1980 Detroit Lions

1980 Detroit Lions season
Head Coach	Monte Clark
Home Field	Pontiac Silverdome
Results
Record	9–7
Place	2nd NFC Central
Playoff Finish	did not qualify
Timeline
Previous Season	Next Season
1979	1981

The 1980 Detroit Lions season was the 51st season in franchise history. As the result of a miserable 1979 season, the Lions were able to select Heisman Trophy winning Oklahoma Sooner halfback Billy Sims with first pick in the NFL draft. In his rookie season, Sims set the NFL on its collective ear as he rushed his way to the Offensive Rookie of the Year Award while carrying the Lions back to respectability. After winning its first four games, the Lions would improve dramatically from the previous season, finishing 9-7, narrowly missing out on landing a playoff birth and the NFC Central title by a tiebreaker against the Minnesota Vikings.

Offseason

NFL Draft

Round	Pick	Player	Position	School
1	Billy Sims	Running Back	Oklahoma

Regular season

In his NFL debut, Billy Sims had three touchdowns.

Schedule

Week	Date	Opponent	Result	Record	Attendance
1	September 7	at Los Angeles	W 41-20	1-0	64,892
2	September 14	at Green Bay	W 29-7	2-0	53,099
3	September 21	St. Louis	W 20-7	3-0	80,027
4	September 28	Minnesota	W 27-7	4-0	80,291
5	October 5	at Atlanta	L 43-28	4-1	57,652
6	October 12	New Orleans	W 24-13	5-1	78,147
7	October 19	at Chicago	L 24-7	5-2	58,508
8	October 26	at Kansas City	L 20-17	5-3	59,391
9	November 2	San Francisco	W 17-13	6-3	78,845
10	November 9	at Minnesota	L 34-0	6-4	46,264
11	November 16	Baltimore	L 10-9	6-5	77,677
12	November 23	at Tampa Bay	W 24-10	7-5	64,976
13	November 27	Chicago	L 23-17 OT	7-6	75,397
14	December 7	at St. Louis	L 24-23	7-7	46,966
15	December 14	Tampa Bay	W 27-14	8-7	77,098
16	December 21	Green Bay	W 24-3	9-7	75,111

Standings

1980 NFC Central Standings
	W	L	T	PCT	PF	PA	STK
Minnesota Vikings	9	7	0	.563	317	308	L-1
Detroit Lions	9	7	0	.563	334	272	L-1
Chicago Bears	7	9	0	.438	304	264	W-1
Green Bay Packers	5	10	1	.344	231	371	L-4
Tampa Bay Buccaneers	5	10	1	.344	271	341	L-3

Game Summaries

Week 2: at Green Bay Packers

Team	1	2	3	4		Total
Lions	3	13	6	7		29
Packers	0	7	0	0		7

Game information
Date: September 14
Time: 1:00 p.m. EDT/12:00 p.m. CDT
Stadium: Milwaukee County Stadium, Milwaukee, WI
Attendance:
Weather: 64°F, wind 14 mph
Referee:
TV: CBS-TV
In Game Announcers: Reference: Box Score
Scoring summary: Statistics:

Passing

• Gary Danielson 11/17, 246 yards, Jeff Komlo 1/3, 6 yards

Rushing

• Billy Sims 20-134, Dexter Bussey 13-45, Gary Danielson 2-24, Leonard Thompson 1-13, Horace King 3-7, Rick Kane 4-7

Receiving

• Billy Sims 2-94, Dexter Bussey 5-74, Freddie Scott 2-60, David Hill 2-18, Rick Kane 1-6

