# 1980 New York Giants season

The 1980 New York Giants season was the franchise's 56th season in the National Football League. The Giants finished in last place in the National Football Conference East Division with a 4–12 record.
In the 1980 NFL draft, the Giants selected defensive back Mark Haynes with their first-round pick, which was eighth overall. New York won its opening game of the season against the St. Louis Cardinals, 41–35, behind a five-touchdown performance by quarterback Phil Simms. Four of those touchdown passes were to Earnest Gray, who set a single-game franchise record for touchdown receptions. The Giants lost the following game to Washington by two points, the start of an eight-game losing streak. A Week 10 win over the Dallas Cowboys snapped the streak; a subsequent win over the Green Bay Packers was followed by a pair of defeats. A shoulder injury caused Simms to miss the last three games of the season. Scott Brunner took over as the starting quarterback for those games, during which the Giants went 1–2.
Simms threw for 2,321 yards in his 13 appearances, and had 15 touchdown passes and 19 interceptions. Brunner threw for four touchdowns and had six interceptions. New York's leading rusher was Billy Taylor, who ran for 580 yards and four touchdowns. Gray had a team-leading 10 touchdown receptions during the season, and caught 52 passes for 777 yards. On defense, Mike Dennis led the Giants with five interceptions. Two Giants players, Dave Jennings and Brad Van Pelt, were selected for the 1981 Pro Bowl.

## Offseason
### NFL Draft

1980 New York Giants draft :
| Round | Pick | Player | Position | College |
| 1 | 8 | Mark Haynes * | Cornerback | Colorado |
| 3 | 64 | Myron Lapka | Nose tackle | USC |
| 4 | 90 | Danny Pittman | Wide receiver | Wyoming |
| 5 | 118 | Tony Blount | Defensive back | Virginia |
| 6 | 145 | Scott Brunner | Quarterback | Delaware |
| 7 | 179 | Bud Hebert | Defensive back | Oklahoma |
| 7 | 181 | Chris Linnin | Defensive end | Washington |
| 8 | 200 | Ken Harris | Running back | Alabama |
| 9 | 229 | Otis Wonsley | Running back | Alcorn State |
| 10 | 256 | Joe Sanford | Tackle | Washington |
| 11 | 285 | Steve Bernish | Defensive end | South Carolina |
| 12 | 312 | Mike Lansford | Kicker | Washington |
| Made roster * Made at least one Pro Bowl during career ||||||

## Schedule

| Week | Date | Opponent | Result | Record | Venue | Attendance |
| 1 | September 7 | at St. Louis Cardinals | W 41–35 | 1–0 | Busch Memorial Stadium | 49,122 |
| 2 | September 14 | Washington Redskins | L 21–23 | 1–1 | Giants Stadium | 73,343 |
| 3 | September 22 | at Philadelphia Eagles | L 3–35 | 1–2 | Veterans Stadium | 70,767 |
| 4 | September 28 | Los Angeles Rams | L 7–28 | 1–3 | Giants Stadium | 73,414 |
| 5 | October 5 | at Dallas Cowboys | L 3–24 | 1–4 | Texas Stadium | 59,126 |
| 6 | October 12 | Philadelphia Eagles | L 16–31 | 1–5 | Giants Stadium | 71,051 |
| 7 | October 19 | at San Diego Chargers | L 7–44 | 1–6 | San Diego Stadium | 50,397 |
| 8 | October 26 | Denver Broncos | L 9–14 | 1–7 | Giants Stadium | 67,598 |
| 9 | November 2 | at Tampa Bay Buccaneers | L 13–30 | 1–8 | Tampa Stadium | 68,256 |
| 10 | November 9 | Dallas Cowboys | W 38–35 | 2–8 | Giants Stadium | 68,343 |
| 11 | November 16 | Green Bay Packers | W 27–21 | 3–8 | Giants Stadium | 76,609 |
| 12 | November 23 | at San Francisco 49ers | L 0–12 | 3–9 | Candlestick Park | 38,574 |
| 13 | November 30 | St. Louis Cardinals | L 7–23 | 3–10 | Giants Stadium | 65,852 |
| 14 | December 7 | at Seattle Seahawks | W 27–21 | 4–10 | Kingdome | 51,617 |
| 15 | December 13 | at Washington Redskins | L 13–16 | 4–11 | RFK Stadium | 44,443 |
| 16 | December 21 | Oakland Raiders | L 17–33 | 4–12 | Giants Stadium | 61,287 |
Note: Intra-division opponents are in bold text.

