1980 Pittsburgh Steelers season

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1980 Pittsburgh Steelers season
Head Coach Chuck Noll
Home Field Three Rivers Stadium
Results
Record 9-7
Place 3rd in AFC Central
Playoff Finish none
Timeline
Previous Season Next Season
1979 1981

Contents

[edit] Offseason

[edit] Regular season

In 1980, the Steelers had their struggles. The aging defense wasn't as effective in 1978-79, falling from 2nd to 15th in yards allowed and 313 points, 15th in the league, up from 262 5th in the league, while only recording 18 QB sacks. The offense was still plagued with too many turnovers, 42 total, 23rd worst, but ranking 6th in total offense, and scoring 352 points (10th). Despite the team's troubles, it still could have made the playoffs on the last day of the regular season, but a 26- 17 loss to the San Diego Chargers ended their season at 9- 7.

[edit] Schedule

Week Date Opponent Time (ET) TV Result
1 Sunday September 7 Houston Oilers 1:00 PM NBC W 31-17
2 Sunday September 14 @Baltimore Colts 2:00 PM NBC W 20-17
3 Sunday September 21 @Cincinnati Bengals 1:00 PM NBC L 30-28
4 Sunday September 28 Chicago Bears 1:00 PM CBS W 38-3
5 Sunday October 5 @Minnesota Vikings 1:00 PM NBC w 23-17
6 Sunday October 12 Cincinnati Bengals 1:00 PM NBC L 17-16
7 Monday October 20 Oakland Raiders 9:00 PM ABC L 45-34
8 Sunday October 26 @Cleveland Browns 1:00 PM NBC L 27-26
9 Sunday November 2 Green Bay Packers 1:00 PM CBS W 22-20
10 Sunday November 9 @Tampa Bay Buccaneers 1:00 PM NBC W 24-21
11 Sunday November 16 Cleveland Browns 1:00 PM NBC W 16-13
12 Sunday November 23 @Buffalo Bills 1:00 PM NBC L 28-13
13 Sunday November 30 Miami Dolphins 1:00 PM NBC W 23-10
14 Thursday December 4 @Houston Oilers 8:30 PM ABC L 0-6
15 Sunday December 14 Kansas City Chiefs 1:00 PM NBC W 21-16
16 Monday December 22 @San Diego Chargers 9:00 PM ABC L 26-17

[edit] Game Summaries

[edit] Week 1 (Sunday September 7, 1980): vs. Houston Oilers

1 2 3 4 Total
Oilers 0 0 17 0 17
Steelers 17 0 0 14 31

at Three Rivers Stadium, Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania

  • Game time: 1:00 PM EDT
  • Game weather:
  • Game attendance: 54,386
  • Referee:
  • TV announcers: (NBC) Dick Enberg (play by play), Merlin Olsen (color commentator)

Scoring Drives:

[edit] Week 2 (Sunday September 14, 1980): at Baltimore Colts

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

at Three Rivers Stadium, Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania

  • Game time: 2:00 PM EDT
  • Game weather:
  • Game attendance: 54,914
  • Referee:
  • TV announcers: Charlie Jones (play by play), Len Dawson (color commentaor)

Scoring Drives:

  • Pittsburgh - FG Bahr 25
  • Pittsburgh - FG Bahr 29
  • Baltimore - Shiver 34 interception return (Mike-Mayer kick)
  • Pittsburgh - Harris 10 pass from Bradshaw (Bahr kick)
  • Baltimore - Butler 15 pass from Jones (Mike-Mayer kick)
  • Baltimore - FG Mike-Mayer 20
  • Pittsburgh - Smith 24 pass from Bradshaw (Bahr kick)

[edit] Week 3 (Sunday September 21, 1980): at Cincinnati Bengals

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

at Riverfront Stadium, Cincinnati, Ohio

  • Game time: 1:00 PM EDT
  • Game weather:
  • Game attendance: 52,490
  • Referee:
  • TV announcers: (NBC) Don Criqui (play by play), John Brodie (color commentator)

Scoring Drives:

  • Cincinnati - R. Griffin 28 interception return (Sunter kick)
  • Cincinnati - FG Sunter 27
  • Pittsburgh - Smith 45 pass from Bradshaw (Bahr kick)
  • Pittsburgh - Swann 14 pass from Bradshaw (Bahr kick)
  • Cincinnati - FG Sunter 42
  • Pittsburgh - Swann 68 pass from Bradshaw (Bahr kick)
  • Cincinnati - Curtis 18 pass from Thompson (Sunter kick)
  • Pittsburgh - Hawthorne 4 run (Bahr kick)
  • Cincinnati - Bass 22 pass from Thompson
  • Cincinnati - FG Sunter 21

[edit] Week 4 (Sunday September 28, 1980): vs. Chicago Bears

1 2 3 4 Total
Bears 3 0 0 0 3
Steelers 7 17 7 7 38

at Three Rivers Stadium, Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania

