1980 New England Patriots season

Season of National Football League team the New England Patriots November 2013 March 2026 New England Patriots 1980 10–6 2nd AFC East Ron Erhardt Bucko Kilroy Billy Sullivan Schaefer Stadium Did not qualify DE Julius AdamsFS Tim FoxG John HannahCB Mike HaynesWR Stanley MorganLB Steve NelsonK John Smith G John Hannah (1st team) CB Mike Haynes (2nd team) WR Stanley Morgan (2nd team) Image:AFC-1979-1980-Uniform-NE.PNG Patriots seasons The 1980 New England Patriots season was the franchise's 11th season in the National Football League and 21st overall. They completed the season with a record of ten wins and six losses and finished second in the AFC East Division. Running back Sam Cunningham held out all season, so the Patriots turned to rookie Vagas 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?" Offseason NFL draft 1980 NFL draft 1980 New England Patriots 1 14 Roland James Cornerback Tennessee yes 1 25 Vagas Ferguson Running back Notre Dame yes 2 45 Larry McGrew Linebacker USC yes 3 73 Steve McMichael Defensive tackle Texas yes yes yes 5 124 Doug McDougald Defensive end Virginia Tech yes 6 160 Preston Brown Wide receiver Vanderbilt yes 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 yes 12 320 Jimmy Jordan Quarterback Florida State nohttps://www.pro-football-reference.com/teams/det/1947_draft.htm 1947 Detroit Lions Draftees Pro Football Reference January 22, 2021 Undrafted free agents + 1980 undrafted free agents of notePlayerPositionCollegeMike CusumanoWide receiverCincinnatiTim TumpaneLinebackerYaleKarl UlrichQuarterbackBrockport State Staff 1980 New England Patriots President – Billy Sullivan Executive vice president – Chuck Sullivan General manager – Bucko Kilroy Assistant general manager – Patrick Sullivan Director of college scouting – Mike Holovak Director of pro scouting – Bill McPeak Administrative assistant – Rick Buffington Head coach – Ron Erhardt Offensive coordinator/offensive line – Jim Ringo Quarterbacks – John Polonchek Offensive backs – Tom Yewcic Receivers – Raymond Berry Defensive coordinator/defensive line – Fritz Shurmur Linebackers – Bill Parcells Defensive backs – Billy Kinard Special teams – Gino Cappelletti Roster 1980 New England Patriots 12 Matt Cavanaugh 14 Steve Grogan 17 Tom Owen American football 44 Don Calhoun 35 Allan Clark 43 Vagas Ferguson y 22 Chuck Foreman 23 Horace Ivory 32 Andy Johnson American football 30 Mosi Tatupu 29 Harold Jackson American football 86 Stanley Morgan 88 Carlos Pennywell 83 Don Westbrook 81 Russ Francis 80 Don Hasselbeck 61 Sam Adams Sr. G 58 Pete Brock American football C 75 Bob Cryder G 73 John Hannah American football G 74 Shelby Jordan T 67 Bill Lenkaitis C 77 Garry Puetz T 62 Dwight Wheeler T 85 Julius Adams DE 64 Richard Bishop DE/NT 71 Ray Hamilton defensive tackle NT 72 Mel Lunsford DE 70 Doug McDougald y DE 78 Tony McGee defensive lineman DE 51 Bob Golic ILB 59 Mike Hawkins linebacker OLB 52 Steve King American football OLB 53 Bill Matthews American football ILB 57 Steve Nelson American football ILB 56 Rod Shoate OLB 54 John Zamberlin ILB 26 Raymond Clayborn CB 28 Bill Currier FS 48 Tim Fox American football FS 40 Mike Haynes cornerback CB 38 Roland James y SS 25 Rick Sanford SS/CB  6 Mike Hubach y P  1 John Smith placekicker K 87 Preston Brown wide receiver y WR IR 63 Mark Buben DE IR 55 Ray Costict LB IR 39 Sam Cunningham RB IR 50 Larry McGrew y LB IR 66 Steve McMichael y NT IR 68 Steve Schindler G IR 31 Jimmy Stewart no S IR Regular season Season summary The Patriots scored 441 points in 1980, a team record that stood until the 2007 team surpassed it. For the second straight season, they missed the playoffs by one game. Schedule 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 at Seattle Seahawks W 37–31 2–1 Kingdome 61,035 4 September 29, 1980 Denver Broncos W 23–14 3–1 Schaefer Stadium 59,602 5 October 5 at New 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 at Baltimore Colts W 37–21 6–1 Memorial Stadium 53,924 8 October 26 at Buffalo 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, 1980 at Houston 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 at San Francisco 49ers L 17–21 8–5 Candlestick Park 45,254 14 December 8, 1980 at Miami 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 at New Orleans Saints W 38–27 10–6 Louisiana Superdome 38,277 Note: Intra-division opponents are in bold