# 1980 Pittsburgh Steelers season

The 1980 Pittsburgh Steelers season was the franchise's 48th season in the National Football League.
The Steelers struggled for the first time in many years. The aging defense was not as effective as it had been in the 1978 and '79 seasons, falling from 2nd to 15th in yards allowed. The Steelers also surrendered 313 points, ranked 15th in the league, compared to 262 points (5th in the league) the previous season. The Pittsburgh defense only garnered 18 quarterback sacks.
The offense was still plagued with 42 total turnovers, but ranking 6th in total offense, and scoring 352 points.
Despite the team's troubles, the Steelers could have again obtained home-field advantage throughout the playoffs had they not lost several close games, including games against Cincinnati and Cleveland in which they lost despite having large leads in the fourth quarter. Pittsburgh remained in the playoff hunt until a 28–13 loss to Buffalo in week 12, and then a 6–0 loss to Houston effectively eliminated Pittsburgh from the postseason.
To many, these two losses marked the end of the Steeler Dynasty. Several key players retired after the 1980 season and the team was never the same again. The 1980 season was the first in which the Steelers did not qualify for the playoffs since 1971.

## Offseason
### NFL draft

1980 Pittsburgh Steelers draft :
| Round | Pick | Player | Position | College | Notes |
| 1 | 28 | Mark Malone | Quarterback | Arizona State | |
| 2 | 35 | Bob Kohrs | Linebacker | Arizona State | Played with Steelers from 1981–1985 |
| 2 | 56 | John Goodman | Defensive end | Oklahoma | |
| 3 | 83 | Ray Sydnor | Tight end | Wisconsin | |
| 4 | 110 | Bill Hurley | Defensive back | Syracus | |
| 5 | 138 | Craig Wolfley | Guard | Syracuse | |
| 6 | 165 | Tunch Ilkin * | Tackle | Indiana State | |
| 7 | 193 | Nate Johnson | Wide receiver | Hillsdale | |
| 8 | 221 | Ted Walton | Defensive back | UConn | |
| 9 | 249 | Ron McCall | Wide receiver | Arkansas–Pine Bluff | |
| 10 | 250 | Woodrow Wilson | Defensive back | NC State | |
| 10 | 277 | Ken Fritz | Guard | Ohio State | |
| 11 | 305 | Frank Pollard | Running back | Baylor | |
| 12 | 306 | Charles Vaclavik | Defensive back | Texas | |
| 12 | 333 | Tyrone McGriff | Guard | Florida A&M | |
| Made roster * Made at least one Pro Bowl during career ||||||

### Undrafted free agents

1980 Undrafted Free Agents of note :
| Player | Position | College |
| Bill Dudash | Defensive end | Kent State |
| James Ferranti | Wide receiver | Youngstown State |
| Michael Schwartz | Defensive back | Iowa State |
| David Shea | Defensive back | Lafayette |

## Preseason
### Schedule

| Week | Date | Opponent | Result | Record | Venue |
| 1 | August 9 | at New York Giants | W 13–0 | 1–0 | Giants Stadium |
| 2 | August 15 | at Atlanta Falcons | W 17–14 | 2–0 | Atlanta–Fulton County Stadium |
| 3 | August 23 | New York Jets | L 13–20 | 2–1 | Three Rivers Stadium |
| 4 | August 30 | at Dallas Cowboys | W 31–10 | 3–1 | Texas Stadium |

## Regular season
### Schedule

| Week | Date | Opponent | Result | Record | Venue |
| 1 | September 7 | Houston Oilers | W 31–17 | 1–0 | Three Rivers Stadium |
| 2 | Sun. Sep. 14 | at Baltimore Colts | W 20–17 | 2–0 | Memorial Stadium |
| 3 | September 21 | at Cincinnati Bengals | L 28–30 | 2–1 | Riverfront Stadium |
| 4 | September 28 | Chicago Bears | W 38–3 | 3–1 | Three Rivers Stadium |
| 5 | October 5 | at Minnesota Vikings | W 23–17 | 4–1 | Metropolitan Stadium |
| 6 | October 12 | Cincinnati Bengals | L 16–17 | 4–2 | Three Rivers Stadium |
| 7 | October 20 | Oakland Raiders | L 34–45 | 4–3 | Three Rivers Stadium |
| 8 | October 26 | at Cleveland Browns | L 26–27 | 4–4 | Cleveland Municipal Stadium |
| 9 | November 2 | Green Bay Packers | W 22–20 | 5–4 | Three Rivers Stadium |
| 10 | November 9 | at Tampa Bay Buccaneers | W 24–21 | 6–4 | Tampa Stadium |
| 11 | November 16 | Cleveland Browns | W 16–13 | 7–4 | Three Rivers Stadium |
| 12 | November 23 | at Buffalo Bills | L 13–28 | 7–5 | Rich Stadium |
| 13 | November 30 | Miami Dolphins | W 23–10 | 8–5 | Three Rivers Stadium |
| 14 | December 4 | at Houston Oilers | L 0–6 | 8–6 | Astrodome |
| 15 | December 14 | Kansas City Chiefs | W 21–16 | 9–6 | Three Rivers Stadium |
| 16 | December 22 | at San Diego Chargers | L 17–26 | 9–7 | San Diego Stadium |

