1980 Los Angeles Rams season

NFL team season August 2023 March 2026 Los Angeles Rams 1980 11–5 2nd NFC West Ray Malavasi Lionel Taylor Bud Carson Don Klosterman Georgia Frontiere Anaheim Stadium Lost Wild Card Playoffs(at Cowboys) 13–34 Rams seasons thumb|right|The Rams playing against the New Orleans Saints at Anaheim Stadium in 1980. The 1980 Los Angeles Rams season was the team's 43rd year with the National Football League (NFL), the 35th season in Los Angeles, and the first season at Anaheim Stadium. The Rams improved from their 9–7 Super Bowl season from the previous year with an 11–5 record. They made the playoffs for the 8th straight season. They finished in 2nd place in the NFC West behind the Atlanta Falcons, which snapped Los Angeles' then-NFL record of consecutive division championships at 7. This record has since been snapped by the New England Patriots and Kansas City Chiefs, who both won 11 and 9 straight division titles in their respective divisions. The Patriots streak ended in 2020, while the Chiefs streak ended in 2025. Coming off a Super Bowl appearance the previous season, the Rams had high hopes of winning the championship for the first time. After a slow start to the season, the Rams caught fire and won five games in a row to sit at 5–2. In week 15, the Rams hosted the Dallas Cowboys on Monday Night Football. In a highly anticipated matchup, the Rams wound up crushing the Cowboys 38–14. This win clinched a playoff berth for the Rams for the 8th straight season, still a team record. However, they couldn't beat Dallas when it mattered, losing at Texas Stadium in the NFC Wild Card game 34–13. Because the Steelers missed the playoffs for the first time since 1971, the Rams were the only team from 1973 to this year that never missed the playoffs. Offseason NFL draft 1980 NFL draft 1980 Los Angeles Rams 1 17 Johnnie Johnson Safety Texas yes 2 50 Irv Pankey Tackle Penn State yes 3 58 Jewerl Thomas Running back San Jose State yes 3 70 LeRoy Irvin Cornerback Kansas yes 3 82 Phil Murphy Defensive tackle South Carolina State yes 6 154 Mike Guman Running back Penn State yes 7 176 Kirk Collins Defensive back Baylor Made roster in 1981 7 192 Gerry Ellis Running back Missouri 8 220 Tom Pettigrew Tackle Eastern Illinois 9 248 George Farmer Wide receiver Southern Made roster in 1982 10 276 Bob Gruber Tackle Pittsburgh 11 304 Terry Greer Wide receiver Alabama State 12 332 Kevin Scanlon Quarterback Arkansas nohttps://www.pro-football-reference.com/teams/ram/1980_draft.htm 1980 Los Angeles Rams draftees Pro-Football-Reference.com October 4, 2014 Personnel Staff / Coaches 1980 Los Angeles Rams Owner/President – Georgia Frontiere Executive Vice President/General Manager – Don Klosterman Vice President of Special Projects - James D. Dooley Assistant General Manager – Jack Faulkner Director of Player Personnel – John Math Head Coach – Ray Malavasi Offensive Coordinator – Lionel Taylor Quarterbacks – Paul Lanham Running Backs – Hewritt Dixon Offensive Line – Dan Radakovich Defensive Coordinator – Bud Carson Defensive Line – LaVern Torgeson Linebackers – Frank Lauterbur Special Teams – Herb Paterra Conditioning – Clyde Evans Roster 1980 Los Angeles Rams 15 Vince Ferragamo 11 Pat Haden 19 Bob Lee quarterback 32 Cullen Bryant 44 Mike Guman y 22 Lydell Mitchell 33 Jewerl Thomas y 88 Preston Dennard 85 Drew Hill 82 Willie Miller American football 86 Jeff Moore wide receiver 80 Billy Waddy 84 Walt Arnold y 81 Victor Hicks 83 Terry Nelson American football 62 Bill Bain American football G 77 Doug France T 60 Dennis Harrah G 72 Kent Hill G 63 Greg Horton C/G 75 Irv Pankey y T 61 Rich Saul C 78 Jackie Slater T 90 Larry Brooks American football DT 71 Reggie Doss DE 89 Fred Dryer DE 79 Mike Fanning American football DT 76 Cody Jones DT 95 Phil Murphy American football y DT 85 Jack Youngblood DE 52 George Andrews American football OLB 55 Carl Ekern MLB 51 Joe Harris American football OLB 64 Jack Reynolds MLB 58 Greg Westbrooks OLB 53 Jim Youngblood OLB 21 Nolan Cromwell FS 41 Jeff Delaney FS 47 LeRoy Irvin y CB 20 Johnnie Johnson American football y SS 49 Rod Perry American football CB 23 Lucious Smith y CB 37 Ivory Sully SS 27 Pat Thomas defensive back CB  3 Frank Corral K/P 59 Bob Brudzinski OLB Left Squad -- Howard Carson American football y LB IR 42 Kirk Collins y CB IR 31 George Farmer wide receiver, born 1958 y WR IR 66 Bob Gruber y T IR 24 Eddie Hill American football RB IR 54 Ed McGlasson C IR 34 Elvis Peacock RB IR 67 Tom Pettigrew American football y T IR  8 Jeff Rutledge QB IR 56 Doug Smith offensive lineman G IR 26 Wendell Tyler RB IR Regular season Schedule Week Date Opponent Result Record Venue Attendance 1 September 7 Detroit Lions L 20–41 0–1 Anaheim Stadium 64,892 2 September 11, 1980 at Tampa Bay Buccaneers L 9–10 0–2 Tampa Stadium 66,576 3 September 21 Green Bay Packers W 51–21 1–2 Anaheim Stadium 63,850 4 September 28 at New York Giants W 28–7 2–2 Giants Stadium 73,414 5 October 5 San Francisco 49ers W 48–26 3–2 Anaheim Stadium 62,188 6 October 12 at St. Louis Cardinals W 21–13 4–2 Busch Memorial Stadium 50,230 7 October 19 at San Francisco 49ers W 31–17 5–2 Candlestick Park 55,360 8 October 26 at Atlanta Falcons L 10–13 5–3 Atlanta–Fulton County Stadium 57,401 9 November 2 New Orleans Saints W 45–31 6–3 Anaheim Stadium 59,909 10 November 9 Miami Dolphins L 14–35 6–4 Anaheim Stadium 62,198 11 November 16 at New England Patriots W 17–14 7–4 Schaefer Stadium 60,609 12 November 24, 1980 at New Orleans Saints W 27–7 8–4 Louisiana Superdome 53,448 13 November 30 New York Jets W 38–13 9–4 Anaheim Stadium 59,743 14 December 7 at Buffalo Bills L 7–10 (OT) 9–5 Rich Stadium 77,133 15 December 15, 1980 Dallas Cowboys W 38–14 10–5 Anaheim Stadium 65,154 16 December 21 Atlanta Falcons W 20–17 (OT) 11–5 Anaheim Stadium 62,469 Note: Intra-division opponents are in bold text. Season summary Week 1 vs Lions 1980 Detroit Lions season Los Angeles Rams 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 CBS 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 Playoffs Week Date Opponent Result Record Venue Attendance Wildcard December 28 at Dallas Cowboys L 13–34 0–1 Texas Stadium 64,533 Standings See also Other Anaheim–based teams in 1980 1980 California Angels season References 30em /*https://www.newspapers.com/clip/66363663/*/ External links 1980 Los Angeles Rams at Pro-Football-Reference.com Los Angeles Rams Category:Los Angeles Rams seasons Los Ang