1980 Pittsburgh Steelers season

1980 Pittsburgh Steelers season
OwnerArt Rooney
General managerDick Haley
Head coachChuck Noll
Home fieldThree Rivers Stadium
Results
Record9–7
Division place3rd AFC Central
Playoff finishDid not qualify
Pro Bowlers
AP All-Pros
3
  • Jack Lambert (1st team)
  • Donnie Shell (1st team)
  • Mike Webster (1st team)
Team MVPDonnie Shell

The 1980 Pittsburgh Steelers season was the franchise's 48th season in the National Football League.

The Steelers struggled for the first time in many years. The aging defense was not as effective as it had been in the 1978 and '79 seasons, falling from 2nd to 15th in yards allowed. The Steelers also surrendered 313 points, ranked 15th in the league, compared to 262 points (5th in the league) the previous season. The Pittsburgh defense only garnered 18 quarterback sacks.

The offense was still plagued with 42 total turnovers,[1] but ranking 6th in total offense, and scoring 352 points.[2]

Despite the team's troubles, the Steelers could have again obtained home-field advantage throughout the playoffs had they not lost several close games, including games against Cincinnati and Cleveland in which they lost despite having large leads in the fourth quarter. Pittsburgh remained in the playoff hunt until a 28–13 loss to Buffalo in week 12, and then a 6–0 loss to Houston effectively eliminated Pittsburgh from the postseason.

To many, these two losses marked the end of the Steeler Dynasty. Several key players retired after the 1980 season and the team was never the same again. The 1980 season was the first in which the Steelers did not qualify for the playoffs since 1971.

Offseason

NFL draft

1980 Pittsburgh Steelers draft
Round Pick Player Position College Notes
1 28 Mark Malone  Quarterback Arizona State
2 35 Bob Kohrs  Linebacker Arizona State Played with Steelers from 1981–1985
2 56 John Goodman  Defensive end Oklahoma
3 83 Ray Sydnor  Tight end Wisconsin
4 110 Bill Hurley  Defensive back Syracus
5 138 Craig Wolfley  Guard Syracuse
6 165 Tunch Ilkin *  Tackle Indiana State
7 193 Nate Johnson  Wide receiver Hillsdale
8 221 Ted Walton  Defensive back UConn
9 249 Ron McCall  Wide receiver Arkansas–Pine Bluff
10 250 Woodrow Wilson  Defensive back NC State
10 277 Ken Fritz  Guard Ohio State
11 305 Frank Pollard  Running back Baylor
12 306 Charles Vaclavik  Defensive back Texas
12 333 Tyrone McGriff  Guard Florida A&M
      Made roster    *   Made at least one Pro Bowl during career

[3]

Personnel

Staff

1980 Pittsburgh Steelers staff

Front office

  • Chairman of the Board – Arthur J. Rooney
  • President – Daniel M. Rooney
  • Vice President – John R. McGinley
  • Vice President – Arthur J. Rooney, Jr.
  • Public Relations Director – Ed Kiely
  • Traveling Secretary – James A. Boston
  • Publicity Director – Joe Gordon
  • Assistant Publicity Director – John Evenson
  • Controller – Dennis P. Thimons
  • Assistant Controller – James S. Maund
  • Director of Ticket Sales – Geraldine Glenn
  • Director of Player Personnel – Dick Haley
  • Assistant Director of Player Personnel – William Nunn, Jr.
  • Pro Talent Scout – Tom Modrak
  • Talent Scout – West Coast – Bob Schmitz
  • College Talent Scout – Joe Krupa

Head coaches

Offensive coaches

Defensive coaches


Strength and conditioning

  • Paul Uram *Mike Walker *Physician, M.D. – Dr. David S. Huber
  • Physician, M.D. – Dr. Anthony P. Yates
  • Physician, Orthopedic – Dr. Paul B. Steele, Jr.
  • Dentist – Dr. George P. Boucek
  • Ophthalmologist – Dr. Phillip Buzzelli
  • Trainer – Ralph Berlin
  • Assistant Trainer – Robert Osborne
  • Equipment Manager – Anthony Parisi
  • Field Manager – Bruce J. Lowry
  • Film Director – Bob McCartney
  • Photographer – Harry Homa

[4]


Roster

1980 Pittsburgh Steelers roster
Quarterbacks (QB)

Running backs (RB)

Wide receivers (WR)

Tight ends (TE)

Offensive linemen (OL)

Defensive linemen (DL)

Linebackers (LB)

