1980 Detroit Lions season

NFL team season August 2023 March 2026 Detroit Lions 1980 9–7 2nd NFC Central Monte Clark Pontiac Silverdome Did not qualify 3 RB Billy Sims DE Al Baker K Eddie Murray 2 K Eddie Murray (1st team) RB Billy Sims (2nd team) Lions seasons 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.http://www.sportsecyclopedia.com/nfl/det/lions.html Season summary and stats at Sports E Cyclopedia March 31, 2012 December 30, 2007 https://web.archive.org/web/20071230202401/http://www.sportsecyclopedia.com/nfl/det/lions.html dead The Lions’ 1979 fifth-place finish meant they played two extra NFC games, resulting in five conference losses to the Vikings' four losses.Urena, Ivan; Pro Football Schedules: A Complete Historical Guide from 1933 to the Present, p. 85 0786473517 The Lions managed to compile their first winning season since 1972. And first since moving to the Pontiac Silverdome. After the season, John Arnold and Eddie Cole retired. Offseason Draft 1980 NFL draft 1980 Detroit Lions 1 1 Billy Sims Running back Oklahoma yes yes Billy Sims, 1978 Heisman Trophy winner as a junior Heisman Trophy http://www.heisman.com/winners/b-sims78.html 2008-08-04 https://web.archive.org/web/20090614014646/http://www.heisman.com/winners/b-sims78.html 14 June 2009 3 57 Tom Turnure Center Washington yes 3 62 Mike Friede Wide receiver Indiana yes 4 85 Eric Hipple Quarterback Utah State yes 5 111 Mark Streeter Defensive back Arizona 5 120 Tommie Ginn Center Arkansas yes 6 140 Chris Dieterich Tackle North Carolina State yes 7 166 Eddie Murray Kicker Tulane yes yes 9 222 DeWayne Jett Wide receiver Hawaii 9 223 Tom Tuinei Defensive tackle Hawaii yes 10 251 Donnie Henderson Defensive back Utah State 11 278 Wayne Smith Defensive back Purdue yes 12 307 Ray Williams Running back Washington State yes nohttps://www.pro-football-reference.com/teams/det/1980_draft.htm 1980 Detroit Lions Draftees Pro Football Reference February 12, 2022 Roster 1980 Detroit Lions 45 9 0 16 Gary Danielson 17 Eric Hipple y 19 Jeff Komlo 24 Dexter Bussey 32 Rick Kane 25 Horace King American football 36 Bo Robinson 20 Billy Sims y 87 Freddie Scott American football, born 1952 84 Jesse Thompson American football 39 Leonard Thompson American football 30 Ray Williams American football y 81 David Hill tight end 80 Ulysses Norris 76 Karl Baldischwiler T 73 Russ Bolinger G 72 Chris Dieterich y T 70 Keith Dorney T 61 Homer Elias G/T 65 Amos Fowler C 68 Tommie Ginn y C/G 66 Burton Lawless G 67 Rod Walters G 74 Mike Whited y T 60 Al Baker DE 77 Curley Culp DT 79 William Gay defensive lineman DT 64 John Mendenhall American football DT 75 Dave Pureifory DE 78 Tom Tuinei y DT/DE 53 Garry Cobb OLB 57 Ken Fantetti MLB 58 Derrel Luce MLB 63 Dave Simmons linebacker, born 1957 OLB 59 Charlie Weaver OLB 52 Stan White linebacker OLB 35 Jimmy Allen American football FS 29 Luther Bradley SS 28 James Hunter American football CB 22 Eddie Lewis American football FS 23 Ray Oldham SS 44 Wayne Smith defensive back y CB 21 Walt Williams cornerback CB  3 Eddie Murray American football y K 15 Tom Skladany P 47 John Arnold American football WR IR 31 Ken Callicutt RB IR 50 Eddie Cole linebacker LB IR 78 Doug English DT (Ret.) 7px 51 James Harrell American football LB IR -- DeWayne Jett no y WR IR 62 Willie Parker offensive lineman C IR 55 Tom Turnure y C IR 77 John Woodcock American football DE Left Squad None - N/A Regular season In his NFL debut, Billy Sims had three touchdowns.Sports Illustrated, Oct. 27, 2008, p.24, Vol. 109, No. 16 Schedule 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 75,111Note: Intra-division opponents are in bold text. Standings Game summaries Week 1 at Rams 1980 Los Angeles Rams season Detroit Lions 1980 2; text-align:center collapsed Week One: Detroit Lions (0–0) at Los Angeles Rams (0–0) September 7 4:00 p.m. Lions 10 7 10 14 Rams 6 14 0 0 