# 1980 Philadelphia Eagles season

The 1980 Philadelphia Eagles season was the team's 48th season in the National Football League (NFL). The Eagles won twelve of their sixteen games, winning their division for the first time in twenty years. The Eagles started the season winning eleven of their first twelve games, only to finish the season losing three of their final four. Still, the 12–4 record (the best finish in the Vermeil era) was good enough to win the NFC East division title for the first time in franchise history since the NFC East had been formed.
The 1980 season marked the Eagles' third consecutive playoff appearance under coach Dick Vermeil, and culminated in the team's first Super Bowl appearance, where they were defeated by the Oakland Raiders 27–10. The 1980 NFC Championship long stood as the proudest moment of the Super Bowl era in Eagles history until they won Super Bowl LII 37 years later.

## Offseason
### NFL draft

After going 11–5 in the 1979 season and making the playoffs as a wildcard team, the Eagles found themselves looking to improve in 1980 through the NFL Draft.
The 1980 NFL draft was the procedure by which National Football League teams selected amateur college football players. It is officially known as the NFL Annual Player Selection Meeting. The draft was held April 29–30, 1979. As was started with the 1977 NFL Draft, this consisted of 12 rounds over two days. ESPN covered all 12 rounds live for the first time.
The Philadelphia Eagles had the 23rd to 25th pick in each of the 12 rounds. The Eagles drafted 10 players.
1980 Philadelphia Eagles Draft :
| Round | Selection | Player | Position | College |
| 1 | 23 | Roynell Young | DB | Alcorn State University |
| 2 | 53 | Perry Harrington | RB | Jackson State University |
| 5 | 135 | Nate Rivers | WR | South Carolina State |
| 6 | 161 | Greg Murtha | T | University of Minnesota |
| 7 | 188 | Terrell Ward | DB | San Diego State |
| 8 | 218 | Mike Curcio | LB | Temple University |
| 9 | 245 | Bob Harris | T | Bowling Green |
| 11 | 298 | Lee Jukes | WR | North Carolina State |
| 11 | 302 | Thomas Brown | DE | Baylor University |
| 12 | 329 | Howard Fields | DB | Baylor |

## Regular season

The 1980 season schedule was set based on how the Eagles finished the previous season: 2nd in NFC East. The way the schedule was laid out, 4 of the 5 teams in the same division could end up having 10 to 14 common opponents during the 1980 season. Also, when the last regular-season game was over, each team knew who its opponents would be the next year.
* A home and away series vs the teams in its own division: Cowboys, Giants, Cardinals and Redskins = 8 games
* Each of the top 4 teams in the NFC East from the previous season played the top 4 teams in the AFC West from the previous season: Chargers, Broncos, Seahawks and Raiders = 4 games
* Each of the 2nd and 3rd place teams in the NFC East from the previous season (Eagles and Redskins) played the 2nd and 3rd place teams in the NFC Central and NFC West from the previous season: Bears, Vikings, Saints and Falcons = 4 games