### Game summaries
#### Week 1: vs. Houston Oilers

The Steelers sat on a 17-0 first quarter lead and then had to score twice in the final 13 minutes to fight off a Houston comeback as Terry Bradshaw accounted for three of the Steelers four touchdowns. Larry Anderson provided the early fireworks when he returned the opening kickoff for 63 yards. The Steelers went on to score three of the four possessions but realized only three points as a result of four interceptions by Ken Stabler passes the first six times Houston has the ball. The Oilers got the 17 points back in the third quarter. Trailing 17-3, they scored two touchdowns in a span of 97 seconds. Earl Campbell's first pass, a sidearm wobbler, got the first score and when Theo Bell fumbled the next kickoff, Houston tied the game six plays later. Four Bradshaw passes ate up 72 of the 80-yard drive to get the Steelers back on top. A broken play on which John Stallworth outfought two defenders for a high Bradshaw lob was the final score of the game. Franco Harris passes Jim Taylor to become the third leading rusher in NFL history with 8,609 yards. Mel Blount and Donnie Shell had two interceptions each and Mike Wagner got the fifth.
| | 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | Total |
| Oilers | 0 | 0 | 17 | 0 | 17 |
| • Steelers | 17 | 0 | 0 | 14 | 31 |

#### Week 2: at Baltimore Colts

| | 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | Total |
| • Steelers | 3 | 10 | 0 | 7 | 20 |
| Colts | 0 | 7 | 10 | 0 | 17 |

#### Week 3: at Cincinnati Bengals

| | 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | Total |
| Steelers | 0 | 14 | 7 | 7 | 28 |
| • Bengals | 10 | 3 | 0 | 17 | 30 |

#### Week 4: vs. Chicago Bears

| | 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | Total |
| Bears | 3 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 3 |
| • Steelers | 7 | 17 | 7 | 7 | 38 |

#### Week 5: at Minnesota Vikings

| | 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | Total |
| • Steelers | 6 | 10 | 7 | 0 | 23 |
| Vikings | 3 | 0 | 0 | 14 | 17 |

#### Week 6: vs. Cincinnati Bengals

| | 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | Total |
| • Bengals | 10 | 7 | 0 | 0 | 17 |
| Steelers | 0 | 0 | 16 | 0 | 16 |

#### Week 7 : vs. Oakland Raiders

| | 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | Total |
| • Raiders | 7 | 21 | 7 | 10 | 45 |
| Steelers | 10 | 14 | 10 | 0 | 34 |

#### Week 8: at Cleveland Browns

| | 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | Total |
| Steelers | 10 | 3 | 13 | 0 | 26 |
| • Browns | 0 | 7 | 7 | 13 | 27 |

#### Week 9: vs. Green Bay Packers

| | 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | Total |
| Packers | 7 | 7 | 0 | 6 | 20 |
| • Steelers | 2 | 7 | 6 | 7 | 22 |

#### Week 10: at Tampa Bay Buccaneers

| | 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | Total |
| • Steelers | 10 | 14 | 0 | 0 | 24 |
| Buccaneers | 7 | 7 | 7 | 0 | 21 |

#### Week 11: vs. Cleveland Browns

| | 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | Total |
| Browns | 0 | 13 | 0 | 0 | 13 |
| • Steelers | 0 | 7 | 0 | 9 | 16 |

#### Week 12: at Buffalo Bills

| | 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | Total |
| Steelers | 7 | 3 | 0 | 3 | 13 |
| • Bills | 7 | 7 | 7 | 7 | 28 |

#### Week 13: vs. Miami Dolphins

| | 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | Total |
| Dolphins | 0 | 3 | 0 | 7 | 10 |
| • Steelers | 0 | 13 | 3 | 7 | 23 |

#### Week 14 : at Houston Oilers

| | 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | Total |
| Steelers | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| • Oilers | 0 | 0 | 3 | 3 | 6 |

#### Week 15: vs. Kansas City Chiefs

| | 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | Total |
| Chiefs | 0 | 3 | 13 | 0 | 16 |
| • Steelers | 7 | 0 | 0 | 14 | 21 |

#### Week 16: at San Diego Chargers

| | 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | Total |
| Steelers | 0 | 3 | 7 | 7 | 17 |
| • Chargers | 3 | 6 | 10 | 7 | 26 |

### Standings

AFC Central :
| viewtalkedit | W | L | T | PCT | DIV | CONF | PF | PA | STK |
| Cleveland Browns$^{(2)}$ | 11 | 5 | 0 | .688 | 4–2 | 8–4 | 357 | 310 | W1 |
| Houston Oilers$^{(5)}$ | 11 | 5 | 0 | .688 | 4–2 | 7–5 | 295 | 251 | W3 |
| Pittsburgh Steelers | 9 | 7 | 0 | .563 | 2–4 | 5–7 | 352 | 313 | L1 |
| Cincinnati Bengals | 6 | 10 | 0 | .375 | 2–4 | 4–8 | 244 | 312 | L1 |