The 1980 Seattle Seahawks season was the team's fifth season in the National Football League (NFL).
The 1980 season was a strange season for the Seattle Seahawks. The team started off 4–3, then lost the remaining nine games of the season. They accumulated four road wins but lost all eight regular season home games. The offense struggled, especially after losing Sherman Smith to a knee injury for the season. With the running game struggling, the team gave up 52 sacks, up from 23 in 1979. The offense went from 7th to 21st. Even though the defense improved from 27th to 13th, the Seahawks still gave up 405 points.
Memorable moments included a 26–7 road win against the Houston Oilers, intercepting Kenny Stabler five times; a 17–16 road win against the Kansas City Chiefs (their last at Arrowhead Stadium until 1990); and a 14–0 road win against the Washington Redskins, with the offense rushing for over 220 yards. All 4 of Seattle's wins were away games; the Seahawks failed to win a home game for the first (and so far only) time in franchise history.
More indicative of the season were the home losses: a 34–13 rout at home inflicted by the San Diego Chargers, a 37–31 loss to the New England Patriots, featuring several lead changes, as the Seattle defense could not hold on; losing to the Kansas City Chiefs 31–30, after going into the 4th quarter with a 23–10 lead, and the Chiefs intercepting Jim Zorn a season-high five times, leading to 17 Kansas City points. The low point of the season was a 27–21 loss to a struggling New York Giants team, one which finished 4–12 (although one was over the Cowboys). On Thanksgiving Day, November 27, the Dallas Cowboys defeated the Seahawks 51–7, in Dallas, but many people believe the Giants loss was worse.
The successes of the 1978 and 1979 seasons were long forgotten by the season's end.
Offseason
NFL draft
Undrafted free agents
+ 1980 undrafted free agents of notePlayerPositionCollegeKevin AndersonGuardOregonGary CarrRunning backFresno StateSteve DavisPunterTennessee TechMike DoerflerFullbackMontana StateGreg FeaselTackleAbilene ChristianMike GarrettPunterGeorgiaRon GipsonFullbackWashingtonDavid GreenhalghQuarterbackSouthwestern Oklahoma StateEric HillRunning backWeber StateDave KriegQuarterbackMilton CollegeMatt KupecQuarterbackNorth CarolinaJack LaffertyCenterEastern IllinoisMark McGrathWide receiverMontana StateArnie PinkstonDefensive backYaleBrad ReidWide receiverIowaTerry RennakerLinebackerStanfordKirk SpringsSafetyMiami (OH)
Personnel
Staff
Final roster
Starters in bold.
Schedule
Preseason Week Date Opponent Result Record Game site Recap 1 Atlanta Falcons W 14–10 1–0 Kingdome Recap 2 Miami Dolphins L 7–24 1–1 Kingdome Recap 3 at San Francisco 49ers W 10–7 2–1 Candlestick Park Recap 4 at New England Patriots W 30–23 3–1 Schaefer Stadium Recap
Source: Seahawks Media Guides1980 Seahawks Media Guide, accessed February 14, 2015.1981 Seahawks Media Guide, accessed February 14, 2015.
Regular season Divisional matchups have the AFC West playing the NFC East.
Week Date Opponent Result Record Game site Recap 1 September 7 San Diego Chargers L 13–34 0–1 Kingdome Recap 2 September 14 at Kansas City Chiefs W 17–16 1–1 Arrowhead Stadium Recap 3 September 21 New England Patriots L 31–37 1–2 Kingdome Recap 4 September 28 at Washington Redskins W 14–0 2–2 RFK Stadium Recap 5 October 5 at Houston Oilers W 26–7 3–2 Houston Astrodome Recap 6 October 12 Cleveland Browns L 3–27 3–3 Kingdome Recap 7 October 19 at New York Jets W 27–17 4–3 Shea Stadium Recap 8 October 26 at Oakland Raiders L 14–33 4–4 Oakland–Alameda County Coliseum Recap 9 November 2 Philadelphia Eagles L 20–27 4–5 Kingdome Recap 10 November 9 Kansas City Chiefs L 30–31 4–6 Kingdome Recap 11 Oakland Raiders L 17–19 4–7 Kingdome Recap 12 November 23 at Denver Broncos L 20–36 4–8 Mile High Stadium Recap 13 November 27 at Dallas Cowboys L 7–51 4–9 Texas Stadium Recap 14 December 7 New York Giants L 21–27 4–10 Kingdome Recap 15 at San Diego Chargers L 14–21 4–11 Jack Murphy Stadium Recap 16 December 21 Denver Broncos L 17–25 4–12 Kingdome Recap Bold indicates division opponents. Source: 1980 NFL season results1980 NFL season results, NFL.com, accessed February 14, 2015.
Standings
Game summaries
Preseason
Week P1: vs. Atlanta Falcons
Week P2: vs. Miami Dolphins
Week P3: at San Francisco 49ers
Week P4: vs. New England Patriots
Regular season
Week 1: vs. San Diego Chargers
Week 2: at Kansas City Chiefs
Week 3: vs. New England Patriots
Week 4: at Washington Redskins
Week 5: at Houston Oilers
Week 6: vs. Cleveland Browns
Week 7: at New York Jets
Week 8: at Oakland Raiders
Week 9: vs. Philadelphia Eagles
Week 10: vs. Kansas City Chiefs
Week 11: vs. Oakland Raiders
Week 12: at Denver Broncos
Week 13: at Dallas Cowboys
Week 14: vs. New York Giants
Week 15: at San Diego Chargers
Week 16: vs. Denver Broncos
References
External links
1980 Seattle Seahawks season at ESPN 1980 Seattle Seahawks season at Pro Football Reference (pro-football-reference.com) 1980 Seattle Seahawks Statistics at jt-sw.com 1980 Seattle Seahawks Schedule at jt-sw.com