  • Game time: 1:00 PM EDT
  • Game weather:
  • Game attendance: 53,987
  • Referee:
  • TV announcers: (CBS) Frank Glieber (play by play), Roger Staubach (color commentator)

Scoring Drives:

[edit] Week 5 (Sunday October 5, 1980): at Minnesota Vikings

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

at Metropolitan Stadium, Bloomington, Minnesota

  • Game time: 1:00 PM EDT
  • Game weather:
  • Game attendance: 47,583
  • Referee:
  • TV announcers: (NBC) Dick Enberg (play by play), Merlin Olsen (color commentator)

Scoring Drives:

  • Pittsburgh - Sweeney 21 pass from Bradshaw (kick failed)
  • Minnesota - FG Danmeier 35
  • Pittsburgh - Harris 4 run (Bahr kick)
  • Pittsburgh - FG Bahr 28
  • Pittsburgh - Bradshaw 2 run (Bahr kick)
  • Minnesota - S. White 21 pass from Kramer (Danmeier kick)
  • Minnesota - Kramer 4 run (Danmeier kick)

[edit] Week 6 (Sunday October 12, 1980): vs. Cincinnati Bengals

1 2 3 4 Total
Bengals 10 7 0 0 17
Steelers 0 0 16 0 16

at Three Rivers Stadium, Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania

  • Game time: 1:00 PM EDT
  • Game weather:
  • Game attendance: 53,668
  • Referee:
  • TV announcers: (NBC) Sam Nover (play by play), Bob Trumpy (color commentator)

Scoring Drives:

  • Cincinnati - Alexander 1 run (Sunter kick)
  • Cincinnati - FG Sunter 24
  • Cincinnati - Johnson 28 pass from Anderson (Sunter kick)
  • Pittsburgh - Davis 1 run (kick blocked)
  • Pittsburgh - Smith 13 pass from Bradshaw (Bahr kick)
  • Pittsburgh - FG Bahr 35

[edit] Week 7 (Monday October 20, 1980): vs. Oakland Raiders

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

at Three Rivers Stadium, Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania

Scoring Drives:

[edit] Week 8 (Sunday October 26, 1980): at Cleveland Browns

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

at Cleveland Municipal Stadium, Cleveland, Ohio

  • Game time: 1:00 PM EST
  • Game weather:
  • Game attendance: 79,095
  • Referee:
  • TV announcers: (NBC) Don Criqui (play by play), John Brodie (color commentator)

Scoring Drives:

  • Pittsburgh - Hawthorne 1 run (Bahr kick)
  • Pittsburgh - FG Bahr 27
  • Cleveland - Hill 5 pass from Sipe (Cockroft kick)
  • Pittsburgh - FG Bahr 22
  • Pittsburgh - Hawthorne 2 run (Bahr kick)
  • Cleveland - G. Pruitt 6 pass from Sipe (Cockroft kick)
  • Pittsburgh - Thornton 2 run (kick failed)
  • Cleveland - G. Pruitt 7 pass from Sipe (kick failed)
  • Cleveland - Newsome 18 pass from Sipe (Cockroft kick)

[edit] Week 9 (Sunday November 2, 1980): vs. Green Bay Packers

1 2 3 4 Total
Packers 7 7 0 6 20
Steelers 2 7 6 7 22

at Three Rivers Stadium, Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania

  • Game time: 1:00 PM EST
  • Game weather:
  • Game attendance: 52,165
  • Referee:
  • TV announcers: (CBS) Pat Summerall (play by play), Tom Brookshier (color commentator)

Scoring Drives:

  • Pittsburgh - Safety, ball snapped out of end zone
  • Green Bay - Ellis 7 pass from Dickey (Birney kick)
  • Pittsburgh - Swann 7 pass from Bradshaw (Bahr kick)
  • Green Bay - Ellis 69 pass from Dickey (Birney kick)
  • Pittsburgh - FG Bahr 27
  • Pittsburgh - FG Bahr 18
  • Pittsburgh - Bleier 4 pass from Bradshaw (Bahr kick)
  • Green Bay - Thompson 14 pass from Dickey (kick blocked)

[edit] Week 10 (Sunday November 9, 1980): at Tampa Bay Buccaneers

1 2 3 4 Total
Steelers 10 14 0 0 24
Buccaneers 7 7 7 0 21

at Tampa Stadium, Tampa, Florida

  • Game time: 1:00 PM EST
  • Game weather:
  • Game attendance: 71,636
  • Referee:
  • TV announcers: (NBC) Dick Enberg (play by play), Merlin Olsen (color commentator)

Scoring Drives:

