The 1980 season was the Minnesota Vikings' 20th in the National Football League and their 14th under head coach Bud Grant. The Vikings improved on their 7–9 record from last year with a 9–7 record, equal to that of the Detroit Lions, but won the NFC Central division title on the conference record tiebreaker. In the Divisional Playoffs, the Vikings lost to the Philadelphia Eagles 31–16.
The most dramatic game of the season came in a Week 15 home game against Cleveland, with Minnesota's record standing 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.Pro-Football-Reference.com: Cleveland Browns 23 at Minnesota Vikings 28, Sunday, December 14, 1980
Offseason
1980 draft
1980 Minnesota Vikings Draft Draft order Player name Position College Notes Round Selection 1 9 Doug Martin Defensive tackle Washington 2 30 Willie Teal Cornerback LSU From 49ers 39 Traded to the San Francisco 49ers 3 65 Traded to the San Francisco 49ers 68 Brent Boyd Center UCLA From Saints 4 92 Dennis Johnson Linebacker USC 5 121 Doug Paschal Running back North Carolina 122 Paul Jones Running back California From Saints 6 148 Ray Yakavonis Defensive end East Stroudsburg 7 174 Henry Johnson Linebacker Georgia Tech 8 204 Traded to the Seattle Seahawks 9 232 Dennis Mosley Running back Iowa In lieu of #231 (passed) 10 258 Kenny Brown Wide receiver Nebraska 11 288 Sam Harrell Running back East Carolina 12 315 Thomas Lane Defensive back Florida A&M
Notes
Undrafted free agents
+ 1980 undrafted free agents of notePlayerPositionCollegeFred BockKickerSt. John'sRobert MeyerDefensive backWisconsin–River FallsRyan MullaneyDefensive endUNLVLeven WeissLinebackerIowa
Roster
Preseason Week Date Opponent Result Record Venue Attendance 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
Regular season
Schedule 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 Note: Intra-division opponents are in bold text.
Game summaries
Week 15: vs Cleveland Browns
Trailing 23–9 entering the fourth quarter the Vikings came back and won on a desperation Hail Mary pass from quarterback Tommy Kramer to wide receiver Ahmad Rashad to clinch the NFC Central Division title in what became known as the "Miracle at the Met".
Standings
Postseason Week Date Opponent Result Venue Attendance Divisional January 3 at Philadelphia Eagles L 16–31 Veterans Stadium 68,434
Statistics Team leaders 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
League rankings Category Total yards Yards per game NFL rank 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
References