Defensive backs (DB)

Special teams

Practice squad

[4] [5] [6] Reserve

Rookies in italics
48 active, 7 reserve

Preseason

Schedule

Week Date Opponent Result Record Venue
1 August 9 at New York Giants W 13–0 1–0 Giants Stadium
2 August 15 at Atlanta Falcons W 17–14 2–0 Atlanta–Fulton County Stadium
3 August 23 New York Jets L 13–20 2–1 Three Rivers Stadium
4 August 30 at Dallas Cowboys W 31–10 3–1 Texas Stadium

Regular season

Schedule

Week Date Opponent Result Record Venue
1 September 7 Houston Oilers W 31–17 1–0 Three Rivers Stadium
2 Sun. Sep. 14 at Baltimore Colts W 20–17 2–0 Memorial Stadium
3 September 21 at Cincinnati Bengals L 28–30 2–1 Riverfront Stadium
4 September 28 Chicago Bears W 38–3 3–1 Three Rivers Stadium
5 October 5 at Minnesota Vikings W 23–17 4–1 Metropolitan Stadium
6 October 12 Cincinnati Bengals L 16–17 4–2 Three Rivers Stadium
7 October 20 Oakland Raiders L 34–45 4–3 Three Rivers Stadium
8 October 26 at Cleveland Browns L 26–27 4–4 Cleveland Municipal Stadium
9 November 2 Green Bay Packers W 22–20 5–4 Three Rivers Stadium
10 November 9 at Tampa Bay Buccaneers W 24–21 6–4 Tampa Stadium
11 November 16 Cleveland Browns W 16–13 7–4 Three Rivers Stadium
12 November 23 at Buffalo Bills L 13–28 7–5 Rich Stadium
13 November 30 Miami Dolphins W 23–10 8–5 Three Rivers Stadium
14 December 4 at Houston Oilers L 0–6 8–6 Astrodome
15 December 14 Kansas City Chiefs W 21–16 9–6 Three Rivers Stadium
16 December 22 at San Diego Chargers L 17–26 9–7 San Diego Stadium

Game summaries

Week 1: vs. Houston Oilers

The Steelers sat on a 17-0 first quarter lead and then had to score twice in the final 13 minutes to fight off a Houston comeback as Terry Bradshaw accounted for three of the Steelers four touchdowns. Larry Anderson provided the early fireworks when he returned the opening kickoff for 63 yards. The Steelers went on to score three of the four possessions but realized only three points as a result of four interceptions by Ken Stabler passes the first six times Houston has the ball. The Oilers got the 17 points back in the third quarter. Trailing 17-3, they scored two touchdowns in a span of 97 seconds. Earl Campbell's first pass, a sidearm wobbler, got the first score and when Theo Bell fumbled the next kickoff, Houston tied the game six plays later. Four Bradshaw passes ate up 72 of the 80-yard drive to get the Steelers back on top. A broken play on which John Stallworth outfought two defenders for a high Bradshaw lob was the final score of the game. Franco Harris passes Jim Taylor to become the third leading rusher in NFL history with 8,609 yards. Mel Blount and Donnie Shell had two interceptions each and Mike Wagner got the fifth.

Houston Oilers at Pittsburgh Steelers
1 234Total
Oilers 0 0170 17
Steelers 17 0014 31

Week 2: at Baltimore Colts

Pittsburgh Steelers at Baltimore Colts
1 234Total
Steelers 3 1007 20
Colts 0 7100 17

Week 3: at Cincinnati Bengals

Pittsburgh Steelers at Cincinnati Bengals
1 234Total
Steelers 0 1477 28
Bengals 10 3017 30

Week 4: vs. Chicago Bears

Chicago Bears at Pittsburgh Steelers
1 234Total
Bears 3 000 3
Steelers 7 1777 38
  • Date: Sunday, September 28
  • Location: Three Rivers Stadium, Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania
  • Game start: 1:00 p.m. EST
  • Game attendance: 53,987
  • Game weather: 58 °F (14 °C), wind 6 mph (9.7 km/h)
  • Referee: Jerry Seeman
  • TV announcers (CBS): Frank Glieber and Roger Staubach

Week 5: at Minnesota Vikings

Pittsburgh Steelers at Minnesota Vikings
1 234Total
Steelers 6 1070 23
Vikings 3 0014 17

