1980 Los Angeles Rams season

NFL team season

← 1979
Rams seasons
1981 →

The Rams playing against the New Orleans Saints at Anaheim Stadium in 1980.

The 1980 Los Angeles Rams season was the team's 43rd year with the National Football League (NFL), the 35th season in Los Angeles, and the first season at Anaheim Stadium. The Rams improved from their 9–7 Super Bowl season from the previous year with an 11–5 record. They made the playoffs for the 8th straight season. Coming off a Super Bowl appearance the previous season, the Rams had high hopes of winning the championship for the first time. After a slow start to the season, the Rams caught fire and won five games in a row to sit at 5–2. In week 15, the Rams hosted the Dallas Cowboys on Monday Night Football. In a highly anticipated matchup, the Rams wound up crushing the Cowboys 38–14. This win clinched a playoff berth for the Rams for the 8th straight season, still a team record. However, they couldn't beat Dallas when it mattered, losing at Texas Stadium in the Wild Card game 34–13. Because the Steelers missed the playoffs for the first time since 1971, the Rams were the only team from 1973 to this year that never missed the playoffs.

Offseason

NFL Draft

Round	Pick	Player	Position	College	Notes
1980 Los Angeles Rams draft
1	17	Johnnie Johnson	Safety	Texas
2	50	Irv Pankey	Tackle	Penn State
3	58	Jewerl Thomas	Running back	San Jose State
3	70	LeRoy Irvin	Cornerback	Kansas
3	82	Phil Murphy	Defensive tackle	South Carolina State
6	154	Mike Guman	Running back	Penn State
7	176	Kirk Collins	Defensive back	Baylor	Made roster in 1981
7	192	Gerry Ellis	Running back	Missouri
8	220	Tom Pettigrew	Tackle	Eastern Illinois
9	248	George Farmer	Wide receiver	Southern	Made roster in 1982
10	276	Bob Gruber	Tackle	Pittsburgh
11	304	Terry Greer	Wide receiver	Alabama State
12	332	Kevin Scanlon	Quarterback	Arkansas
Made roster * Made at least one Pro Bowl during career

^[1]

Personnel

Staff

**1980 Los Angeles Rams staff**
	Front office Owner/President – Georgia Frontiere Executive Vice President/General Manager – Don Klosterman Vice President of Special Projects - James D. Dooley Assistant General Manager – Jack Faulkner Director of Player Personnel – John Math Head coaches Head Coach – Ray Malavasi Offensive coaches Offensive Coordinator – Lionel Taylor Quarterbacks – Paul Lanham Running Backs – Hewritt Dixon Offensive Line – Dan Radakovich			Defensive coaches Defensive Coordinator – Bud Carson Defensive Line – LaVern Torgeson Linebackers – Frank Lauterbur Special teams coaches Special Teams – Herb Paterra Strength and conditioning Conditioning – Clyde Evans

Roster

**1980 Los Angeles Rams roster**

	Quarterbacks 15 Vince Ferragamo 11 Pat Haden 19 Bob Lee Running backs 32 Cullen Bryant 44 Mike Guman 24 Eddie Hill 22 Lydell Mitchell 34 Elvis Peacock 33 Jewerl Thomas 26 Wendell Tyler Wide receivers 88 Preston Dennard 85 Drew Hill 82 Willie Miller 86 Jeff Moore 80 Billy Waddy Tight ends 84 Walt Arnold 81 Victor Hicks 83 Terry Nelson		Offensive linemen 62 Bill Bain G 77 Doug France T 60 Dennis Harrah G 72 Kent Hill G 75 Irv Pankey T 61 Rich Saul C 78 Jackie Slater T Defensive linemen 90 Larry Brooks DT 71 Reggie Doss DE 89 Fred Dryer DE 79 Mike Fanning DT 76 Cody Jones DT 95 Phil Murphy DT 85 Jack Youngblood DE		Linebackers 52 George Andrews 55 Carl Ekern 51 Joe Harris MLB 64 Jack Reynolds MLB 53 Jim Youngblood Defensive backs 21 Nolan Cromwell FS 41 Jeff Delaney 47 LeRoy Irvin CB 20 Johnnie Johnson 49 Rod Perry CB 23 Lucious Smith CB 37 Ivory Sully CB 27 Pat Thomas CB Special teams 3 Frank Corral K/P		Reserve lists 59 Bob Brudzinski OLB (IRTooltip Injured reserve) 42 Kirk Collins DB (IRTooltip Injured reserve) —- Bob Gruber DT (IRTooltip Injured reserve) 54 Ed McGlasson C (IRTooltip Injured reserve) -- Tom Pettigrew OT (IRTooltip Injured reserve) 8 Jeff Rutledge QB (IRTooltip Injured reserve) 56 Doug Smith C (IRTooltip Injured reserve) Practice squad Rookies in italics