text. Standings Notable games Week 1 vs Browns 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. Week 2 vs Falcons Week 3 at Seattle Seahawks: The game lead tied or changed eight times as Jim Zorn and Steve Grogan combined for 583 passing yards, seven touchdowns, and two picks. Trailing 27–14 after three quarters the Seahawks behind Zorn touchdowns to Steve Largent and Sam McCullum took a 31–30 lead before Grogan found tight end Don Hasselbeck (whose son Matt would quarterback the Seahawks over two decades later) for the game-winning touchdown of a 37–31 final. Week 4 vs. Denver Broncos: The Patriots opened the first of three Monday Night Football appearances on their schedule hosting the Broncos for the fourth time since the AFL-NFL merger. A Matt 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 by Vagas Ferguson, Stanley Morgan, and kicker John Smith and an Otis 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 until 1999. Week 5 @ New York Jets: The Patriots edged the Jets 21–11, sacking Richard 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 by Stan Waldemore on a play-action drill during practice – Waldemore was subbing for Randy Rasmussen after Rasmussen was injured earlier in practice. Week 6 vs. Miami Dolphins: The Patriots and Dolphins had split their season series the previous four seasons, and 1980 proved no different. The Patriots hammered the Dolphins at Schaefer Stadium 34–0 as Don Calhoun and Allan Clark had rushing touchdowns, Steve Grogan and Matt Cavanaugh each had a touchdown throw, and kicker John Smith kicked two field goals. The Dolphins had four fumbles and recovered all four, but also threw four picks. Week 7 at Colts Week 8 at Bills New England Patriots 1980 2; text-align:center collapsed Week Eight: New England Patriots (6–1) at Buffalo Bills (5–2) October 26 1:00 p.m. EDT Patriots 3 0 10 0 Bills 0 14 0 17 Rich Stadium, Orchard Park, New York 75,092 41 F C Ben Dreith NBC Charlie Jones and Len Dawson Box Score First quarter NE – John Smith 41-yard field goal. Patriots 3–0. Second quarter BUF – Frank Lewis 14-yard pass from Joe Ferguson (Nick Mike-Mayer kick). Bills 7–3. BUF – Frank Lewis 12-yard pass from Joe Ferguson (Nick Mike-Mayer kick). Bills 14–3. Third quarter NE – Russ Francis 26-yard pass from Steve Grogan (John Smith kick). Bills 14–10. NE – John Smith 32-yard field goal. Bills 14–13. Fourth quarter BUF – Nick Mike-Mayer 23-yard field goal. Bills 17–13. BUF – Joe Cribbs 16-yard run (Nick Mike-Mayer kick). Bills 24–13. BUF – Joe Cribbs 5-yard run (Nick Mike-Mayer kick). Bills 31–13. Top passers NE – Steve Grogan – 13/29, 138 yards, TD, 4 INT BUF – Joe Ferguson – 12/28, 176 yards, 2 TD, 2 INT Top rushers NE – Don Calhoun – 8 rushes, 24 yards BUF – Joe Cribbs – 30 rushes, 118 yards, 2 TD Top receivers NE – Russ Francis – 2 receptions, 32 yards, TD BUF – Frank Lewis – 5 receptions, 80 yards, 2 TD Week 9 vs Jets Week 10 at Houston Oilers In their second Monday 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 their Oakland Raiders days – Ken Stabler and Dave 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. Week 11 vs Rams Week 12 vs Colts Week 13 at San Francisco 49ers: Steve Grogan started despite injuries to both knees because backup Matt Cavanaugh (a future Niners backup for Joe 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."Felger, Michael (2004) TALES FROM THE PATRIOTS SIDELINES (IL: Sports Publishing LLC), from Forward 1-59670-154-4 Week 14 at Miami Dolphins: The Dolphins got revenge in a 16–13 overtime win at the Miami Orange Bowl. 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, wound up taking a back seat to the announcement by Howard Cosell 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 Week 15 vs Bills Week 16 vs. New Orleans Saints: Needing a win and outside help for a playoff berth, the Patriots outdueled the Saints 38–27 behind three Matt Cavanaugh touchdown throws and rushing scores by Don Calhoun and Mosi Tatupu. Running back Jack Holmes threw a touchdown to fellow RB Jimmy 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 to Wes Chandler against a Patriots organization his sons Peyton and Eli 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. References 30em See also New England Patriots seasons New England Patriots Category:New England Patriots seasons New England Patriots Category:Sports competitions in Foxborough, Massachusetts