Defense

• James Hunter INT, Charlie Weaver INT

Scoring summary

Quarter Time Drive Team Scoring information Score Plays Yards TOP Lions Packers 1 Lions 32-yard field goal by Eddie Murray 3 0 2 Lions 39-yard field goal by Eddie Murray 6 0 2 Packers Eddie Lee Ivery 5-yard touchdown run, Chester Marcol kick good 6 7 2 Lions Billy Sims 1-yard touchdown run, Eddie Murray kick good 13 7 2 Lions 43-yard field goal by Eddie Murray 16 7 3 Lions 42-yard field goal by Eddie Murray 19 7 3 Lions 23-yard field goal by Eddie Murray 22 7 4 Lions Billy Sims 87-yard touchdown reception from Gary Danielson, Eddie Murray kick good 29 7 "TOP" = time of possession. For other American football terms, see Glossary of American football. 29 7

Week 9: vs. San Francisco 49ers

Week 9: San Francisco 49ers at Detroit Lions;– Game summary 1 2 3 4 Total 49ers 7 0 3 3 13 Lions 7 3 0 7 17 at Pontiac Silverdome, Pontiac, Michigan Date: November 2 Game time: 1:00 p.m. EST/10:00 a.m. PST Game weather: Indoors TV: CBS Pro Football Reference Game information First quarter DET – Billy Sims 41 yard pass from Gary Danielson, (Eddie Murray kick), Lions 7-0. SF – James Owens 101 yard kickoff return, (Ray Wersching kick), Tied 7-7. Second quarter DET – Eddie Murray 32 yard field goal, Lions 10-7. Third quarter SF – Ray Wersching 36 yard field goal, Tied 10-10. Fourth quarter SF – Ray Wersching 39 yard field goal, 49ers 13-10. DET – Gary Danielson 8 yard rush, (Eddie Murray kick), Lions 17-13. Top passers SF – Steve DeBerg – 15/31, 146 yards, INT DET – Gary Danielson – 23/32, 263 yards, TD, 2 INTs Top rushers SF – Don Woods - 10 rushes, 49 yards DET – Dexter Bussey – 9 rushes, 74 yards Top receivers SF – Don Woods - 4 receptions, 59 yards DET – Billy Sims - 11 receptions, 96 yards, TD

Roster

1980 Detroit Lions roster
Quarterbacks 16 Gary Danielson 17 Eric Hipple 19 Jeff Komlo Running Backs 20 Billy Sims 32 Rick Kane 31 Ken Calicutt 36 Bo Robinson 24 Dexter Bussey FB 25 Horace King FB Wide Receivers 87 Freddie Scott 39 Leonard Thompson 84 Jesse Thompson 82 Ray Williams 47 John Arnold Tight Ends 81 David Hill 80 Ulysees Norris		Offensive Linemen 76 Karl Baldischwiler T 67 Mike Whited T 61 Homer Elias G 65 Amos Fowler C 68 Tommie Ginn C 62 Willie Parker C 73 Russ Bolinger G 66 Burt Lawless G 70 Keith Dorney T 72 Chris Dieterich T/G Defensive Linemen 75 Dave Pureifory DE 78 Tom Tuinei DE 77 John Woodcock DE 60 Bubba Baker DE 90 Leon Hayes DE 64 John Mendenhall DT 79 William Gay DT 74 Mike McCoy DT		Linebackers 59 Charlie Weaver OLB 58 Dave Simmons OLB 50 Eddie Cole OLB 57 Ken Fanetti MLB 53 Garry Cobb MLB 55 Derrel Luce MLB 52 Stan White OLB 51 James Harrell OLB Defensive Backs 28 James Hunter CB 29 Luther Bradley CB 27 Wayne Smith CB 21 Walt Williams CB 23 Ray Oldham FS 22 Eddie Lewis FS 35 Jimmy Allen SS 26 Prentice McCray SS Special Teams 3 Eddie Murray K 15 Tom Skladany P		Reserve Lists Currently vacant Rookies in italics

Awards and records

• Billy Sims, Pro Bowl selection (1980
• 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

References

• Detroit Lions on Pro Football Reference
• Detroit Lions on jt-sw.com
• Detroit Lions on The Football Database