1980 Cleveland Browns season

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1980 Cleveland Browns season
1975-1995 Browns Script.PNG
Owner Art Modell
Head coach Sam Rutigliano
Home field Cleveland Municipal Stadium
Local radio WHK
Results
Record11–5
Division place1st AFC Central
Playoff finishLost Divisional Playoffs
(vs. Raiders) 12–14
Pro Bowlers C Tom DeLeone
LT Doug Dieken
FB Mike Pruitt
RG Joe DeLamielleure
QB Brian Sipe

The 1980 Cleveland Browns season was the team's 35th overall, and 31st season in the National Football League. The Browns finished the regular season with eleven wins and five losses, and their first division title since 1971, winning a tiebreaker with the Houston Oilers. The 1980 Browns were known as the Kardiac Kids for having several games decided in the final moments. The 1980 season was the first time that Cleveland had qualified for the postseason since 1972. Also, for the second straight year, Browns head coach Sam Rutigliano was named NFL Coach of the Year, and quarterback Brian Sipe was named the league's Most Valuable Player.

Contents

Rallying from a 10–0 first-half deficit against Cincinnati, the Browns came back to beat the Bengals 27–24 and finally snare the Central championship when Don Cockroft kicked the game-winning 22-yard field goal with 1:25 left. The Bengals tried to come back and got as far as the Cleveland 14-yard line before time ran out.

The Browns played their first home playoff game in nine seasons against the Raiders, in what has become known as the Red Right 88 game. The Browns marched to the Oakland 13 in the waning seconds trailing by 14–12, but Brian Sipe's pass into the end zone for Hall of Fame tight end Ozzie Newsome was intercepted, ending Cleveland's season.

Five players had 50 or more receptions, led by running back Mike Pruitt. Pruitt also rushed for 1,034 yards and six touchdowns. Running back Calvin Hill, recorded six touchdowns among his 27 catches. Wide receiver Ricky Feacher grabbed just 10 passes, but four went for scores, including two within a matter of minutes in the division-clinching win over the Bengals.

Offseason

NFL Draft

1980 Cleveland Browns draft
RoundPickPlayerPositionCollegeNotes
127 Charles White  *  Running back USC
254 Cleveland Crosby   Defensive end Arizona
372 Cliff Odom   Linebacker Texas–Arlington
499Ron Crews  Defensive tackle UNLV
4109 Paul McDonald   Quarterback USC
5116 Elvis Franks   Defensive end Morgan State
8209Jeff Copeland Linebacker Texas Tech
9236 Roy Dewalt  Running backTexas–Arlington
10263Kevin Fidel  Center San Diego State
11294 Roland Sales  Running back Arkansas
12321Marcus Jackson Defensive end Purdue
      Made roster    *   Made at least one Pro Bowl during career

[1]

Personnel

Staff / Coaches

1980 Cleveland Browns staff

Front office

Head coaches

Offensive coaches

Defensive coaches

Special teams coaches

Strength and conditioning


Roster

1980 Cleveland Browns roster
Quarterbacks

Running backs

Wide receivers

Tight ends

Offensive linemen

Defensive linemen

Linebackers

Defensive backs

Special teams

Reserve lists

rookies in italics

[2]

Regular season

Schedule

WeekDateOpponentResultRecordVenueAttendanceRecap
1September 7at New England Patriots L 17–340–1 Schaefer Stadium 49,222 Recap
2September 15 Houston Oilers L 7–160–2 Cleveland Municipal Stadium 80,243 Recap
3September 21 Kansas City Chiefs W 20–131–2Cleveland Municipal Stadium63,614 Recap
4September 28at Tampa Bay Buccaneers W 34–272–2 Tampa Stadium 65,540 Recap
5October 5 Denver Broncos L 16–192–3Cleveland Municipal Stadium81,065 Recap
6October 12at Seattle Seahawks W 27–33–3 Kingdome 61,366 Recap
7October 19 Green Bay Packers W 26–214–3Cleveland Municipal Stadium75,548 Recap
8October 26 Pittsburgh Steelers W 27–265–3Cleveland Municipal Stadium79,095 Recap
9November 3 Chicago Bears W 27–216–3Cleveland Municipal Stadium84,225 Recap
10November 9at Baltimore Colts W 28–277–3 Memorial Stadium 45,369 Recap
11November 16at Pittsburgh Steelers L 13–167–4 Three Rivers Stadium 54,563 Recap
12November 23 Cincinnati Bengals W 31–78–4Cleveland Municipal Stadium79,253 Recap
13November 30at Houston Oilers W 17–149–4 Houston Astrodome 51,514 Recap
14December 7 New York Jets W 17–1410–4Cleveland Municipal Stadium78,454 Recap
15December 14at Minnesota Vikings L 23–28 10–5 Metropolitan Stadium 42,202 Recap
16December 21at Cincinnati Bengals W 27–2411–5 Riverfront Stadium 50,058 Recap
Note: Intra–division opponents are in bold text.