Anaheim Stadium, Anaheim, California 64,892 Clear; 66 F C 1 or Cal Lepore CBS Vin Scully and George Allen Box Score 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 DET – Gary Danielson – 10/19, 179 yards LA – Pat Haden – 13/24, 133 yards, 3 INT Top rushers DET – Billy Sims – 22 rushes, 153 yards, 3 TD LA – Elvis Peacock – 15 rushes, 67 yards, TD Top receivers DET – Billy Sims – 2 receptions, 64 yards LA – Preston Dennard – 4 receptions, 63 yards Week 2: at Green Bay Packers Detroit Lions 1980 2; text-align:center collapsed Week 2: Detroit Lions at Green Bay Packers September 14, 1980 1:00 p.m. CST Lions 3 13 6 7 Packers 0 7 0 0 Milwaukee County Stadium, Milwaukee, Wisconsin Overcast, 64 F C 1 or Bob Frederic CBS Frank Glieber and Roger Staubach First quarter Second quarter Third quarter Fourth quarter Top passers DET – Gary Danielson – 11/17, 246 yards, 1 TD GB – Lynn Dickey – 16/30, 174 yards, 1 INT Top rushers DET – Billy Sims – 20 rushes, 134 yards, 1 TD GB – Eddie Lee Ivery – 10 rushes, 31 yards, 1 TD Top receivers DET – Dexter Bussey – 5 receptions, 74 yards GB – James Lofton – 4 receptions, 73 yards Week 5: at Atlanta Falcons #fff #eee background-color:#000; color:#fff collapsed October 5 1:00 p.m. Lions 3 3 0 22 Falcons 17 17 2 7 Atlanta-Fulton County Stadium, Atlanta 61 °F °C 1, wind 12 mph km/h knots Dick Jorgensen CBS Box Score Passing Gary Danielson 23/36, 348 yards Rushing Gary Danielson 5–28, Billy Sims 14–21, Dexter Bussey 5–18, Horace King 2–5, Rick Kane 1–0 Receiving Leonard Thompson 3–129, Freddie Scott 5–107, Jesse Thompson 3–40, David Hill 3–39, Dexter Bussey 3–17, Rick Kane 2–15, Billy Sims 2–-5 Defense Ray Oldham INT, Walt Williams INT Lions Falcons collapsed 1 Lions FG 43 Eddie Murray 3 0 1 Falcons Other Blocked punt returned 16 yards for touchdown by Frank Reed 16 good Tim Mazzetti 3 7 1 Falcons FumbleTD Buddy Curry 30 good Tim Mazzetti 3 14 1 Falcons FG 26 Tim Mazzetti 3 17 2 Falcons RecTD Alfred Jenkins Steve Bartkowski 43 good Tim Mazzetti 3 24 2 Falcons FumbleTD Joel Williams 42 good Tim Mazzetti 3 31 2 Falcons FG 33 Tim Mazzetti 3 34 2 Lions FG 32 Eddie Murray 6 34 3 Falcons SafetyTackle Gary Danielson Joel Williams 6 36 4 Lions RecTD Freddie Scott Gary Danielson 43 good Eddie Murray 13 36 4 Falcons RushTD William Andrews 11 good Tim Mazzetti 13 43 4 Lions RecTD Leonard Thompson Gary Danielson 79 good Eddie Murray 20 43 4 Lions RecTD Freddie Scott Gary Danielson 6 no good Eddie Murray 26 43 4 Lions SafetyTackle Reggie Smith Eddie Cole 28 43 28 43 Week 13 Detroit Lions 1980 2; text-align:center collapsed Week Thirteen: Chicago Bears (4–8) at Detroit Lions (7–5) November 27, 1980 Thursday 12:30 p.m. EST Bears 0 3 0 14 6 Lions 3 7 7 0 0 Pontiac Silverdome, Pontiac, Michigan 75,397 Indoors (dome) Fred Silva CBS Pat Summerall, Tom Brookshier, and Irv Cross Pro-Football-Reference.com First quarter DET – Eddie Murray 34-yard field goal. Lions 3–0. Drive: Second quarter DET – Billy Sims 47-yard pass from Gary Danielson (Eddie Murray kick). Lions 10–0. Drive: CHI – Bob Thomas 24-yard field goal. Lions 10–3. Drive: 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 CHI – Dave Williams 94-yard kickoff return. Bears 23–17. Top passers CHI – Vince Evans – 11/22, 167 yards, TD DET – Gary Danielson – 9/21, 156 yards, TD Top rushers CHI – Walter Payton – 18 rushes, 123 yards DET – Billy Sims – 19 rushes, 72 yards Top receivers CHI – James Scott – 6 receptions, 106 yards DET – Ray Williams – 3 receptions, 50 yards Awards and records Billy Sims, 1980 Offensive Rookie of the Year Billy Sims, 1980 UPI NFL-NFC Rookie of the Year Billy Sims, Associated Press Offensive Rookie of the Year See also 1980 in Michigan References External links Detroit Lions on Pro Football Reference Detroit Lions on jt-sw.com Detroit Lions on The Football Database Detroit Lions Category:Detroit Lions seasons Detroit Lions