1980 Detroit Lions season

1980 Detroit Lions season
Head coach	Monte Clark
Home field	Pontiac Silverdome
Results
Record	9–7
Division place	2nd NFC Central
Playoff finish	did not qualify

The 1980 Detroit Lions season was the 51st season in franchise history. As the result of the 1979 season, the Lions were able to select Heisman Trophy-winning Oklahoma Sooner halfback Billy Sims with the first pick in the NFL draft. In his rookie season, Sims 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 improved from the previous season, finishing 9–7, narrowly missing out on landing a playoff berth and the NFC Central title by a tiebreaker against the Minnesota Vikings.^[1]

Offseason

NFL Draft

Round	Pick	Player	Position	School
1	Billy Sims [2]	Running back	University of Oklahoma

Regular season

In his NFL debut, Billy Sims had three touchdowns.^[3]

Schedule

Week	Date	Opponent	Result	Attendance
1	September 7, 1980	at Los Angeles Rams	W 41–20	64,892
2	September 14, 1980	at Green Bay Packers	W 29–7	53,099
3	September 21, 1980	St. Louis Cardinals	W 20–7	80,027
4	September 28, 1980	Minnesota Vikings	W 27–7	80,291
5	October 5, 1980	at Atlanta Falcons	L 43–28	57,652
6	October 12, 1980	New Orleans Saints	W 24–13	78,147
7	October 19, 1980	at Chicago Bears	L 24–7	58,508
8	October 26, 1980	at Kansas City Chiefs	L 20–17	59,391
9	November 2, 1980	San Francisco 49ers	W 17–13	78,845
10	November 9, 1980	at Minnesota Vikings	L 34–0	46,264
11	November 16, 1980	Baltimore Colts	L 10–9	77,677
12	November 23, 1980	at Tampa Bay Buccaneers	W 24–10	64,976
13	November 27, 1980	Chicago Bears	L 23–17 OT	75,397
14	December 7, 1980	at St. Louis Cardinals	L 24–23	46,966
15	December 14, 1980	Tampa Bay Buccaneers	W 27–14	77,098
16	December 21, 1980	Green Bay Packers	W 24–3	75,111

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

Game Summaries

Week 2: Green Bay Packers

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

at Milwaukee County Stadium, Milwaukee

• Date: September 14
• Game time: 1:00 p.m.
• Game weather: 64°F, wind 14 mph
• Box Score

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

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 Callicutt 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 Ulysses Norris		Offensive Linemen 76 Karl Baldischwiler T 74 Mike Whited T 61 Homer Elias G 65 Amos Fowler C 68 Tommie Ginn C 62 Willie Parker C 73 Russ Bolinger G 66 Burton 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 Fantetti 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^[3]

References

1. Season summary and stats at Sports E Cyclopedia
2. Billy Sims, 1978 Heisman Trophy winner as a junior ^{"Heisman Trophy". Archived from the original on 14 June 2009. Retrieved 2008-08-04.}
3. Sports Illustrated, Oct. 27, 2008, p.24, Vol. 109, No. 16

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