1980 Minnesota Vikings season

1980 Minnesota Vikings season
Head coach Bud Grant
General manager Mike Lynn
Home field Metropolitan Stadium
Results
Record 9–7
Division place 1st NFC Central
Playoff finish Lost NFC Divisional Playoff (at Eagles) 16-31

The 1980 Minnesota Vikings season was the team's 20th year in the National Football League's 61st season. The Vikings finished with a record of nine wins and seven losses. The Vikings won the NFC Central division, winning the tiebreaker with Detroit, who also had a 9–7 record.

The most dramatic game of the season came in a Week 15 home game against Cleveland, with Minnesota at 8–6. The Vikings came back from a fourteen-point deficit to come within 23–22, with only 0:05 left on the clock from Cleveland's 46-yard line. (The Vikings had missed two field goals and two extra points during the game.) Quarterback Tommy Kramer threw a Hail Mary Pass which was caught by Ahmad Rashād at the two yard line. Rashād backed into the end zone to give Minnesota a 28–23 win with no time left.[1][2]

Offseason

1980 Draft

1980 Minnesota Vikings Draft
Draft order Player name Position College Notes
Round Choice Overall
199Doug MartinDefensive TackleWashington
2230Willie TealDefensive BackLouisiana Statefrom 49ers[a]
1139Traded to the San Francisco 49ers[a]
3965Traded to the San Francisco 49ers[a]
1268Brent BoydCenterUCLAfrom Saints[b]
4992Dennis JohnsonLinebackerUSC
511121Doug PaschalRunning BackNorth Carolina
12122Paul JonesRunning BackCaliforniafrom Saints[b]
610148Ray YakavonisDefensive EndEast Stroudsburg (PA)
79175Henry JohnsonLinebackerGeorgia Tech
811205Traded to the Seattle Seahawks[c]
911233Dennis MosleyRunning BackIowaoriginally Bills pick[d]
109259Kenny BrownWide ReceiverNebraska
1111289Sam HarrellRunning BackEast Carolina
1210316Thomas LaneDefensive BackFlorida A&M
^[a] Minnesota traded their 2nd round selection (39th overall) and 3rd round selection (65th overall) to San Francisco to move up 9 spots to the 30th overall selection and make this pick.
^[b] New Orleans traded their 3rd round selection (68th overall) and 5th round selection (122nd overall) to Minnesota for RB Steve Riley.
^[c] Minnesota traded their 8th round selection (205th overall) to Seattle for DL Steve Niehaus.
^[d] Minnesota originally chose 232nd overall but passed allowing Buffalo to move up and Minnesota to choose 233rd overall.

Roster

1980 Minnesota Vikings final roster
Quarterbacks

Running backs

Wide receivers

Tight ends

 Offensive linemen

Defensive linemen

 Linebackers

Defensive backs

Special teams

 Reserve lists



Practice squad



Rookies in italics
 53 Active, 5 Inactive, 5 Practice squad

Preseason

WeekDateOpponentResultRecordVenueAttendance
1August 9San Diego ChargersW 21–171–0Metropolitan Stadium45,179
2August 18at Kansas City ChiefsL 10–141–1Arrowhead Stadium39,879
3August 23at Miami DolphinsW 17–102–1Miami Orange Bowl36,116
4August 30Cleveland BrownsW 38–163–1Metropolitan Stadium47,262

