# 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. The Lions managed to compile their first winning season since 1972. And first since moving to the Pontiac Silver dome.

## Offseason
### Draft

1980 Detroit Lions draft :
| Round | Pick | Player | Position | College |
| 1 | 1 | Billy Sims * | Running back | Oklahoma |
| 3 | 57 | Tom Turnure | Center | Washington |
| 3 | 62 | Mike Friede | Wide receiver | Indiana |
| 4 | 85 | Eric Hipple | Quarterback | Utah State |
| 5 | 111 | Mark Streeter | Defensive back | Arizona |
| 5 | 120 | Tommie Ginn | Center | Arkansas |
| 6 | 140 | Chris Dieterich | Tackle | North Carolina State |
| 7 | 166 | Eddie Murray * | Kicker | Tulane |
| 9 | 222 | DeWayne Jett | Wide receiver | Hawaii |
| 9 | 223 | Tom Tuinei | Defensive tackle | Hawaii |
| 10 | 251 | Donnie Henderson | Defensive back | Utah State |
| 11 | 278 | Wayne Smith | Defensive back | Purdue |
| 12 | 307 | Ray Williams | Running back | Washington State |
| Made roster * Made at least one Pro Bowl during career ||||||

## Regular season

In his NFL debut, Billy Sims had three touchdowns.

### 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 | 75,111 |
| Note: Intra-division opponents are in bold text. |||||||

### Standings

NFC Central :
| viewtalkedit | W | L | T | PCT | DIV | CONF | PF | PA | STK |
| Minnesota Vikings$^{(3)}$ | 9 | 7 | 0 | .563 | 5–3 | 8–4 | 317 | 308 | L1 |
| Detroit Lions | 9 | 7 | 0 | .563 | 5–3 | 9–5 | 334 | 272 | W2 |
| Chicago Bears | 7 | 9 | 0 | .438 | 5–3 | 7–5 | 304 | 264 | W1 |
| Tampa Bay Buccaneers | 5 | 10 | 1 | .344 | 1–6–1 | 4–7–1 | 271 | 341 | L3 |
| Green Bay Packers | 5 | 10 | 1 | .344 | 3–4–1 | 4–7–1 | 231 | 371 | L4 |

### Game summaries
#### Week 1 at Rams

| Quarter | 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 or 18.9 °C
* Game attendance: 64,892
* Referee: Cal Lepore
* TV announcers (CBS): Vin Scully and George Allen
* 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 :

#### Week 2: at Green Bay Packers

| Quarter | 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | Total |
| Lions | 3 | 13 | 6 | 7 | 29 |
| Packers | 0 | 7 | 0 | 0 | 7 |
at Milwaukee County Stadium, Milwaukee, Wisconsin
* Date: September 14, 1980
* Game time: 1:00 p.m. CST
* Game weather: Overcast, 64 °F or 17.8 °C
* Referee: Bob Frederic
* TV announcers (CBS): Frank Glieber and Roger Staubach
Game information :
First quarter
Second quarter
Third quarter
Fourth quarter
Top passers
DET – Gary Danielson – 11/17, 246 yards, 1 TD
GB – Lynn Dickey – 16/30, 174 yards, 1 INT
Top rushers
DET – Billy Sims – 20 rushes, 134 yards, 1 TD
GB – Eddie Lee Ivery – 10 rushes, 31 yards, 1 TD
Top receivers
DET – Dexter Bussey – 5 receptions, 74 yards
GB – James Lofton – 4 receptions, 73 yards :

