# 1980 San Francisco 49ers season

The 1980 San Francisco 49ers season was the franchise's 31st season in the National Football League and their 35th overall. This was the second year with the team for both head coach Bill Walsh and quarterback Joe Montana, who became the starter in week seven, replacing Steve DeBerg.
The 49ers looked to improve on their previous output of 2–14 (both of the two previous seasons); despite succeeding in improving their record, having posted a 6–10 record, they failed to make the playoffs for the eighth consecutive season.
On December 7, 1980, the 49ers rallied from down 35–7, scoring 31 unanswered points to defeat the winless New Orleans Saints in overtime. This was the last full season until 1999 that the 49ers finished with fewer than ten wins.

## Offseason
### Draft

1980 San Francisco 49ers draft :
| Round | Pick | Player | Position | College | Notes |
| 1 | 13 | Earl Cooper | Fullback | Rice | from N. Y. Jets |
| 1 | 20 | Jim Stuckey | Defensive tackle | Clemson | from Denver |
| 2 | 39 | Keena Turner * | Linebacker | Purdue | from Minnesota |
| 3 | 65 | Jim Miller | Punter | Ole Miss | from Minnesota |
| 3 | 77 | Craig Puki | Linebacker | Tennessee | |
| 4 | 84 | Ricky Churchman | Safety | Texas | |
| 4 | 98 | David Hodge | Linebacker | Houston | |
| 5 | 112 | Kenneth Times | Defensive Tackle | Southern | |
| 6 | 139 | Herb Williams | Safety | Southern | |
| 8 | 210 | Bobby Leopold | Linebacker | Notre Dame | |
| 9 | 237 | Dan Hartwig | Quarterback | Cal Lutheran | |
| Made roster * Made at least one Pro Bowl during career ||||||

## Preseason

| Week | Date | Opponent | Result | Record | Venue | Attendance |
| 1 | August 9 | Oakland Raiders | W 33–14 | 1–0 | Candlestick Park | 55,585 |
| 2 | August 16 | at San Diego Chargers | W 17–14 | 2–0 | San Diego Stadium | 48,836 |
| 3 | August 23 | Seattle Seahawks | L 7–10 | 2–1 | Candlestick Park | 41,841 |
| 4 | August 30 | vs. Kansas City Chiefs | W 31–21 | 3–1 | Arizona Stadium | 27,000 |

## Schedule

| Week | Date | Opponent | Result | Record | Venue | Attendance |
| 1 | September 7 | at New Orleans Saints | W 26–23 | 1–0 | Louisiana Superdome | 58,621 |
| 2 | September 14 | St. Louis Cardinals | W 24–21 | 2–0 | Candlestick Park | 49,999 |
| 3 | September 21 | at New York Jets | W 37–27 | 3–0 | Shea Stadium | 50,608 |
| 4 | September 28 | Atlanta Falcons | L 17–20 | 3–1 | Candlestick Park | 56,518 |
| 5 | October 5 | at Los Angeles Rams | L 26–48 | 3–2 | Anaheim Stadium | 62,188 |
| 6 | October 12 | at Dallas Cowboys | L 14–59 | 3–3 | Texas Stadium | 63,399 |
| 7 | October 19 | Los Angeles Rams | L 17–31 | 3–4 | Candlestick Park | 55,360 |
| 8 | October 26 | Tampa Bay Buccaneers | L 23–24 | 3–5 | Candlestick Park | 51,925 |
| 9 | November 2 | at Detroit Lions | L 13–17 | 3–6 | Pontiac Silverdome | 78,845 |
| 10 | November 9 | at Green Bay Packers | L 16–23 | 3–7 | Milwaukee County Stadium | 54,475 |
| 11 | November 16 | at Miami Dolphins | L 13–17 | 3–8 | Miami Orange Bowl | 45,135 |
| 12 | November 23 | New York Giants | W 12–0 | 4–8 | Candlestick Park | 38,574 |
| 13 | November 30 | New England Patriots | W 21–17 | 5–8 | Candlestick Park | 45,254 |
| 14 | December 7 | New Orleans Saints | W 38–35 | 6–8 | Candlestick Park | 37,949 |
| 15 | December 14 | at Atlanta Falcons | L 10–35 | 6–9 | Atlanta Fulton County Stadium | 55,767 |
| 16 | December 21 | Buffalo Bills | L 13–18 | 6–10 | Candlestick Park | 37,476 |
| Note: Intra-division opponents are in bold text. |||||||

### Game summaries
#### Week 14: vs. New Orleans Saints

| Quarter | 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | OT | Total |
| Saints | 14 | 21 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 35 |
| 49ers | 0 | 7 | 14 | 14 | 3 | 38 |
at Candlestick Park, San Francisco, California
* Date: Sunday, December 7
* Game time: 1:00 p.m.
* Game weather: 48 °F or 8.9 °C, wind 12 miles per hour (19 km/h; 10 kn)
* Referee: Dick Jorgensen
* TV announcers (CBS): Jim Kelly & Jim Hill
* Pro-Football-Reference.com
Game information :
First quarter
NO – Ike Harris 33-yard pass from Archie Manning (Benny Ricardo kick) – Saints 7–0
NO – Henry Childs 21-yard pass from Archie Manning (Benny Ricardo kick) – Saints 14–0
Second quarter
NO – Jack Holmes 1-yard run (Benny Ricardo kick) – Saints 21–0
SF – Freddie Solomon 57-yard punt return (Ray Wersching kick) – Saints 21–7
NO – Jack Holmes 1-yard run (Benny Ricardo kick) – Saints 28–7
NO – Ike Harris 41-yard pass from Archie Manning (Benny Ricardo kick) – Saints 35–7
Third quarter
SF – Joe Montana 1-yard run (Ray Wersching kick) – Saints 35–14
SF – Dwight Clark 71-yard pass from Joe Montana (Ray Wersching kick) – Saints 35–21
Fourth quarter
SF – Freddie Solomon 14-yard pass from Joe Montana (Ray Wersching kick) – Saints 35–28
SF – Lenvil Elliott 7-yard run (Ray Wersching kick) – Tie 35–35
Overtime
SF – Ray Wersching 36-yard field goal – 49ers 38–35
Saints
Archie Manning 24/38, 377 Yds, 3 TD, INT
Tony Galbreath 16 Rush, 86 Yds
Henry Childs 8 Rec, 144 Yds, TD
49ers
Joe Montana 24/36, 285 Yds, 2 TD
Lenvil Elliott 25 Rush, 125 Yds, TD
Dwight Clark 6 Rec, 155 Yds, TD :
The 49ers fought back from a 28-point deficit in the second half to win in overtime 38–35. The game was named as #8 on NFL Top 10 on Top Ten Comebacks.

#### Week 16: vs. Buffalo Bills

| | 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | Total |
| • Bills | 6 | 7 | 5 | 0 | 18 |
| 49ers | 6 | 0 | 7 | 0 | 13 |

## Standings

NFC West :
| viewtalkedit | W | L | T | PCT | DIV | CONF | PF | PA | STK |
| Atlanta Falcons$^{(1)}$ | 12 | 4 | 0 | .750 | 5–1 | 10–2 | 405 | 272 | L1 |
| Los Angeles Rams$^{(5)}$ | 11 | 5 | 0 | .688 | 5–1 | 9–3 | 424 | 289 | W2 |
| San Francisco 49ers | 6 | 10 | 0 | .375 | 2–4 | 4–8 | 320 | 415 | L2 |
| New Orleans Saints | 1 | 15 | 0 | .063 | 0–6 | 0–12 | 291 | 487 | L1 |