Regular season

Schedule

Week Date Opponent Result Record Venue Attendance
1 September 7, 1980 Atlanta Falcons W 24–23 1–0 Metropolitan Stadium 44,773
2 September 14, 1980 Philadelphia Eagles L 7–42 1–1 Metropolitan Stadium 46,460
3 September 21, 1980 at Chicago Bears W 34–14 2–1 Soldier Field 59,983
4 September 28, 1980 at Detroit Lions L 7–27 2–2 Silverdome 80,291
5 October 5, 1980 Pittsburgh Steelers L 17–23 2–3 Metropolitan Stadium 47,583
6 October 12, 1980 Chicago Bears W 13–7 3–3 Metropolitan Stadium 46,751
7 October 19, 1980 at Cincinnati Bengals L 0–14 3–4 Riverfront Stadium 44,487
8 October 26, 1980 at Green Bay Packers L 3–16 3–5 Lambeau Field 56,191
9 November 2, 1980 at Washington Redskins W 39–14 4–5 Robert F. Kennedy Memorial Stadium 52,060
10 November 9, 1980 Detroit Lions W 34–0 5–5 Metropolitan Stadium 46,264
11 November 16, 1980 Tampa Bay Buccaneers W 38–30 6–5 Metropolitan Stadium 46,032
12 November 23, 1980 Green Bay Packers L 13–25 6–6 Metropolitan Stadium 47,234
13 November 30, 1980 at New Orleans Saints W 23–20 7–6 Louisiana Superdome 30,936
14 December 7, 1980 at Tampa Bay Buccaneers W 21–10 8–6 Tampa Stadium 65,649
15 December 14, 1980 Cleveland Browns W 28–23 9–6 Metropolitan Stadium 42,202
16 December 21, 1980 at Houston Oilers L 16–20 9–7 Astrodome 51,064

Game summaries

Week 15

1 234Total
Browns 7 637 23
• Vikings 0 0919 28
  • Date: December 14
  • Location: Metropolitan Stadium • Bloomington, Minnesota
  • Game start: 12:00 p.m.
  • Game weather: 23°F • Wind 12
  • Referee: Ben Dreith
  • TV announcers (NBC): Charlie Jones & Len Dawson

Trailing 23–9 entering the fourth quarter the Vikings came back and won on a desperation Hail Mary pass from quarterback Tommy Kramer to wide receiver Ahmad Rashād to clinch the NFC Central Division title in what became known as the "Miracle at the Met".

Playoffs

Week Date Opponent Result Venue Attendance
Divisional January 3, 1981 at Philadelphia Eagles L 16–31 Veterans Stadium 68,434

Standings

NFC Central
W L T PCT DIV CONF PF PA STK
Minnesota Vikings(3) 9 7 0 .563 5–3 8–4 317 308 L1
Detroit Lions 9 7 0 .563 5–3 9–5 334 272 W2
Chicago Bears 7 9 0 .438 5–3 7–5 304 264 W1
Tampa Bay Buccaneers 5 10 1 .344 1–6–1 4–7–1 271 341 L3
Green Bay Packers 5 10 1 .344 3–4–1 4–7–1 231 371 L4

Statistics

Team leaders

Category Player(s) Value
Passing YardsTommy Kramer3,582
Passing TouchdownsTommy Kramer19
Rushing YardsTed Brown912
Rushing TouchdownsTed Brown8
Receiving YardsAhmad Rashād1,095
Receiving TouchdownsJoe Senser7
PointsRick Danmeier81
Kickoff Return YardsEddie Payton1,184
Punt Return YardsEddie Payton251
InterceptionsJohn Turner6

League rankings

Category Total yards Yards per game NFL rank
(out of 28)
Passing Offense3,688 Yards230.5 YPG3rd
Rushing Offense1,642 Yards102.6 YPG27th
Total Offense5,330 Yards333.1 YPG11th
Passing Defense3,400 Yards212.5 YPG24th
Rushing Defense2,456 Yards153.5 YPG25th
Total Defense5,856 Yards366.0 YPG26th

References

  1. ↑ NFL Films: Fantastic Finishes (1988) at YouTube
  2. ↑ Pro-Football-Reference.com: Cleveland Browns 23 at Minnesota Vikings 28, Sunday, December 14, 1980
This article is issued from Wikipedia. The text is licensed under Creative Commons - Attribution - Sharealike. Additional terms may apply for the media files.