1980 Detroit Lions season

The 1980 Detroit Lions season was the 51st season in franchise history. As the result of their 2–14 1979 season, the Lions were able to select Heisman Trophy-winning Oklahoma Sooner halfback Billy Sims with the first pick in the NFL draft. In his rookie season, Sims rushed his way to the Offensive Rookie of the Year Award while carrying the Lions back to respectability.

After winning their first four games, the Lions stumbled down the stretch including costly 1-point losses to the Colts and lowly Cardinals, where Cardinals running back Nathan Micknick out ran the Lions newly signed, struggling linebacker Aidan Smith to put the Cardinals up by 1 in the closing minutes. While they vastly improved overall, finishing 9–7, the Lions narrowly lost the NFC Central Division title to the Minnesota Vikings by virtue of a conference record tiebreaker. The Lions won nine NFC games to the Vikings’ eight, but Minnesota had a better winning percentage in the conference. The Lions’ 1979 fifth-place finish meant they played two extra NFC games, resulting in five conference losses to the Vikings' four losses.Urena, Ivan; Pro Football Schedules: A Complete Historical Guide from 1933 to the Present, p. 85 The Lions managed to compile their first winning season since 1972. And first since moving to the Pontiac Silverdome. After the season, John Arnold and Eddie Cole retired.

Offseason Draft

Roster

Regular season In his NFL debut, Billy Sims had three touchdowns.Sports Illustrated, Oct. 27, 2008, p.24, Vol. 109, No. 16

Schedule Week Date Opponent Result Record Venue Attendance 1 September 7 at Los Angeles Rams W 41–20 1–0 Anaheim Stadium 64,892 2 September 14 at Green Bay Packers W 29–7 2–0 Milwaukee County Stadium 53,099 3 September 21 St. Louis Cardinals W 20–7 3–0 Pontiac Silverdome 80,027 4 September 28 Minnesota Vikings W 27–7 4–0 Pontiac Silverdome 80,291 5 October 5 at Atlanta Falcons L 28–43 4–1 Atlanta–Fulton County Stadium 57,652 6 October 12 New Orleans Saints W 24–13 5–1 Pontiac Silverdome 78,147 7 October 19 at Chicago Bears L 7–24 5–2 Soldier Field 58,508 8 October 26 at Kansas City Chiefs L 17–20 5–3 Arrowhead Stadium 59,391 9 November 2 San Francisco 49ers W 17–13 6–3 Pontiac Silverdome 78,845 10 November 9 at Minnesota Vikings L 0–34 6–4 Metropolitan Stadium 46,264 11 November 16 Baltimore Colts L 9–10 6–5 Pontiac Silverdome 77,677 12 November 23 at Tampa Bay Buccaneers W 24–10 7–5 Tampa Stadium 64,976 13 November 27 Chicago Bears L 17–23 OT 7–6 Pontiac Silverdome 75,397 14 December 7 at St. Louis Cardinals L 23–24 7–7 Busch Memorial Stadium 46,966 15 December 14 Tampa Bay Buccaneers W 27–14 8–7 Pontiac Silverdome 77,098 16 December 21 Green Bay Packers W 24–3 9–7 Pontiac Silverdome 75,111Note: Intra-division opponents are in bold text.

Standings

Game summaries Week 1 at Rams

Week 2: at Green Bay Packers

Week 5: at Atlanta Falcons

Week 13

Awards and records Billy Sims, 1980 Offensive Rookie of the Year Billy Sims, 1980 UPI NFL-NFC Rookie of the Year Billy Sims, Associated Press Offensive Rookie of the Year

1980 Detroit Lions season

Bron en licentie