### Schedule

| Week | Date | Opponent | Result | Record | Location | Attendance |
| 1 | September 7, 1980 | Denver Broncos | W 27–6 | 1–0 | Veterans Stadium | 70,307 |
| 2 | September 14, 1980 | at Minnesota Vikings | W 42–7 | 2–0 | Metropolitan Stadium | 46,460 |
| 3 | September 22, 1980 | New York Giants | W 35–3 | 3–0 | Veterans Stadium | 70,767 |
| 4 | September 28, 1980 | at St. Louis Cardinals | L 24–14 | 3–1 | Busch Memorial Stadium | 49,079 |
| 5 | October 5, 1980 | Washington Redskins | W 24–14 | 4–1 | Veterans Stadium | 69,044 |
| 6 | October 12, 1980 | at New York Giants | W 31–16 | 5–1 | Giants Stadium | 71,051 |
| 7 | October 19, 1980 | Dallas Cowboys | W 17–10 | 6–1 | Veterans Stadium | 70,696 |
| 8 | October 26, 1980 | Chicago Bears | W 17–14 | 7–1 | Veterans Stadium | 68,752 |
| 9 | November 2, 1980 | at Seattle Seahawks | W 27–20 | 8–1 | Kingdome | 61,047 |
| 10 | November 9, 1980 | at New Orleans Saints | W 34–21 | 9–1 | Louisiana Superdome | 44,340 |
| 11 | November 16, 1980 | at Washington Redskins | W 24–0 | 10–1 | RFK Stadium | 51,897 |
| 12 | November 23, 1980 | Oakland Raiders | W 10–7 | 11–1 | Veterans Stadium | 68,535 |
| 13 | November 30, 1980 | at San Diego Chargers | L 22–21 | 11–2 | Jack Murphy Stadium | 51,567 |
| 14 | December 7, 1980 | Atlanta Falcons | L 20–17 | 11–3 | Veterans Stadium | 70,205 |
| 15 | December 14, 1980 | St. Louis Cardinals | W 17–3 | 12–3 | Veterans Stadium | 68,969 |
| 16 | December 21, 1980 | at Dallas Cowboys | L 35–27 | 12–4 | Texas Stadium | 62,548 |
Note: Intra-division opponents are in bold text.

## Game summaries
### Week 1

| | 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | Total |
| Broncos | 0 | 0 | 6 | 0 | 6 |
| • Eagles | 7 | 13 | 0 | 7 | 27 |

### Week 2

| | 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | Total |
| • Eagles | 14 | 0 | 14 | 14 | 42 |
| Vikings | 0 | 7 | 0 | 0 | 7 |

### Week 3

| | 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | Total |
| Giants | 3 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 3 |
| • Eagles | 7 | 14 | 7 | 7 | 35 |

### Week 4

| | 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | Total |
| Eagles | 0 | 7 | 0 | 7 | 14 |
| • Cardinals | 7 | 3 | 7 | 7 | 24 |

### Week 5

| | 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | Total |
| Redskins | 7 | 0 | 0 | 7 | 14 |
| • Eagles | 7 | 14 | 3 | 0 | 24 |

### Week 6

| | 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | Total |
| • Eagles | 0 | 3 | 14 | 14 | 31 |
| Giants | 7 | 9 | 0 | 0 | 16 |

### Week 7

| | 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | Total |
| Cowboys | 7 | 3 | 0 | 0 | 10 |
| • Eagles | 0 | 10 | 0 | 7 | 17 |

### Week 8

| | 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | Total |
| Bears | 0 | 0 | 14 | 0 | 14 |
| • Eagles | 7 | 0 | 7 | 3 | 17 |

### Week 9

| | 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | Total |
| • Eagles | 0 | 7 | 10 | 10 | 27 |
| Seahawks | 6 | 0 | 7 | 7 | 20 |

### Week 10

| | 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | Total |
| • Eagles | 0 | 17 | 7 | 10 | 34 |
| Saints | 7 | 7 | 7 | 0 | 21 |

### Week 11

| | 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | Total |
| • Eagles | 14 | 3 | 7 | 0 | 24 |
| Redskins | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |

### Week 12

| | 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | Total |
| Raiders | 0 | 0 | 0 | 7 | 7 |
| • Eagles | 0 | 0 | 3 | 7 | 10 |

### Week 13

| | 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | Total |
| Eagles | 0 | 0 | 7 | 14 | 21 |
| • Chargers | 9 | 10 | 0 | 3 | 22 |

### Week 14

| | 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | Total |
| • Falcons | 3 | 7 | 7 | 3 | 20 |
| Eagles | 0 | 14 | 0 | 3 | 17 |

### Week 15

| | 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | Total |
| Cardinals | 0 | 0 | 0 | 3 | 3 |
| • Eagles | 0 | 0 | 7 | 10 | 17 |

