The 1980 Buffalo Bills season was the franchise's 11th season in the National Football League, and the 21st overall. Their 11–5 record was tied for best in the AFC.
The Bills' defense allowed only 260 points in 1980, third-best in the league, whilst their 4,101 total yards surrendered was best in the NFL in 1980. Buffalo's defense was well represented on the UPI All-AFC team: nose tackle Fred Smerlas and linebacker Jim Haslett – two-thirds of Buffalo's "Bermuda Triangle" with linebacker Shane Nelson – were named to the 1st team All-AFC. Defensive end Ben Williams was named to the second team.
Although Buffalo's offensive statistics were not as impressive as its defense, four offensive players were named All-AFC: left guard Reggie McKenzie, left tackle Ken Jones, wide receiver Jerry Butler and rookie running back Joe Cribbs.Pro-Football-Reference.com: 1980 NFL All-Pros
Cribbs rushed for 1,185 yards and made his first Pro Bowl. Jerry Butler and Fred Smerlas also were selected to play in the annual all-star game.1980 NFL Pro Bowlers
Breaking "The Streak" The Bills had not beaten the Miami Dolphins in the entire decade of the 1970s, a streak of twenty straight losses, the longest in NFL history. The last time the Bills had defeated Miami was 1969.
The Bills had been outscored 565 (28.5 points per games) to 299 (14.5) during the 1970s by the Dolphins, failing to score more than ten points in over a third of the contests (7). They were shut out three times. Conversely, the Dolphins were held under twenty points just four times, and scored 45 points on the Bills twice. The domination was so thorough that the Bills only lost by one score or less five times, and Don Shula had never lost to Buffalo since taking over as Dolphins coach in 1970. The Bills only held a lead at any point in eight of the games, and only twice in the fourth quarter.Buffalo Rumblings: September 7, 1980 – Bills End 20-Game Losing Streak To Dolphins Joe Ferguson had lost to the Dolphins 14 straight times.
On opening day of the 1980 season, Miami visited Rich Stadium, attempting to extend the streak to 21 games. At the end of three quarters, Miami led 7–3. In the fourth quarter, running back Roosevelt Leaks scored the go-ahead touchdown to make the score 10–7. Joe Cribbs added a second touchdown to extend the lead to 17–7, and Jeff Nixon intercepted his third pass of the game with only 36 seconds left, breaking the streak at 20 games.Pro-Football-Reference.com: Miami Dolphins 7 at Buffalo Bills 17 – Sunday, September 7, 1980
A rowdy crowd of 79,000 fans celebrated, and many stormed the field to tear down the goal posts, carrying them around the field.NFL.com: Bills stop skid vs. Dolphins Joe Cribbs contributed 131 combined yards of offense for the triumphant Bills.100 Things Dolphins Fans Should Know and Do Before They Die, Armando Salguero, Triumph Books, Chicago, 2020, ISBN 978-1-62937-722-3, p.179
The rivalry continued well into the 1990s, but with different results: from 1986 to 1996—the years in which Bills quarterback Jim Kelly and Dolphins quarterback Dan Marino played at the same time—the Bills won 14 of 22 match-ups between the teams.Pro-Football-Reference.com: In multiple seasons, from 1986 to 1996, playing for the Buffalo Bills, versus the Miami Dolphins, in the regular season, sorted by most games matching criteria
Offseason
NFL draft
North Carolina State's Jim Ritcher became an anchor of the Buffalo offensive line for the next 14 years; he was the starter for all four Buffalo Super Bowl teams, and was second-team All-Pro in 1991.
Running back Joe Cribbs was Buffalo's starting running back from 1980 to 1983, and again in 1985 (after returning from one year in the USFL).
