1980 Los Angeles Rams

1980 Los Angeles Rams season
Head Coach	Ray Malavasi
Home Field	Anaheim Stadium
Results
Record	11–5
Place	2nd NFC West
Playoff Finish	Lost Wild Card
Timeline
Previous Season	Next Season
1979	1981

The 1980 Los Angeles Rams season was the team's 43rd year with the National Football League, their 35th season in southern California, and the first season at Anaheim Stadium. The Rams improved from the previous season in which they surpinsingly made it all the way to Super Bowl XIV with a record of 9-7, as they ended their season with a record of 11-5. 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 8 straight division titles in their respective divisions. The Patriots streak ended in 2019, while the Chiefs is ongoing. 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 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

Main article: 1980 NFL Draft

1980 Los Angeles Rams draft
Round	Pick	Player	Position	College	Notes
1	17	Johnnie Johnson	Safety	Texas
2	50	Irv Pankey	Tackle	Penn State
3	58	Jewerl Thomas	Running back	San Jose State
3	70	LeRoy Irvin	Cornerback	Kansas
3	82	Phil Murphy	Defensive tackle	South Carolina State
6	154	Mike Guman	Running back	Penn State
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
Made roster    *   Made at least one Pro Bowl during career

Personnel

Staff / Coaches

1980 Los Angeles Rams final staff
	Front Office 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 Coaches Head Coach – Ray Malavasi Offensive Coaches Offensive Coordinator – Lionel Taylor Quarterbacks – Paul Lanham Running Backs – Hewritt Dixon Offensive Line – Dan Radakovich			Defensive Coaches Defensive Coordinator – Bud Carson Defensive Line – LaVern Torgeson Linebackers – Frank Lauterbur Special Teams Coaches Special Teams – Herb Paterra Strength and Conditioning Conditioning – Clyde Evans

Roster

1980 Los Angeles Rams roster
	Quarterbacks 15 Vince Ferragamo 11 Pat Haden 19 Bob Lee Running backs 32 Cullen Bryant 44 Mike Guman 22 Lydell Mitchell 33 Jewerl Thomas Wide receivers 88 Preston Dennard 85 Drew Hill 82 Willie Miller 86 Jeff Moore 80 Billy Waddy Tight ends 84 Walt Arnold 81 Victor Hicks 83 Terry Nelson		Offensive linemen 62 Bill Bain G 77 Doug France T 60 Dennis Harrah G 72 Kent Hill G 63 Greg Horton C/G 75 Irv Pankey T 61 Rich Saul C 78 Jackie Slater T Defensive linemen 90 Larry Brooks DT 71 Reggie Doss DE 89 Fred Dryer DE 79 Mike Fanning DT 76 Cody Jones DT 95 Phil Murphy DT 85 Jack Youngblood DE		Linebackers 52 George Andrews OLB 55 Carl Ekern MLB 51 Joe Harris OLB 64 Jack Reynolds MLB 58 Greg Westbrooks OLB 53 Jim Youngblood OLB Defensive backs Special teams  3 Frank Corral K/P		Reserve lists 59 Bob Brudzinski OLB (Left Squad) -- Howard Carson LB (IR) 42 Kirk Collins CB (IR) 31 George Farmer WR (IR) 66 Bob Gruber T (IR) 24 Eddie Hill RB (IR) 54 Ed McGlasson C (IR) 34 Elvis Peacock RB (IR) 67 Tom Pettigrew T (IR)  8 Jeff Rutledge QB (IR) 56 Doug Smith G (IR) 26 Wendell Tyler RB (IR) Practice/Taxi Squad Rookies in italics

Regular season

Schedule

Week	Date	Opponent	Result	Record	Attendance
1	September 7	Detroit	L 41-20	0-1	64,892
2	September 11	at Tampa Bay	L 10-9	0-2	66,576
3	September 21	Green Bay	W 51-21	1-2	63,850
4	September 28	at NY Giants	W 28-7	2-2	73,414
5	October 5	San Francisco	W 48-26	3-2	62,188
6	October 12	at St. Louis	W 21-13	4-2	50,230
7	October 19	at San Francisco	W 31-17	5-2	55,360
8	October 26	at Atlanta	L 13-10	5-3	57,401
9	November 2	New Orleans	W 45-31	6-3	59,909
10	November 9	Miami	L 35-14	6-4	62,198
11	November 16	at New England	W 17-14	7-4	60,609
12	November 24	at New Orleans	W 27-7	8-4	53,448
13	November 30	NY Jets	W 38-13	9-4	59,743
14	December 7	at Buffalo	L 10-7	9-5	77,133
15	December 15	Dallas	W 38-14	10-5	65,154
16	December 21	Atlanta	W 20-17	11-5	62,469

Playoffs

Week	Date	Opponent	Result	Attendance
Wildcard	December 28	at Dallas	L 34-13	64,533

Standings

Template:Table alignment

1980 NFC West standings
	W	L	T	PCT	DIV	CONF	PF	PA	STK
Atlanta Falcons(1)	12	4	0	.750	5–1	10–2	405	272	L1
Los Angeles Rams(5)	11	5	0	.688	5–1	9–3	424	289	W2
San Francisco 49ers	6	10	0	.375	2–4	4–8	320	415	L2
New Orleans Saints	1	15	0	.063	0–6	0–12	291	487	L1

Rxternal links

• 1980 Los Angeles Rams season article at Wikipedia
• 1980 Los Angeles Rams Season at Pro-Football Reference