# 1980 New York Jets season

The 1980 New York Jets season was the 21st season for the franchise and its eleventh in the National Football League. It began with the team trying to improve upon its 8–8 record from 1979 under head coach Walt Michaels, and being widely predicted to improve further and reach the postseason for the first time since 1969. The Jets finished the season with a record of 4–12.
During the season, the Jets were the only team to lose to the notorious New Orleans Saints team, dubbed the “Aints”. On a day with a wind-chill temperature of 5 °F (−15 °C) and kicking with a gale of 46 miles per hour (74 km/h; 40 kn), the Jets failed to hold on to a 13–7 lead after three quarters, losing by a single point, 21–20.
History repeated itself 11 years later, when the Jets lost 28–27 at home to the Indianapolis Colts, the Colts’ lone victory of that season.

## Offseason
### Draft

1980 New York Jets draft :
| Round | Pick | Player | Position | College | Notes |
| 1 | 2 | Lam Jones | Wide receiver | Texas | from San Francisco |
| 2 | 40 | Darrol Ray | Safety | Oklahoma | |
| 2 | 47 | Ralph Clayton | Wide receiver | Michigan | |
| 3 | 69 | Lance Mehl * | Linebacker | Penn State | |
| 4 | 95 | Jesse Johnson | Defensive back | Colorado | |
| 5 | 123 | Jim Zidd | Linebacker | Kansas | |
| 6 | 149 | George Visger | Defensive tackle | Colorado | |
| 6 | 152 | Tom Schremp | Defensive end | Wisconsin | |
| 7 | 178 | Bob Batton | Running back | UNLV | |
| 7 | 190 | Bennie Leverett | Running back | Bethune–Cookman | |
| 8 | 205 | Jeff Dziama | Linebacker | Boston College | |
| 9 | 234 | Joe Peters | Defensive tackle | Arizona State | |
| 10 | 260 | Guy Bingham | Center | Montana | |
| 11 | 290 | James Zachery | Linebacker | Texas A&M | |
| 12 | 317 | David Dumars | Defensive back | Northeast Louisiana | |
| Made roster * Made at least one Pro Bowl during career ||||||

### Undrafted free agents

1980 Undrafted Free Agents of note :
| Player | Position | College |
| Ben Bottone | Linebacker | Rhode Island |
| Brian Doherty | Running back | Holy Cross |
| Ed Gallagher | Tackle | Pittsburgh |
| Mike Gay | Tackle | Kansas |

## Regular season
### Schedule

| Week | Date | Opponent | Result | Record | Venue | Attendance |
| 1 | September 7 | Baltimore Colts | L 14–17 | 0–1 | Shea Stadium | 50,777 |
| 2 | September 14 | at Buffalo Bills | L 10–20 | 0–2 | Rich Stadium | 65,315 |
| 3 | September 21 | San Francisco 49ers | L 27–37 | 0–3 | Shea Stadium | 50,608 |
| 4 | September 28 | at Baltimore Colts | L 21–35 | 0–4 | Memorial Stadium | 33,373 |
| 5 | October 5 | New England Patriots | L 11–21 | 0–5 | Shea Stadium | 53,604 |
| 6 | October 12 | at Atlanta Falcons | W 14–7 | 1–5 | Atlanta–Fulton County Stadium | 57,458 |
| 7 | October 19 | Seattle Seahawks | L 17–27 | 1–6 | Shea Stadium | 52,496 |
| 8 | October 27 | Miami Dolphins | W 17–14 | 2–6 | Shea Stadium | 53,046 |
| 9 | November 2 | at New England Patriots | L 21–34 | 2–7 | Schaefer Stadium | 60,834 |
| 10 | November 9 | Buffalo Bills | L 24–31 | 2–8 | Shea Stadium | 45,677 |
| 11 | November 16 | at Denver Broncos | L 24–31 | 2–9 | Mile High Stadium | 72,114 |
| 12 | November 23 | Houston Oilers | W 31–28 (OT) | 3–9 | Shea Stadium | 52,358 |
| 13 | November 30 | at Los Angeles Rams | L 13–38 | 3–10 | Anaheim Stadium | 59,743 |
| 14 | December 7 | at Cleveland Browns | L 14–17 | 3–11 | Cleveland Municipal Stadium | 78,454 |
| 15 | December 14 | New Orleans Saints | L 20–21 | 3–12 | Shea Stadium | 38,077 |
| 16 | December 20 | at Miami Dolphins | W 24–17 | 4–12 | Miami Orange Bowl | 41,854 |
| Note: Intra-division opponents are in bold text. |||||||

### Standings

AFC East :
| viewtalkedit | W | L | T | PCT | DIV | CONF | PF | PA | STK |
| Buffalo Bills$^{(3)}$ | 11 | 5 | 0 | .688 | 4–4 | 8–4 | 320 | 260 | W1 |
| New England Patriots | 10 | 6 | 0 | .625 | 6–2 | 9–3 | 441 | 325 | W2 |
| Miami Dolphins | 8 | 8 | 0 | .500 | 3–5 | 4–8 | 266 | 305 | L1 |
| Baltimore Colts | 7 | 9 | 0 | .438 | 5–3 | 6–8 | 355 | 387 | L3 |
| New York Jets | 4 | 12 | 0 | .250 | 2–6 | 3–9 | 302 | 395 | W1 |

### Season summary
#### Week 2 at Bills

| Quarter | 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | Total |
| Jets | 3 | 0 | 0 | 7 | 10 |
| Bills | 0 | 10 | 10 | 0 | 20 |
at Rich Stadium, Orchard Park, New York
* Date: September 14
* Game time: 1:00 p.m.
* Game weather: 68 °F (20 °C)
* Game attendance: 65,315
* Referee: Pat Haggerty
* TV announcers (NBC): Don Criqui and John Brodie
* Box Score
Game information :
First quarter
NYJ – Pat Leahy 44-yard field goal. Jets 3–0.
Second quarter
BUF – Joe Cribbs 1-yard run (Nick Mike-Mayer kick). Bills 7–3.
BUF – Nick Mike-Mayer 47-yard field goal. Bills 10–3.
Third quarter
BUF – Nick Mike-Mayer 38-yard field goal. Bills 13–3.
BUF – Jeff Nixon 50-yard interception return (Nick Mike-Mayer kick). Bills 20–3.
Fourth quarter
NYJ – Clark Gaines 11-yard pass from Richard Todd (Pat Leahy kick). Bills 20–10.
Top passers
NYJ – Richard Todd – 19/34, 168 yards, TD, INT
BUF – Joe Ferguson – 18/29, 207 yards
Top rushers
NYJ – Clark Gaines – 14 rushes, 94 yards
BUF – Roosevelt Leaks – 12 rushes, 58 yards
Top receivers
NYJ – Clark Gaines – 12 receptions, 91 yards
BUF – Reuben Gant – 4 receptions, 84 yards :