Week 6: vs. Cincinnati Bengals

Cincinnati Bengals at Pittsburgh Steelers
1 234Total
Bengals 10 700 17
Steelers 0 0160 16
  • Date: Sunday, October 12
  • Location: Three Rivers Stadium, Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania
  • Game start: 1:00 p.m. EST
  • Game attendance: 53,668
  • Game weather: 44 °F (7 °C), wind 13 mph (21 km/h)
  • Referee: Fred Silva
  • TV announcers (NBC): Sam Nover and Bob Trumpy

Week 7 : vs. Oakland Raiders

Oakland Raiders at Pittsburgh Steelers
1 234Total
Raiders 7 21710 45
Steelers 10 14100 34
  • Date: Monday, October 20
  • Location: Three Rivers Stadium, Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania
  • Game start: 9:00 p.m. EST
  • Game attendance: 53,940
  • Game weather: 42 °F (6 °C), wind 12 mph (19 km/h)
  • Referee: Pat Haggerty
  • TV announcers (ABC): Frank Gifford, Howard Cosell, and Don Meredith

Week 8: at Cleveland Browns

Pittsburgh Steelers at Cleveland Browns
1 234Total
Steelers 10 3130 26
Browns 0 7713 27
  • Date: Sunday, October 26
  • Location: Cleveland Municipal Stadium, Cleveland, Ohio
  • Game start: 1:00 p.m. EST
  • Game attendance: 79,095
  • Game weather: 37 °F (3 °C), wind 25 mph (40 km/h)
  • Referee: Bob Frederic
  • TV announcers (NBC): Don Criqui and John Brodie

Week 9: vs. Green Bay Packers

Green Bay Packers at Pittsburgh Steelers
1 234Total
Packers 7 706 20
Steelers 2 767 22
  • Date: Sunday, November 2
  • Location: Three Rivers Stadium, Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania
  • Game start: 1:00 p.m. EST
  • Game attendance: 52,165
  • Game weather: 40 °F (4 °C), wind 7 mph (11 km/h)
  • Referee: Ben Dreith
  • TV announcers (CBS): Pat Summerall and Tom Brookshier

Week 10: at Tampa Bay Buccaneers

Pittsburgh Steelers at Tampa Bay Buccaneers
1 234Total
Steelers 10 1400 24
Buccaneers 7 770 21

Week 11: vs. Cleveland Browns

Cleveland Browns at Pittsburgh Steelers
1 234Total
Browns 0 1300 13
Steelers 0 709 16
  • Date: Sunday, November 16
  • Location: Three Rivers Stadium, Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania
  • Game start: 1:00 p.m. EST
  • Game attendance: 54,563
  • Game weather: 36 °F (2 °C), wind 8 mph (13 km/h)
  • Referee: Jerry Markbreit
  • TV announcers (NBC): Dick Enberg and Merlin Olsen

Week 12: at Buffalo Bills

Pittsburgh Steelers at Buffalo Bills
1 234Total
Steelers 7 303 13
Bills 7 777 28

Week 13: vs. Miami Dolphins

Miami Dolphins at Pittsburgh Steelers
1 234Total
Dolphins 0 307 10
• Steelers 0 1337 23

Week 14 : at Houston Oilers

Pittsburgh Steelers at Houston Oilers
1 234Total
Steelers 0 000 0
Oilers 0 033 6

Week 15: vs. Kansas City Chiefs

Kansas City Chiefs at Pittsburgh Steelers
1 234Total
Chiefs 0 3130 16
Steelers 7 0014 21

Week 16: at San Diego Chargers

Pittsburgh Steelers at San Diego Chargers
1 234Total
Steelers 0 377 17
Chargers 3 6107 26

Standings

AFC Central
W L T PCT DIV CONF PF PA STK
Cleveland Browns(2) 11 5 0 .688 4–2 8–4 357 310 W1
Houston Oilers(5) 11 5 0 .688 4–2 7–5 295 251 W3
Pittsburgh Steelers 9 7 0 .563 2–4 5–7 352 313 L1
Cincinnati Bengals 6 10 0 .375 2–4 4–8 244 312 L1

References

  1. ^ ranked 23rd in the league in 1980
  2. ^ Ranked 10th in the NFL
  3. ^ "1980 Pittsburgh Steelers Draftees". Pro Football Reference. Retrieved January 22, 2022.
  4. ^ a b 1980 Pittsburgh Steelers Media Guide.
  5. ^ 1981 Pittsburgh Steelers Media Guide.
  6. ^ "1980 Pittsburgh Steelers". Pro-Football-Reference.com. Retrieved December 19, 2014.