1980_Minnesota_Vikings_season

1980 Minnesota Vikings season
1980 Minnesota Vikings season
General manager	Mike Lynn
Head coach	Bud Grant
Home field	Metropolitan Stadium
Results
Record	9–7
Division place	1st NFC Central
Playoff finish	Lost Divisional Playoffs; (at Eagles) 16–31
Uniform
	← 1979; Vikings seasons; 1981 →;

1980 Minnesota Vikings season

NFL team season

The 1980 season was the Minnesota Vikings' 20th in the National Football League and their 14th under head coach Bud Grant. The Vikings finished with a 9–7 record, equal to that of the Detroit Lions, but won the NFC Central division title on the tiebreaker. In the Divisional Playoffs the Vikings lost to the Philadelphia Eagles 31–16.

Quick Facts Minnesota Vikings season, General manager ...

The most dramatic game of the season came in a Week 15 home game against Cleveland, with Minnesota at 8–6. The Vikings trailed 23–9 early in the fourth quarter, but with five seconds left in regulation, despite missing two field goals and two extra points in the game, they were on the Cleveland 46-yard line having reduced the Browns' lead to one point. Quarterback Tommy Kramer threw a Hail Mary pass that Ahmad Rashad caught at the 2-yard line before backing into the end zone to give Minnesota a 28–23 win.^[1]

Regular season

Share this article:

This article uses material from the Wikipedia article 1980_Minnesota_Vikings_season, and is written by contributors. Text is available under a CC BY-SA 4.0 International License; additional terms may apply. Images, videos and audio are available under their respective licenses.

[1] [1]
Pro-Football-Reference.com: Cleveland Browns 23 at Minnesota Vikings 28, Sunday, December 14, 1980

[2] [2]
"1980 Minnesota Vikings (NFL) - Pro Football Archives".

[1]

[a]

[b]

[c]

[d]

[2]

1980 Minnesota Vikings Draft
Draft order		Player name	Position	College	Notes
Round	Selection	Player name	Position	College	Notes
1	9	Doug Martin	Defensive tackle	Washington
2	30	Willie Teal	Defensive back	Louisiana State	from 49ers^[a]
2	39	Traded to the San Francisco 49ers^[a]
3	65	Traded to the San Francisco 49ers^[a]
3	68	Brent Boyd	Center	UCLA	from Saints^[b]
4	92	Dennis Johnson	Linebacker	USC
5	121	Doug Paschal	Running back	North Carolina
5	122	Paul Jones	Running back	California	from Saints^[b]
6	148	Ray Yakavonis	Defensive end	East Stroudsburg (PA)
7	174	Henry Johnson	Linebacker	Georgia Tech
8	204	Traded to the Seattle Seahawks^[c]
9	232	Dennis Mosley	Running back	Iowa	in lieu of #232 (passed)^[d]
10	258	Kenny Brown	Wide receiver	Nebraska
11	288	Sam Harrell	Running back	East Carolina
12	315	Thomas Lane	Defensive back	Florida A&M

Player	Position	College
Robert Meyer	Defensive back	Wisconsin–River Falls
Leven Weiss	Linebacker	Iowa


	Quarterbacks 12 Steve Dils 9 Tommy Kramer 13 Mike Livingston Running backs 23 Ted Brown FB 35 Robert Miller 40 Doug Paschal 31 Eddie Payton 34 Rickey Young Wide receivers 80 Terry LeCount 87 Kevin Miller 28 Ahmad Rashad 85 Sammy White Tight ends 82 Bob Bruer 81 Joe Senser 38 Bob Tucker		Offensive linemen 62 Brent Boyd G 61 Wes Hamilton G 56 Dave Huffman G 58 Jim Langer C 68 Melvin Mitchell T 78 Steve Riley T 67 Dennis Swilley C 71 John Vella T 73 Ron Yary T Defensive linemen 75 Randy Holloway DE 79 Doug Martin DE 77 Mark Mullaney DE 76 Dave Roller DT 89 Ken Sanders DE 69 Doug Sutherland DT 72 James White DT		Linebackers 59 Matt Blair 52 Dennis Johnson 53 Henry Johnson 54 Fred McNeill 50 Jeff Siemon 55 Scott Studwell Defensive backs 24 Larry Brune 20 Bobby Bryant CB 26 Marvin Cobb 45 Tommy Hannon SS 25 Kurt Knoff FS 49 Keith Nord FS 37 Willie Teal CB 27 John Turner CB Special teams 8 Greg Coleman P 7 Rick Danmeier K		Reserve lists 36 Sam Harrell RB (IRTooltip Injured reserve) 51 Jim Hough G (IRTooltip Injured reserve) 91 Ray Yakavonis DT (IRTooltip Injured reserve) Rookies in italics