## Season summary
### Week 1: at St. Louis Cardinals

| | 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | Total |
| • Giants | 7 | 7 | 17 | 10 | 41 |
| Cardinals | 7 | 7 | 14 | 7 | 35 |
* Phil Simms 16/31, 280 Yds
* Earnest Gray 9 Rec, 174 Yds

### Week 10 vs Cowboys

| Quarter | 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | Total |
| Cowboys | 7 | 14 | 14 | 0 | 35 |
| Giants | 7 | 21 | 0 | 10 | 38 |
at Giants Stadium, East Rutherford, New Jersey
* Date: November 9
* Game time: 1:00 p.m. EST
* Game weather: 44 °F (7 °C)
* Game attendance: 68,343
* Referee: Ben Dreith
* TV announcers (CBS): Frank Glieber and Roger Staubach
* Box Score
Game information :
First quarter
NYG – Earnest Gray 25-yard pass from Phil Simms (Joe Danelo kick). Giants 7–0.
DAL – Tony Dorsett 1-yard run (Rafael Septien kick). Tie 7–7.
Second quarter
NYG – Larry Heater 1-yard run (Joe Danelo kick). Giants 14–7.
DAL – Robert Newhouse 1-yard run (Rafael Septien kick). Tie 14–14.
NYG – George Martin 4-yard pass from Phil Simms (Joe Danelo kick). Giants 21–14.
NYG – Leon Perry 1-yard run (Joe Danelo kick). Giants 28–14.
DAL – Ron Springs 58-yard pass from Danny White (Rafael Septien kick). Giants 28–21.
Third quarter
DAL – Robert Newhouse 29-yard run (Rafael Septien kick). Tie 28–28.
DAL – Tony Dorsett 13-yard run (Rafael Septien kick). Cowboys 35–28.
Fourth quarter
NYG – Tom Mullady 20-yard pass from Phil Simms (Joe Danelo kick). Tie 35–35.
NYG – Joe Danelo 27-yard field goal, 0:27. Giants 38–35.
Top passers
DAL – Danny White – 10/23, 155 yards, TD, 5 INT
NYG – Phil Simms – 18/33, 351 yards, 3 TD, INT
Top rushers
DAL – Tony Dorsett – 24 rushes, 183 yards, 2 TD
NYG – Larry Heater – 24 rushes, 69 yards, TD
Top receivers
DAL – Ron Springs – 1 reception, 58 yards, TD
NYG – Mike Friede – 7 receptions, 137 yards :
* Giants' first win against Dallas since 1974

## Standings

NFC East :
| viewtalkedit | W | L | T | PCT | DIV | CONF | PF | PA | STK |
| Philadelphia Eagles$^{(2)}$ | 12 | 4 | 0 | .750 | 6–2 | 9–3 | 384 | 222 | L1 |
| Dallas Cowboys$^{(4)}$ | 12 | 4 | 0 | .750 | 6–2 | 9–3 | 454 | 311 | W1 |
| Washington Redskins | 6 | 10 | 0 | .375 | 4–4 | 5–7 | 261 | 293 | W3 |
| St. Louis Cardinals | 5 | 11 | 0 | .313 | 2–6 | 4–10 | 299 | 350 | L2 |
| New York Giants | 4 | 12 | 0 | .250 | 2–6 | 3–9 | 249 | 425 | L2 |