1980 Pittsburgh Steelers season

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1980 Pittsburgh Steelers season
Pittsburgh Steelers Script.svg
Head coach Chuck Noll
General manager Dick Haley
Owner Art Rooney
Home field Three Rivers Stadium
Results
Record 9–7
Division place 3rd in AFC Central
Playoff finish did not qualify
Pro Bowlers
AP All-Pros
3
  • Jack Lambert (1st team)
  • Donnie Shell (1st team)
  • Mike Webster (1st team)
Team MVP Donnie Shell

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

In 1980, 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, 42 total,[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.

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 Steele
  • 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

[3]

Roster

1980 Pittsburgh Steelers final roster
Quarterbacks

Running backs

Wide receivers

Tight ends

Offensive linemen

Defensive linemen

Linebackers

Defensive backs

Special teams

Reserve lists


Practice squad [3] [4] [5]


Rookies in italics
48 Active, 7 Inactive, Practice squad

Offseason

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Preseason

Schedule

Week Date Opponent Game Site Time (ET) TV Result Record
1 Sat. Aug. 9 at New York Giants Giants Stadium 8:00 p.m. WIIC W 13–0 1–0
2 Fri. Aug. 15 at Atlanta Falcons Atlanta-Fulton County Stadium 9:00 p.m. ABC W 17–14 2–0
3 Sat. Aug. 23 New York Jets Three Rivers Stadium 6:00 p.m. WIIC L 20–13 2–1
4 Sat. Aug. 30 at Dallas Cowboys Texas Stadium 9:00 p.m. CBS W 31–10 3–1

Regular season

Schedule

Week Date Opponent Game Site Time (ET) TV Result Record
1 Sun. Sep. 7 Houston Oilers Three Rivers Stadium 1:00 p.m. NBC W 31–17 1–0
2 Sun. Sep. 14 at Baltimore Colts Memorial Stadium 2:00 p.m. NBC W 20–17 2–0
3 Sun. Sep. 21 at Cincinnati Bengals Riverfront Stadium 1:00 p.m. NBC L 30–28 2–1
4 Sun. Sep. 28 Chicago Bears Three Rivers Stadium 1:00 p.m. CBS W 38–3 3–1
5 Sun. Oct. 5 at Minnesota Vikings Metropolitan Stadium 1:00 p.m. NBC W 23–17 4–1
6 Sun. Oct. 12 Cincinnati Bengals Three Rivers Stadium 1:00 p.m. NBC L 17–16 4–2
7 Mon. Oct. 20 Oakland Raiders Three Rivers Stadium 9:00 p.m. ABC L 45–34 4–3
8 Sun. Oct. 26 at Cleveland Browns Cleveland Municipal Stadium 1:00 p.m. NBC L 27–26 4–4
9 Sun. Nov. 2 Green Bay Packers Three Rivers Stadium 1:00 p.m. CBS W 22–20 5–4
10 Sun. Nov. 9 at Tampa Bay Buccaneers Tampa Stadium 1:00 p.m. NBC W 24–21 6–4
11 Sun. Nov. 16 Cleveland Browns Three Rivers Stadium 1:00 p.m. NBC W 16–13 7–4
12 Sun. Nov. 23 at Buffalo Bills Rich Stadium 1:00 p.m. NBC L 28–13 7–5
13 Sun. Nov. 30 Miami Dolphins Three Rivers Stadium 1:00 p.m. NBC W 23–10 8–5
14 Thu. Dec. 4 at Houston Oilers Astrodome 8:30 p.m. ABC L 6–0 8–6
15 Sun. Dec. 14 Kansas City Chiefs Three Rivers Stadium 1:00 p.m. NBC W 21–16 9–6
16 Mon. Dec. 22 at San Diego Chargers San Diego Stadium 9:00 p.m. ABC L 26–17 9–7

Game summaries

Week 1: vs. Houston Oilers

Houston Oilers at Pittsburgh Steelers
1 2 3 4 Total
Oilers 0 0 17 0 17
Steelers 17 0 0 14 31