### Week 16

| | 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | Total |
| Eagles | 0 | 0 | 10 | 17 | 27 |
| • Cowboys | 7 | 14 | 7 | 7 | 35 |
* Harold Carmichael's streak of games with a pass caught is stopped. Despite losing this game, the Eagles clinched the NFC East Division on a quirky tie-breaker scenario because they lost by less than 25 points. The only caveat to losing by less than 25 points compared to winning this game outright was that the Eagles conceded the number one seed in the NFC to the Atlanta Falcons (who had also lost during this same week). The close defeat however proved to be less significant compared to winning this game outright as their eventual run to the Super Bowl would not have changed due to restrictions regarding teams from the same division meeting in the Divisional Round, and Dallas defeating both the Rams in the Wild Card Round (Dallas could only face Atlanta regardless of seeding), and the Falcons in the Divisional Round (the NFC Championship Game would have still been held in Philadelphia).

## 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 |

## Playoffs

| Round | Date | Opponent | Result | Record | Location | Attendance |
| Divisional | January 3, 1981 | Minnesota Vikings | W 31–16 | 1–0 | Veterans Stadium | 68,434 |
| Conference Championship | January 11, 1981 | Dallas Cowboys | W 20–7 | 2–0 | Veterans Stadium | 70,696 |
| Super Bowl | January 25, 1981 | Oakland Raiders | L 27–10 | 2–1 | Louisiana Superdome | 75,500 |

### Divisional

| | 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | Total |
| Vikings | 7 | 7 | 2 | 0 | 16 |
| • Eagles | 0 | 7 | 14 | 10 | 31 |

### Conference Championship

| Quarter | 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | Total |
| Cowboys | 0 | 7 | 0 | 0 | 7 |
| Eagles | 7 | 0 | 10 | 3 | 20 |
at Veterans Stadium • Philadelphia, Pennsylvania
* Date: January 11, 1981
* Game time: 1:00 p.m.
* Game weather: Sunny; 12 °F (−11 °C); wind 3 mph (4.8 km/h)
* Game attendance: 70,696
* Referee: Jerry Markbreit
* TV announcers (CBS): Pat Summerall, Tom Brookshier, and Irv Cross
* Pro-Football-Reference.com
Game information :
Cowboys
Danny White 12/31, 127 Yds, INT
Robert Newhouse 7 Rush, 44 Yds
Preston Pearson 2 Rec, 32 Yds
Eagles
Ron Jaworski 9/29, 91 Yds, 2 INT
Wilbert Montgomery 26 Rush, 194 Yds, TD
Rodney Parker 4 Rec, 31 Yds :
Scoring summary :
| Quarter | Time | Drive | Drive | Drive | Team | Scoring information | Score | Score |
| Quarter | Time | Plays | Yards | TOP | Team | Scoring information | DAL | PHI |
| 1 | | | | | Eagles | Montgomery 42-yard touchdown run, Franklin kick good | 0 | 7 |
| 2 | | | | | Cowboys | Dorsett 3-yard touchdown run, Septien kick good | 7 | 7 |
| 3 | | | | | Eagles | 26-yard field goal by Franklin | 7 | 10 |
| 3 | | | | | Eagles | Harris 9-yard touchdown run, Franklin kick good | 7 | 17 |
| 4 | | | | | Eagles | 20-yard field goal by Franklin | 7 | 20 |
| "TOP" = time of possession. For other American football terms, see Glossary of American football. | "TOP" = time of possession. For other American football terms, see Glossary of American football. | "TOP" = time of possession. For other American football terms, see Glossary of American football. | "TOP" = time of possession. For other American football terms, see Glossary of American football. | "TOP" = time of possession. For other American football terms, see Glossary of American football. | "TOP" = time of possession. For other American football terms, see Glossary of American football. | "TOP" = time of possession. For other American football terms, see Glossary of American football. | 7 | 20 |

### Super Bowl

| | 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | Total |
| • Raiders | 14 | 0 | 10 | 3 | 27 |
| Eagles | 0 | 3 | 0 | 7 | 10 |

## Awards and honors

* Ron Jaworski, Bert Bell Award