  • Pittsburgh - FG Bahr 48
  • Pittsburgh - Winston recovered blocked punt in end zone (Bahr kick)
  • Tampa Bay - House 26 pass from Williams (Yepremian kick)
  • Pittsburgh - Thornton 1 run (Bahr kick)
  • Tampa Bay - Giles 12 pass from Williams (Yepremian kick)
  • Pittsburgh - Swann 20 pass from Bradshaw (Bahr kick)
  • Tampa Bay - Bell 8 pass from Williams (Yepremian kick)

[edit] Week 11 (Sunday November 16, 1980): vs. Cleveland Browns

1 2 3 4 Total
Browns 0 13 0 0 13
Steelers 0 7 0 9 16

at Three Rivers Stadium, Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania

  • Game time: 1:00 PM EST
  • Game weather:
  • Game attendance: 54,563
  • Referee:
  • TV announcers: (NBC) Don Criqui (play by play), John Brodie (color commentator)

Scoring Drives:

  • Pittsburgh - Smith 10 pass from Bradshaw (Bahr kick)
  • Cleveland - Newsome 4 pass from Sipe (kick failed)
  • Cleveland - Logan 15 pass from Sipe (Cockroft kick)
  • Pittsburgh - Safety, Toews tackled Evans in end zone
  • Pittsburgh - Swann 3 pass from Bradshaw (Bahr kick)

[edit] Week 12 (Sunday November 23, 1980): at Buffalo Bills

1 2 3 4 Total
Steelers 7 3 0 3 13
Bills 7 7 7 7 28

at Rich Stadium, Orchard Park, New York

  • Game time: 1:00 PM EST
  • Game weather:
  • Game attendance: 79,659
  • Referee:
  • TV announcers: (NBC) Don Criqui (play by play), John Brodie (color commentator)

Scoring Drives:

  • Pittsburgh - Harris 2 run (Bahr kick)
  • Buffalo - Butler 29 pass from Ferguson (Mike-Mayer kick)
  • Buffalo - Butler 10 pass from Ferguson (Mike-Mayer kick)
  • Pittsburgh - FG Bahr 36
  • Buffalo - Brown 34 run (Mike-Mayer kick)
  • Buffalo - Gant 2 pass from Ferguson (Mike-Mayer kick)
  • Pittsburgh - FG Bahr 42

[edit] Week 13 (Sunday November 30, 1980): vs. Miami Dolphins

1 2 3 4 Total
Dolphins 0 3 0 7 10
Steelers 0 13 3 7 23

at Three Rivers Stadium, Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania

  • Game time: 1:00 PM EST
  • Game weather:
  • Game attendance: 51,384
  • Referee:
  • TV announcers: (NBC) Don Criqui (play by play), John Brodie (color commentator)

Scoring Drives:

  • Pittsburgh - FG Bahr 32
  • Pittsburgh - Swann 30 pass from Bradshaw (Bahr kick)
  • Miami - FG von Schamann 42
  • Pittsburgh - FG Bahr 33
  • Pittsburgh - FG Bahr 30
  • Miami - Moore 31 pass from Woodley (von Schamann kick)
  • Pittsburgh - Harris 9 run (Bahr kick)

[edit] Week 14 (Thursday December 4, 1980): at Houston Oilers

1 2 3 4 Total
Steelers 0 0 0 0 0
Oilers 0 0 3 3 6

at Astrodome, Houston, Texas

Scoring Drives:

[edit] Week 15 (Sunday December 14, 1980): vs. Kansas City Chiefs

1 2 3 4 Total
Chiefs 0 3 13 0 16
Steelers 7 0 0 14 21

at Three Rivers Stadium, Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania

  • Game time: 1:00 PM EST
  • Game weather:
  • Game attendance: 50,013
  • Referee:
  • TV announcers: (NBC) Marv Albert (play by play), Mike Haffner (color commentator)

Scoring Drives:

  • Pittsburgh - Swann 9 pass from Bradshaw (Bahr kick)
  • Kansas City - FG Lowery 36
  • Kansas City - Hadnot 3 run (Lowery kick)
  • Kansas City - FG Lowery 22
  • Kansas City - FG Lowery 50
  • Pittsburgh - Bell 13 pass from Bradshaw (Bahr kick)
  • Pittsburgh - Bleier 11 run (Bahr kick)

[edit] Week 16 (Monday December 22, 1980): at San Diego Chargers

1 2 3 4 Total
Steelers 0 3 7 7 17
Chargers 3 6 10 7 26

at San Diego Stadium, San Diego, California

Scoring Drives:

  • San Diego - FG Benirschke 33
  • Pittsburgh - FG Bahr 32
  • San Diego - FG Benirschke 26
  • San Diego - FG Benirschke 26
  • San Diego - Fouts 1 run (Benirschke kick)
  • Pittsburgh - Thornton 2 run (Bahr kick)
  • San Diego - FG Benirschke 33
  • San Diego - Muncie 10 run (Benirschke kick)
  • Pittsburgh - Cunningham 16 pass from Bradshaw (Bahr kick)

[edit] References

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1980 NFL season
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