von Schamann 23-yard field goal. Dolphins 17–7. Fourth quarter BUF – Jerry Butler 7-yard pass from Joe Ferguson (Nick Mike-Mayer kick). Dolphins 17–14. Top passers BUF – Joe Ferguson – 24/42, 221 yards, TD MIA – David Woodley – 11/17, 93 yards, TD, INT Top rushers BUF – Joe Cribbs – 14 rushes, 38 yards, TD MIA – Terry Robiskie – 18 rushes, 84 yards Top receivers BUF – Frank Lewis – 4 receptions, 71 yards MIA – Nat Moore – 4 receptions, 39 yards, TD Week 14: vs. New England Patriots New England Patriots at Miami Dolphins Patriots 0 6 0 7 0 Dolphins 0 0 6 7 3 December 8 Orange Bowl, Miami, Florida 9:00 p.m. EST Jerry Seeman ABC Source: Pro-Football-Reference.com yes 2 Patriots John Smith 23-yard field goal Patriots 3–0 2 Patriots John Smith 33-yard field goal Patriots 6–0 3 Dolphins Uwe von Schamann 27-yard field goal Patriots 6–3 3 Dolphins Uwe von Schamann 24-yard field goal Tie 6–6 4 Patriots Russ Francis 38-yard pass from Matt Cavanaugh (John Smith kick) Patriots 13–6 4 Dolphins Nat Moore 8-yard pass from David Woodley (Uwe von Schamann kick) Tie 13–13 OT Dolphins Uwe von Schamann 23-yard field goal Dolphins 16–13 yes The Dolphins got revenge from their 34-0 shellacking in Foxborough back in October. The Patriots clawed to a 13–6 lead in the fourth quarter, then the Dolphins forced overtime with a David Woodley throw to Nat Moore in the fourth. John Smith attempted to kick the game-winning field goal, but had the kick blocked, then Uwe von Schamann of the Dolphins won it with a 23-yard field goal in the extra quarter. The game, though, became overshadowed by Howard Cosell's announcement that John Lennon had been shot and killed.https://www.espn.com/espn/otl/news/story?id=5880125 Ex-Pats kicker forever linked to Lennon ESPN.com Jeff Ausiello December 5, 2010 December 6, 2010 Standings References External links 1980 Miami Dolphins at Pro-Football-Reference.com Miami Category:Miami Dolphins seasons Miami Dolphins