1980 NFL season

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The 1980 NFL season was the 61st regular season of the National Football League.

After the league declined to approve the proposed move by the Raiders from Oakland, California to Los Angeles, the team along with the Los Angeles Coliseum sued the NFL for violating antitrust laws. A verdict in the trial would not be decided until before the 1982 NFL season.

Meanwhile, the season ended with Super Bowl XV when the Raiders defeated the Philadelphia Eagles.

Contents

[edit] Major rule changes

  • If the offensive team commits a penalty in an attempt to conserve time, 10 seconds will be run off the clock before the ball is permitted to be put back into play.
  • Players are prohibited from striking, swinging, or clubbing to the head, face, or neck. The personal foul could be called whether or not the initial contact was made below the neck.
  • A "Guidelines for Captains" section was added to the rules.

[edit] Final standings

W = Wins, L = Losses, T = Ties, PCT= Winning Percentage, PF= Points For, PA = Points Against

Qualified for playoffs
AFC East
Team W L T PCT PF PA
Buffalo Bills 11 5 0 .688 320 260
New England Patriots 10 6 0 .625 441 325
Miami Dolphins 8 8 0 .500 266 305
Baltimore Colts 7 9 0 .438 355 387
New York Jets 4 12 0 .250 302 395
AFC Central
Team W L T PCT PF PA
Cleveland Browns 11 5 0 .688 357 310
Houston Oilers 11 5 0 .688 295 251
Pittsburgh Steelers 9 7 0 .563 352 313
Cincinnati Bengals 6 10 0 .375 244 312
AFC West
Team W L T PCT PF PA
San Diego Chargers 11 5 0 .688 418 327
Oakland Raiders 11 5 0 .688 364 306
Kansas City Chiefs 8 8 0 .500 319 336
Denver Broncos 8 8 0 .500 310 323
Seattle Seahawks 4 12 0 .250 291 408
NFC East
Team W L T PCT PF PA
Philadelphia Eagles 12 4 0 .750 384 222
Dallas Cowboys 12 4 0 .750 454 311
Washington Redskins 6 10 0 .375 261 293
St. Louis Cardinals 5 11 0 .313 299 350
New York Giants 4 12 0 .250 249 425
NFC Central
Team W L T PCT PF PA
Minnesota Vikings 9 7 0 .563 317 308
Detroit Lions 9 7 0 .563 334 272
Chicago Bears 7 9 0 .438 304 264
Tampa Bay Buccaneers 5 10 1 .344 271 341
Green Bay Packers 5 10 1 .344 231 371
NFC West
Team W L T PCT PF PA
Atlanta Falcons 12 4 0 .750 405 272
Los Angeles Rams 11 5 0 .688 424 289
San Francisco 49ers 6 10 0 .375 320 415
New Orleans Saints 1 15 0 .063 291 487


[edit] Tiebreakers

  • Cleveland finished ahead of Houston in the AFC Central based on better conference record (8-4 to Oilers' 7-5).
  • San Diego finished ahead of Oakland in the AFC West based on better net points in division games (plus 60 net points to Raiders' plus 37).
  • San Diego was the top AFC playoff seed based on better conference record than Cleveland and Buffalo (9-3 to Browns' 8-4 and Bills' 8-4).
  • Cleveland was the second AFC playoff seed based on better record against common opponents (5-2 to Bills' 5-3).
  • Oakland was the first AFC Wild Card based on better conference record than Houston (9-3 to Oilers' 7-5).
  • Kansas City finished ahead of Denver in the AFC West based on head-to-head sweep (2-0).
  • Philadelphia finished ahead of Dallas in the NFC East based on better net points in division games (plus 84 net points to Cowboys' plus 50).
  • Atlanta was the top NFC playoff seed based on head-to-head victory over Philadelphia (1-0).
  • Minnesota finished ahead of Detroit in the NFC Central based on better conference record (8-4 to Lions' 9-5).
  • Tampa Bay finished ahead of Green Bay in the NFC Central based on better head-to-head record (1-0-1 to Packers' 0-1-1).

[edit] Playoffs

Main article: NFL playoffs, 1980-81
Home team in capitals

[edit] AFC

  • Wild-Card playoff: OAKLAND 27, Houston 7
  • Divisional playoffs: SAN DIEGO 20, Buffalo 14; Oakland 14, CLEVELAND 12
  • AFC Championship: Oakland 34, SAN DIEGO 27

[edit] NFC

  • Wild-Card playoff: DALLAS 34, Los Angeles 13
  • Divisional playoffs: PHILADELPHIA 31, Minnesota 16; Dallas 30, ATLANTA 27
  • NFC Championship: PHILADELPHIA 20, Dallas 7

[edit] Super Bowl

[edit] References

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