#### Week 5: at Atlanta Falcons

| Quarter | 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | Total |
| Lions | 3 | 3 | 0 | 22 | 28 |
| Falcons | 17 | 17 | 2 | 7 | 43 |
at Atlanta-Fulton County Stadium, Atlanta
* Date: October 5
* Game time: 1:00 p.m.
* Game weather: 61 °F (16.1 °C), wind 12 miles per hour (19 km/h; 10 kn)
* Referee: Dick Jorgensen
* TV: CBS
* Box Score
Scoring summary :
| Quarter | Time | Drive | Drive | Drive | Team | Scoring information | Score | Score |
| Quarter | Time | Plays | Yards | TOP | Team | Scoring information | Lions | Falcons |
| 1 | | | | | Lions | 43-yard field goal by Eddie Murray | 3 | 0 |
| 1 | | | | | Falcons | Blocked punt returned 16 yards for touchdown by Frank Reed | 3 | 7 |
| 1 | | | | | Falcons | Fumble recovery returned 30 yards for touchdown by Buddy Curry, Tim Mazzetti kick good | 3 | 14 |
| 1 | | | | | Falcons | 26-yard field goal by Tim Mazzetti | 3 | 17 |
| 2 | | | | | Falcons | Alfred Jenkins 43-yard touchdown reception from Steve Bartkowski, Tim Mazzetti kick good | 3 | 24 |
| 2 | | | | | Falcons | Fumble recovery returned 42 yards for touchdown by Joel Williams, Tim Mazzetti kick good | 3 | 31 |
| 2 | | | | | Falcons | 33-yard field goal by Tim Mazzetti | 3 | 34 |
| 2 | | | | | Lions | 32-yard field goal by Eddie Murray | 6 | 34 |
| 3 | | | | | Falcons | Gary Danielson tackled in end zone for a safety by Joel Williams | 6 | 36 |
| 4 | | | | | Lions | Freddie Scott 43-yard touchdown reception from Gary Danielson, Eddie Murray kick good | 13 | 36 |
| 4 | | | | | Falcons | William Andrews 11-yard touchdown run, Tim Mazzetti kick good | 13 | 43 |
| 4 | | | | | Lions | Leonard Thompson 79-yard touchdown reception from Gary Danielson, Eddie Murray kick good | 20 | 43 |
| 4 | | | | | Lions | Freddie Scott 6-yard touchdown reception from Gary Danielson, Eddie Murray kick no good | 26 | 43 |
| 4 | | | | | Lions | Reggie Smith tackled in end zone for a safety by Eddie Cole | 28 | 43 |
| "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. | 28 | 43 |

#### Week 13

| Quarter | 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | OT | Total |
| Bears | 0 | 3 | 0 | 14 | 6 | 23 |
| Lions | 3 | 7 | 7 | 0 | 0 | 17 |
at Pontiac Silverdome, Pontiac, Michigan
* Date: November 27, 1980
* Game time: 12:30 p.m. EST
* Game weather: Indoors (dome)
* Game attendance: 75,397
* Referee: Fred Silva
* TV announcers (CBS): Pat Summerall, Tom Brookshier, and Irv Cross
* Pro-Football-Reference.com
Game information :
First quarter
DET – Eddie Murray 34-yard field goal. Lions 3–0. Drive:
Second quarter
DET – Billy Sims 47-yard pass from Gary Danielson (Eddie Murray kick). Lions 10–0. Drive:
CHI – Bob Thomas 24-yard field goal. Lions 10–3. Drive:
Third quarter
DET – Gary Danielson 1-yard run (Eddie Murray kick). Lions 17–3. Drive:
Fourth quarter
CHI – Bob Fisher 20-yard pass from Vince Evans (Bob Thomas kick). Lions 17–10. Drive:
CHI – Vince Evans 4-yard run (Bob Thomas kick), 0:00. Tie 17–17. Drive: 14 plays, 94 yards.
Overtime
CHI – Dave Williams 94-yard kickoff return. Bears 23–17.
Top passers
CHI – Vince Evans – 11/22, 167 yards, TD
DET – Gary Danielson – 9/21, 156 yards, TD
Top rushers
CHI – Walter Payton – 18 rushes, 123 yards
DET – Billy Sims – 19 rushes, 72 yards
Top receivers
CHI – James Scott – 6 receptions, 106 yards
DET – Ray Williams – 3 receptions, 50 yards :

## 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