Week	Date	Opponent	Result	Record	Venue	Attendance^[2]
1	August 9	San Diego Chargers	W 21–17	1–0	Metropolitan Stadium	45,179
2	August 18	at Kansas City Chiefs	L 10–14	1–1	Arrowhead Stadium	39,879
3	August 23	at Miami Dolphins	W 17–10	2–1	Miami Orange Bowl	36,116
4	August 30	Cleveland Browns	W 38–16	3–1	Metropolitan Stadium	47,262

Week	Date	Opponent	Result	Record	Venue	Attendance
1	September 7	Atlanta Falcons	W 24–23	1–0	Metropolitan Stadium	44,773
2	September 14	Philadelphia Eagles	L 7–42	1–1	Metropolitan Stadium	46,460
3	September 21	at Chicago Bears	W 34–14	2–1	Soldier Field	59,983
4	September 28	at Detroit Lions	L 7–27	2–2	Silverdome	80,291
5	October 5	Pittsburgh Steelers	L 17–23	2–3	Metropolitan Stadium	47,583
6	October 12	Chicago Bears	W 13–7	3–3	Metropolitan Stadium	46,751
7	October 19	at Cincinnati Bengals	L 0–14	3–4	Riverfront Stadium	44,487
8	October 26	at Green Bay Packers	L 3–16	3–5	Lambeau Field	56,191
9	November 2	at Washington Redskins	W 39–14	4–5	Robert F. Kennedy Memorial Stadium	52,060
10	November 9	Detroit Lions	W 34–0	5–5	Metropolitan Stadium	46,264
11	November 16	Tampa Bay Buccaneers	W 38–30	6–5	Metropolitan Stadium	46,032
12	November 23	Green Bay Packers	L 13–25	6–6	Metropolitan Stadium	47,234
13	November 30	at New Orleans Saints	W 23–20	7–6	Louisiana Superdome	30,936
14	December 7	at Tampa Bay Buccaneers	W 21–10	8–6	Tampa Stadium	65,649
15	December 14	Cleveland Browns	W 28–23	9–6	Metropolitan Stadium	42,202
16	December 21	at Houston Oilers	L 16–20	9–7	Astrodome	51,064

1980_Minnesota_Vikings_season

1980 Minnesota Vikings season

Offseason

1980 Draft

Undrafted free agents

Roster

Preseason

Regular season

Schedule

Game summaries

Week 15: vs Cleveland Browns

Standings

Postseason

Statistics

Team leaders

League rankings

References

Share this article:

NFC Central
view talk edit	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

Category	Player(s)	Value
Passing yards	Tommy Kramer	3,582
Passing touchdowns	Tommy Kramer	19
Rushing yards	Ted Brown	912
Rushing touchdowns	Ted Brown	8
Receiving yards	Ahmad Rashad	1,095
Receiving touchdowns	Joe Senser	7
Points	Rick Danmeier	81
Kickoff return yards	Eddie Payton	1,184
Punt return yards	Eddie Payton	251
Interceptions	John Turner	6

Category	Total yards	Yards per game	NFL rank (out of 28)
Passing offense	3,688	230.5	3rd
Rushing offense	1,642	102.6	27th
Total offense	5,330	333.1	11th
Passing defense	3,400	212.5	24th
Rushing defense	2,456	153.5	25th
Total defense	5,856	366.0	26th

Period	1	2	3	4	Total
Browns	7	6	3	7	23
Vikings	0	0	9	19	28