Regular season

Schedule

Week	Date	Opponent	Result	Record	Venue	Attendance
1	September 7	Detroit Lions	L 20–41	0–1	Anaheim Stadium	64,892
2	September 11	at Tampa Bay Buccaneers	L 9–10	0–2	Tampa Stadium	66,576
3	September 21	Green Bay Packers	W 51–21	1–2	Anaheim Stadium	63,850
4	September 28	at New York Giants	W 28–7	2–2	Giants Stadium	73,414
5	October 5	San Francisco 49ers	W 48–26	3–2	Anaheim Stadium	62,188
6	October 12	at St. Louis Cardinals	W 21–13	4–2	Busch Memorial Stadium	50,230
7	October 19	at San Francisco 49ers	W 31–17	5–2	Candlestick Park	55,360
8	October 26	at Atlanta Falcons	L 10–13	5–3	Atlanta–Fulton County Stadium	57,401
9	November 2	New Orleans Saints	W 45–31	6–3	Anaheim Stadium	59,909
10	November 9	Miami Dolphins	L 14–35	6–4	Anaheim Stadium	62,198
11	November 16	at New England Patriots	W 17–14	7–4	Schaefer Stadium	60,609
12	November 24	at New Orleans Saints	W 27–7	8–4	Louisiana Superdome	53,448
13	November 30	New York Jets	W 38–13	9–4	Anaheim Stadium	59,743
14	December 7	at Buffalo Bills	L 7–10 (OT)	9–5	Rich Stadium	77,133
15	December 15	Dallas Cowboys	W 38–14	10–5	Anaheim Stadium	65,154
16	December 21	Atlanta Falcons	W 20–17 (OT)	11–5	Anaheim Stadium	62,469
Note: Intra-division opponents are in bold text.

Season summary

Week 1 vs Lions

Week One: Detroit Lions (0–0) at Los Angeles Rams (0–0)

Period	1	2	3	4	Total
Lions	10	7	10	14	41
Rams	6	14	0	0	20

at Anaheim Stadium, Anaheim, California

Date: September 7
Game time: 4:00 p.m.
Game weather: Clear; 66 °F (19 °C)
Game attendance: 64,892
TV: CBS
Box Score

Game information

First quarter

LA – Drew Hill 98-yard kickoff return (kick failed). Rams 6–0.
DET – Eddie Murray 52-yard field goal. Rams 6–3. Drive:
DET – Billy Sims 10-yard run (Eddie Murray kick). Lions 10–6. Drive:

Second quarter

LA – Cullen Bryant 1-yard run (Frank Corral kick). Rams 13–10. Drive:
LA – Elvis Peacock 1-yard run (Frank Corral kick). Rams 20–10. Drive:
DET – Billy Sims 1-yard run (Eddie Murray kick). Rams 20–17. Drive:

Third quarter

DET – Eddie Murray 38-yard field goal. Tie 20–20. Drive:
DET – Dexter Bussey 15-yard run (Eddie Murray kick). Lions 27–20. Drive:

Fourth quarter

DET – Billy Sims 41-yard run (Eddie Murray kick). Lions 34–20. Drive:
DET – Horace King 4-yard run (Eddie Murray kick). Lions 41–20. Drive:

Top passers

DET – Gary Danielson – 10/19, 179 yards
LA – Pat Haden – 13/24, 133 yards, 3 INT

Top rushers

DET – Billy Sims – 22 rushes, 153 yards, 3 TD
LA – Elvis Peacock – 15 rushes, 67 yards, TD

Top receivers

DET – Billy Sims – 2 receptions, 64 yards
LA – Preston Dennard – 4 receptions, 63 yards