Week 2: at Baltimore Colts

Pittsburgh Steelers at Baltimore Colts
1 2 3 4 Total
Steelers 3 10 0 7 20
Colts 0 7 10 0 17

Week 3: at Cincinnati Bengals

Pittsburgh Steelers at Cincinnati Bengals
1 2 3 4 Total
Steelers 0 14 7 7 28
Bengals 10 3 0 17 30

Week 4: vs. Chicago Bears

Chicago Bears at Pittsburgh Steelers
1 2 3 4 Total
Bears 3 0 0 0 3
Steelers 7 17 7 7 38
  • Date: Sunday, September 28
  • Location: Three Rivers Stadium, Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania
  • Game start: 1:00 p.m. EST
  • Game attendance: 53,987
  • Referee: Jerry Seeman
  • TV announcers (CBS): Frank Glieber and Roger Staubach

Week 5: at Minnesota Vikings

Pittsburgh Steelers at Minnesota Vikings
1 2 3 4 Total
Steelers 6 10 7 0 23
Vikings 3 0 0 14 17

Week 6: vs. Cincinnati Bengals

Cincinnati Bengals at Pittsburgh Steelers
1 2 3 4 Total
Bengals 10 7 0 0 17
Steelers 0 0 16 0 16
  • Date: Sunday, October 12
  • Location: Three Rivers Stadium, Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania
  • Game start: 1:00 p.m. EST
  • Game attendance: 53,668
  • Referee: Fred Silva
  • TV announcers (NBC): Sam Nover and Bob Trumpy

Week 7 : vs. Oakland Raiders

Oakland Raiders at Pittsburgh Steelers
1 2 3 4 Total
Raiders 7 21 7 10 45
Steelers 10 14 10 0 34

Week 8: at Cleveland Browns

Pittsburgh Steelers at Cleveland Browns
1 2 3 4 Total
Steelers 10 3 13 0 26
Browns 0 7 7 13 27

Week 9: vs. Green Bay Packers

Green Bay Packers at Pittsburgh Steelers
1 2 3 4 Total
Packers 7 7 0 6 20
Steelers 2 7 6 7 22
  • Date: Sunday, November 2
  • Location: Three Rivers Stadium, Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania
  • Game start: 1:00 p.m. EST
  • Game attendance: 52,165
  • Referee: Ben Dreith
  • TV announcers (CBS): Pat Summerall and Tom Brookshier

Week 10: at Tampa Bay Buccaneers

Pittsburgh Steelers at Tampa Bay Buccaneers
1 2 3 4 Total
Steelers 10 14 0 0 24
Buccaneers 7 7 7 0 21

Week 11: vs. Cleveland Browns

Cleveland Browns at Pittsburgh Steelers
1 2 3 4 Total
Browns 0 13 0 0 13
Steelers 0 7 0 9 16
  • Date: Sunday, November 16
  • Location: Three Rivers Stadium, Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania
  • Game start: 1:00 p.m. EST
  • Game attendance: 54,563
  • Referee: Jerry Markbreit
  • TV announcers (NBC): Dick Enberg and Merlin Olsen

Week 12: at Buffalo Bills

Pittsburgh Steelers at Buffalo Bills
1 2 3 4 Total
Steelers 7 3 0 3 13
Bills 7 7 7 7 28

Week 13: vs. Miami Dolphins

Miami Dolphins at Pittsburgh Steelers
1 2 3 4 Total
Dolphins 0 3 0 7 10
• Steelers 0 13 3 7 23

Week 14 : at Houston Oilers

Pittsburgh Steelers at Houston Oilers
1 2 3 4 Total
Steelers 0 0 0 0 0
Oilers 0 0 3 3 6

Week 15: vs. Kansas City Chiefs

Kansas City Chiefs at Pittsburgh Steelers
1 2 3 4 Total
Chiefs 0 3 13 0 16
Steelers 7 0 0 14 21

Week 16: at San Diego Chargers

Pittsburgh Steelers at San Diego Chargers
1 2 3 4 Total
Steelers 0 3 7 7 17
Chargers 3 6 10 7 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
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