Game summaries

Week 3

1234Total
Chiefs067013
• Browns0713020
Scoring summary
Q1KC Lowery 38-yard field goalKC 3–0
Q1KCLowery 22-yard field goalKC 6–0
Q1CLE White 2-yard run (Cockroft kick)CLE 7–6
Q3CLE Wright 12-yard pass from Sipe (kick failed)CLE 13–6
Q3KC Samuels 16-yard pass from Fuller (Lowery kick)Tie 13–13
Q3CLEWhite 31-yard pass from Sipe (Cockroft kick)CLE 20–13

[3]

Week 7 vs. Green Bay Packers

  • The Browns rallied from down 21–13 in the fourth quarter, first on Ozzie Newsome’s touchdown catch from Brian Sipe, then facing third and 20 from the Packers' 46-yard line with 16 seconds left Sipe completed a pass to Dave Logan for the winning touchdown. Browns 26, Packers 21

Week 8 vs. Pittsburgh Steelers

  • Sipe and company erased three two–score deficits — 10–0, 20–7, and 26–14 — to defeat the Steelers in Cleveland. Ozzie Newsome hauled in the winning catch with 5:35 to play. Browns 27, Steelers 26

Week 9 vs. Chicago Bears

  • Although Mike Pruitt's 56-yard touchdown run ultimately wins the game for Cleveland, Sipe throws for 298 yards and reaches a milestone in Browns history, becoming the Browns' all-time passing leader in NFL play. [4] Browns 27, Bears 21

Week 10 at Baltimore Colts

  • A missed PAT by the Colts proved the difference in a 28–27 Browns win as both teams combined for eight touchdowns. Bert Jones had three scores for the Colts but was sacked five times.

Week 11 at Pittsburgh Steelers

  • Seeking their first ever win at Pittsburgh's Three Rivers Stadium, the Browns once again were denied, this time on a Terry Bradshaw to Lynn Swann touchdown with eleven seconds left. It was the Browns' 11th consecutive defeat at Pittsburgh. Steelers 16, Browns 13

Week 13 at Houston Oilers

  • The Browns edged the Oilers 17–14 in what had become a de facto three-way tie atop the AFC Central. The Browns were out gained in yardage by 126 but five Oilers turnovers were the key.

Week 14 vs. New York Jets

  • Once again the Cardiac Browns had to rally, this time down 14–10 in the fourth, this time on a five-yard Greg Pruitt touchdown catch.

Week 15 at Minnesota Vikings

  • In a game known to Vikings fans as the "Miracle at the Met", the Browns relinquish a 23–9 lead with only 7:15 remaining. The game is probably most remembered for Browns Safety Thom Darden's deflection of Tommy Kramer's "Hail Mary pass", which is caught by Ahmad Rashad as time expires. Kramer's 456 passing yards were the most ever given up by the Browns. Vikings 28, Browns 23

Week 16 at Cincinnati Bengals

  • Needing a win to secure the Central Division title, the Browns rallied against the Bengals 27–24. The game lead tied or changed six times as Don Cockroft's game-winning field goal came with 1:25 left to play. Browns 27, Bengals 24

Standings

AFC Central
WLTPCTDIVCONFPFPASTK
Cleveland Browns (2)1150.6884–28–4357310W1
Houston Oilers (5)1150.6884–27–5295251W3
Pittsburgh Steelers 970.5632–45–7352313L1
Cincinnati Bengals 6100.3752–44–8244312L1

Son of the Kardiac Kids

The 2007 Cleveland Browns had a season similar to the Kardiac Kids, with several games being decided in the final minutes or in overtime. One game in particular against the Baltimore Ravens, which the Browns won in overtime because of a reversed call on a field goal by kicker Phil Dawson, led the Cleveland Plain Dealer to publish an editorial calling the 2007 Browns "The 'Son of the Kardiac Kids'" . The similarities have been at least acknowledged by the organization, with offensive coordinator Rob Chudzinski being quoted in the article calling his team "The Kardiac Kids' little brother."

Postseason

RoundDateOpponent (seed)ResultRecordVenueRecap
DivisionalJanuary 4, 1981 Oakland Raiders (4)L 12–14 0–1 Cleveland Municipal Stadium Recap

AFC Divisional Playoff

1234Total
Raiders070714
Browns066012

at Cleveland Stadium, Cleveland, Ohio

Red Right 88

AFC Divisional Playoff Game (Home) January 4, 1981 – Browns 12, Oakland Raiders 14

In sub–zero conditions on Cleveland's windy Lakefront, the Browns and Raiders battled into the waning moments of the contest. Down 14–12 and having mounted a 72-yard drive, the Browns were within striking distance at the Oakland 13-yard line with less than a minute remaining. Although it was only second down, Don Cockroft had already missed two field goal attempts in the swirling winds. Browns Coach Sam Rutigliano chose a more aggressive strategy, opting to go for the kill and pass the ball on second down instead of conservatively running the ball and then, perhaps, settling for a last second field goal. The play called was Red Right 88, which was intended for Dave Logan. However, Ozzie Newsome managed to get clear in the Raiders endzone and Sipe fired the ball to him — but the wind managed to interfere with the plan and heartbreak was the outcome for the frozen 77,655 Cleveland faithful: the ball was intercepted by Oakland cornerback Mike Davis. The 1980 season will be remembered fondly albeit bittersweet, but the game would go down in Browns history (along with The Drive and The Fumble) as one of the franchise’s sadder moments.

Awards and records

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References

  1. ↑ "1980 Cleveland Browns Draftees". Pro Football Reference. Retrieved January 22, 2022.
  2. ↑ "1980 Cleveland Browns Starters, Roster, & Players". Pro-Football-Reference.com.
  3. ↑ "Kansas City Chiefs at Cleveland Browns – September 21st, 1980". Pro-Football-Reference.com.
  4. ↑ Although quarterback Otto Graham had more overall passing yards with the Browns from 1946 to 1955, only the last six of these seasons were in the NFL; Graham's first four seasons were in the AAFC. Pro-Football-Reference.com: For combined seasons, from 1920 to 1980, played in the NFL, playing for the Cleveland Browns, played QB, sorted by descending Passing Yds.
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