# 1980 Washington Redskins season

The 1980 Washington Redskins season was the franchise's 49th season in the National Football League (NFL) and their 43rd in Washington, D.C. They failed to improve on their 10–6 record from 1979, dropping to 6–10, their only double-digit losing season between 1964 and 1992. This was Jack Pardee's last season as head coach.
This would be the final season for a number of longtime Redskins players; as center Bob Kuziel, defensive end Paul Smith, strong safety Ken Houston and the two remaining members of Washington's Super Bowl VII team - offensive tackle Terry Hermeling and defensive tackle Diron Talbert - before their retirements.

## Offseason
### NFL draft

1980 Washington Redskins draft :
| Round | Pick | Player | Position | College |
| 1 | 18 | Art Monk * $^†$ | Wide receiver | Syracuse |
| 2 | 55 | Mat Mendenhall | Defensive end | BYU |
| 6 | 155 | Farley Bell | Linebacker | Cincinnati |
| 7 | 187 | Melvin Jones | Guard | Houston |
| 9 | 241 | Lawrence McCullough | Wide receiver | Illinois |
| 10 | 268 | Lewis Walker | Running back | Utah |
| 11 | 295 | Mike Matocha | Defensive end | Texas–Arlington |
| 12 | 327 | Marcene Emmett | Defensive back | North Alabama |
| Made roster † Pro Football Hall of Fame * Made at least one Pro Bowl during career ||||||

## Regular season
### Schedule

| Week | Date | Opponent | Result | Record | Venue | Attendance | Recap |
| 1 | September 8 | Dallas Cowboys | L 17–3 | 0–1 | RFK Stadium | 55,045 | Recap |
| 2 | September 14 | at New York Giants | W 23–21 | 1–1 | Giants Stadium | 73,343 | Recap |
| 3 | September 21 | at Oakland Raiders | L 21–24 | 1–2 | Oakland–Alameda County Coliseum | 45,163 | Recap |
| 4 | September 28 | Seattle Seahawks | L 0–14 | 1–3 | RFK Stadium | 53,263 | Recap |
| 5 | October 5 | at Philadelphia Eagles | L 14–24 | 1–4 | Veterans Stadium | 69,044 | Recap |
| 6 | October 13 | at Denver Broncos | L 17–20 | 1–5 | Mile High Stadium | 74,657 | Recap |
| 7 | October 19 | St. Louis Cardinals | W 23–0 | 2–5 | RFK Stadium | 51,060 | Recap |
| 8 | October 26 | New Orleans Saints | W 22–14 | 3–5 | RFK Stadium | 51,375 | Recap |
| 9 | November 2 | Minnesota Vikings | L 14–39 | 3–6 | RFK Stadium | 52,060 | Recap |
| 10 | November 9 | at Chicago Bears | L 21–35 | 3–7 | Soldier Field | 57,159 | Recap |
| 11 | November 16 | Philadelphia Eagles | L 0–24 | 3–8 | RFK Stadium | 51,897 | Recap |
| 12 | November 23 | at Dallas Cowboys | L 10–14 | 3–9 | Texas Stadium | 58,809 | Recap |
| 13 | November 30 | at Atlanta Falcons | L 6–10 | 3–10 | Atlanta–Fulton County Stadium | 55,665 | Recap |
| 14 | December 7 | San Diego Chargers | W 40–17 | 4–10 | RFK Stadium | 48,556 | Recap |
| 15 | December 13 | New York Giants | W 16–13 | 5–10 | RFK Stadium | 44,443 | Recap |
| 16 | December 21 | at St. Louis Cardinals | W 31–7 | 6–10 | Busch Memorial Stadium | 35,942 | Recap |
| Note: Intra-division opponents are in bold text. ||||||||

### Season summary
#### Week 1 vs Cowboys

| Quarter | 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | Total |
| Cowboys | 7 | 3 | 0 | 7 | 17 |
| Redskins | 0 | 0 | 0 | 3 | 3 |
at RFK Stadium, Washington, D.C.
* Date: September 8
* Game time: 9:00 p.m. EST
* Game weather: 78 °F (26 °C)
* Game attendance: 55,045
* Referee: Gene Barth
* TV announcers (ABC): Frank Gifford, Don Meredith, and Howard Cosell
* Box Score
Game information :
First quarter
DAL – Tony Dorsett 6-yard run (Rafael Septien kick). Cowboys 7–0. Drive:
Second quarter
DAL – Rafael Septien 19-yard field goal. Cowboys 10–0. Drive:
Third quarter
No scoring
Fourth quarter
WSH – Mark Moseley 45-yard field goal. Cowboys 10–3. Drive:
DAL – Ron Springs 4-yard run (Rafael Septien kick). Cowboys 17–3. Drive:
Top passers
DAL – Danny White – 10/18, 107 yards, 2 INT
WSH – Joe Theismann – 19/34, 190 yards, INT
Top rushers
DAL – Tony Dorsett – 17 rushes, 66 yards, TD
WSH – Clarence Harmon – 7 rushes, 39 yards
Top receivers
DAL – Tony Hill – 3 receptions, 69 yards
WSH – Clarence Harmon – 7 receptions, 67 yards :

#### Week 2 at Giants

| Quarter | 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | Total |
| Redskins | 6 | 14 | 0 | 3 | 23 |
| Giants | 0 | 14 | 0 | 7 | 21 |
at Giants Stadium, East Rutherford, New Jersey
* Game time: 4:00 p.m.
* Game weather: 74 °F (23 °C)
* Game attendance: 73,343
* Box Score
Game information :
First quarter
WSH – Clarence Harmon 20-yard pass from Joe Theismann (kick failed). Redskins 6–0. Drive:
Second quarter
NYG – Mike Hogan 1-yard run (Joe Danelo kick). Giants 7–6. Drive:
WSH – Joe Theismann 37-yard run (Mark Moseley kick). Redskins 13–7. Drive:
NYG – Alvin Garrett 32-yard pass from Phil Simms (Joe Danelo kick). Giants 14–13. Drive:
WSH – Wilbur Jackson 2-yard run (Mark Moseley kick). Redskins 20–14. Drive:
Third quarter
No scoring
Fourth quarter
NYG – Tom Mullady 35-yard pass from Phil Simms (Joe Danelo kick). Giants 21–20. Drive:
WSH – Mark Moseley 45-yard field goal. Redskins 23–21. Drive:
Top passers
WSH – Joe Theismann – 10/21, 120 yards, TD
NYG – Phil Simms – 12/29, 174 yards, 2 TD, 3 INT
Top rushers
WSH – Rickey Claitt – 15 rushes, 77 yards
NYG – Larry Heater – 15 rushes, 57 yards
Top receivers
WSH – Wilbur Jackson – 1 reception, 22 yards
NYG – Earnest Gray – 7 receptions, 63 yards :

### 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 |