Playoffs

Week	Date	Opponent	Result	Record	Venue	Attendance
Wildcard	December 28	at Dallas Cowboys	L 13–34	0–1	Texas Stadium	64,533

Standings

NFC West
view talk edit	W	L	T	PCT	DIV	CONF	PF	PA	STK
Atlanta Falcons⁽¹⁾	12	4	0	.750	5–1	10–2	405	272	L1
Los Angeles Rams⁽⁵⁾	11	5	0	.688	5–1	9–3	424	289	W2
San Francisco 49ers	6	10	0	.375	2–4	4–8	320	415	L2
New Orleans Saints	1	15	0	.063	0–6	0–12	291	487	L1

References

^ "1980 Los Angeles Rams draftees". Pro-Football-Reference.com. Retrieved October 4, 2014.

/*https://www.newspapers.com/clip/66363663/*/

External links

1980 Los Angeles Rams at Pro-Football-Reference.com
[1]

v t e Los Angeles Rams
Founded in 1936 Played in Cleveland, Ohio (1936–1945) and St. Louis, Missouri (1995–2015) Based in Inglewood, California Headquartered in Agoura Hills, California
Franchise	Franchise History in Cleveland in St. Louis NFL in Los Angeles Seasons Players Coaches First-round draft picks Starting quarterbacks Statistics Broadcasters Awards
Stadiums	Cleveland Stadium League Park Shaw Stadium Los Angeles Memorial Coliseum Anaheim Stadium Busch Memorial Stadium The Dome at America's Center SoFi Stadium
Culture	Rampage Cheerleaders Triple Threat Crazylegs Heaven Can Wait Melonheads Mob Squad (fans) Nelly John Ramsey "Win" Red Hot Chili Peppers Big A Sign American Underdog
Lore	Bull Elephant backfield Fearsome Foursome Jerome Bettis trade The Greatest Show on Turf The Tackle Mob Squad (2015-19) Sean McVay effect 2018 Monday Night Football Game NOLA No-Call
Rivalries	Arizona Cardinals Dallas Cowboys Kansas City Chiefs (former) Minnesota Vikings New Orleans Saints San Francisco 49ers Seattle Seahawks
Retired numbers	7 28 29 74 75 78 80 85
Media	Broadcasters KCBS-FM Radio network D'Marco Farr Dick Enberg
Wild card berths (9)	1980 1983 1984 1986 1988 1989 2000 2004 2020
Division championships (18)	1945 1949 1967 1969 1973 1974 1975 1976 1977 1978 1979 1985 1999 2001 2003 2017 2018 2021
Conference championships (8)	1950 1951 1955 1979 1999 2001 2018 2021
League championships (4)	1945 1951 1999 (XXXIV) 2021 (LVI)
Current league affiliations	League: National Football League (1937–present) Conference: National Football Conference Division: West Division
Former league affiliation	League: American Football League (1936)

v t e Los Angeles Rams seasons
Played in Cleveland (1936–1945) and St. Louis (1995–2015)
1936 1937 1938 1939 1940 1941 1942 1943 1944 1945 1946 1947 1948 1949 1950 1951 1952 1953 1954 1955 1956 1957 1958 1959 1960 1961 1962 1963 1964 1965 1966 1967 1968 1969 1970 1971 1972 1973 1974 1975 1976 1977 1978 1979 1980 1981 1982 1983 1984 1985 1986 1987 1988 1989 1990 1991 1992 1993 1994 1995 1996 1997 1998 1999 2000 2001 2002 2003 2004 2005 2006 2007 2008 2009 2010 2011 2012 2013 2014 2015 2016 2017 2018 2019 2020 2021 2022 2023 2024
Bold indicates NFL Championship (1920–1969) or Super Bowl (1966–) victory Italics indicates NFL Championship (1920–1969) or Super Bowl (1966–) appearance

1980 NFL season

East	Central	West	East	Central	West
Baltimore	Cincinnati	Denver	Dallas	Chicago	Atlanta
Buffalo	Cleveland	Kansas City	NY Giants	Detroit	Los Angeles
Miami	Houston	Oakland	Philadelphia	Green Bay	New Orleans
New England	Pittsburgh	San Diego	St. Louis	Minnesota	San Francisco
NY Jets		Seattle	Washington	Tampa Bay