Tight end Mark Brammer played for the Bills for five seasons. Greg Cater was Buffalo's starting punter from 1980 until 1983.Pro-Football-Reference.com: Greg Cater
Undrafted free agents
+ 1980 undrafted free agents of notePlayerPositionCollegeDan ConwayFullbackBoston CollegeJay EdwardsDefensive backSan Jose StateGray NordTight endLouisvilleSteve OttsLinebackerMichigan StateLarry ReedFullbackMichiganPaul RogindKickerMinnesota
Personnel
Staff/Coaches 1980 Buffalo Bills staff Front office Majority owner/team president – Ralph Wilson General manager – Stew Barber Vice president/minority owner – Pat McGroder
Coaching staff Head coach – Chuck Knox
Offensive coaches Offensive coordinator / offensive line – Ray Prochaska Running backs coach – Elijah Pitts Quarterbacks coach - Kay Stephenson Wide receivers coach – Jack Donaldson
Defensive/special teams coaches Defensive coordinator / linebackers coach - Tom Catlin Defensive line – Willie Zapalac Defensive backs – Jim Wagstaff Special teams – Steve Moore & Elijah Pitts
Special assignments' Special assignments coach – Miller McCalmon
Roster
Regular season Sports Illustrateds Paul Zimmerman wrote about the Bills' 1980 season, "It was a euphoric kind of year for Buffalo. Chuck Knox and his defensive coordinator, Tom Catlin, built the defense into No. 1 in the NFL with virtually the same people who had been lousy in '79. The Bills even beat Miami for the first time in a generation. And then Quarterback Joe Ferguson picked exactly the wrong time of year to sprain his ankle – the playoffs. And San Diego ended the dream."Sports Illustrated, September 7, 1981: PRO FOOTBALL '81, by Paul Zimmerman, page 48
Schedule Week Date Opponent Result Record Venue Recap 1 September 7 Miami Dolphins W 17–7 1–0 Rich StadiumRecap 2 September 14 New York Jets W 20–10 2–0 Rich StadiumRecap 3 September 21 at New Orleans Saints W 35–26 3–0 Louisiana SuperdomeRecap 4 September 28 Oakland Raiders W 24–7 4–0 Rich StadiumRecap 5 October 5 at San Diego Chargers W 26–24 5–0 San Diego StadiumRecap 6 October 12 Baltimore Colts L 12–17 5–1 Rich StadiumRecap 7 October 19 at Miami Dolphins L 14–17 5–2 Orange BowlRecap 8 October 26 New England Patriots W 31–13 6–2 Rich StadiumRecap 9 November 2 Atlanta Falcons L 14–30 6–3 Rich StadiumRecap 10 November 9 at New York Jets W 31–24 7–3 Shea StadiumRecap 11 November 16 at Cincinnati Bengals W 14–0 8–3 Riverfront StadiumRecap 12 November 23 Pittsburgh Steelers W 28–13 9–3 Rich StadiumRecap 13 November 30 at Baltimore Colts L 24–28 9–4 Memorial StadiumRecap 14 December 7 Los Angeles Rams W 10–7 (OT) 10–4 Rich StadiumRecap 15 December 14 at New England Patriots L 2–24 10–5 Foxboro StadiumRecap 16 December 21 at San Francisco 49ers W 18–13 11–5 Candlestick ParkRecapNote: Intra-division opponents are in bold' text.
Standings
Game summaries
Week 1 vs Dolphins
Week 2 vs Jets
Week 3 at Saints
Week 4 vs Raiders
Week 5 at Chargers
Week 6 vs Colts
Week 7 at Dolphins
Week 8 vs Patriots
Week 9
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Week 10
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Week 11
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Week 12
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Week 13
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Week 14
First ever win for Buffalo vs Rams
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Week 15
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Week 16
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Postseason
Divisional
With 2:08 left in the game, Chargers quarterback Dan Fouts threw the 50-yard winning touchdown pass to receiver Ron Smith to defeat the Bills, 20–14.
Wrote Paul Zimmerman in Sports Illustrated's 1981 NFL preview, "If Charley Romes intercepts the pass that bounces off his chest in the last few minutes of the playoff game against San Diego, then the Chargers don't score on the next play, and win the game. And Buffalo gets to play Oakland at home – where the Bills crushed the Raiders earlier in the season. And Buffalo's in the Super Bowl."Sports Illustrated, September 7, 1981: PRO FOOTBALL '81, by Paul Zimmerman, page 48
Notable events In Week 15, the Bills became the thirty-fourth team to score only a safety in a full game. It was the first occurrence of this since the San Diego Chargers against the Pittsburgh Steelers in the last game of the 1972 season, and there have been only three since, by the 1983 Minnesota Vikings, the 1993 Cincinnati Bengals, and the 2011 Atlanta Falcons in a playoff game. References
Bills on Pro Football Reference Bills on jt-sw.com Bills Stats on jt-sw.com