# 1980 Los Angeles Rams season

The 1980 Los Angeles Rams season was the team's 43rd year with the National Football League (NFL), the 35th season in Los Angeles, and the first season at Anaheim Stadium. The Rams improved from their 9–7 Super Bowl season from the previous year with an 11–5 record. They made the playoffs for the 8th straight season. They finished in 2nd place in the NFC West behind the Atlanta Falcons, which snapped Los Angeles' then-NFL record of consecutive division championships at 7. This record has since been snapped by the New England Patriots and Kansas City Chiefs, who both won 11 and 8 straight division titles in their respective divisions. The Patriots streak ended in 2019, while the Chiefs is ongoing. Coming off a Super Bowl appearance the previous season, the Rams had high hopes of winning the championship for the first time. After a slow start to the season, the Rams caught fire and won five games in a row to sit at 5–2. In week 15, the Rams hosted the Dallas Cowboys on Monday Night Football. In a highly anticipated matchup, the Rams wound up crushing the Cowboys 38–14. This win clinched a playoff berth for the Rams for the 8th straight season, still a team record. However, they couldn't beat Dallas when it mattered, losing at Texas Stadium in the Wild Card game 34–13. Because the Steelers missed the playoffs for the first time since 1971, the Rams were the only team from 1973 to this year that never missed the playoffs.

## Offseason
### NFL Draft

1980 Los Angeles Rams draft :
| Round | Pick | Player | Position | College | Notes |
| 1 | 17 | Johnnie Johnson | Safety | Texas | |
| 2 | 50 | Irv Pankey | Tackle | Penn State | |
| 3 | 58 | Jewerl Thomas | Running back | San Jose State | |
| 3 | 70 | LeRoy Irvin | Cornerback | Kansas | |
| 3 | 82 | Phil Murphy | Defensive tackle | South Carolina State | |
| 6 | 154 | Mike Guman | Running back | Penn State | |
| 7 | 176 | Kirk Collins | Defensive back | Baylor | Made roster in 1981 |
| 7 | 192 | Gerry Ellis | Running back | Missouri | |
| 8 | 220 | Tom Pettigrew | Tackle | Eastern Illinois | |
| 9 | 248 | George Farmer | Wide receiver | Southern | Made roster in 1982 |
| 10 | 276 | Bob Gruber | Tackle | Pittsburgh | |
| 11 | 304 | Terry Greer | Wide receiver | Alabama State | |
| 12 | 332 | Kevin Scanlon | Quarterback | Arkansas | |
| Made roster * Made at least one Pro Bowl during career ||||||

## Regular season
### Schedule

| Week | Date | Opponent | Result | Record | Venue | Attendance |
| 1 | September 7 | Detroit Lions | L 20–41 | 0–1 | Anaheim Stadium | 64,892 |
| 2 | September 11 | at Tampa Bay Buccaneers | L 9–10 | 0–2 | Tampa Stadium | 66,576 |
| 3 | September 21 | Green Bay Packers | W 51–21 | 1–2 | Anaheim Stadium | 63,850 |
| 4 | September 28 | at New York Giants | W 28–7 | 2–2 | Giants Stadium | 73,414 |
| 5 | October 5 | San Francisco 49ers | W 48–26 | 3–2 | Anaheim Stadium | 62,188 |
| 6 | October 12 | at St. Louis Cardinals | W 21–13 | 4–2 | Busch Memorial Stadium | 50,230 |
| 7 | October 19 | at San Francisco 49ers | W 31–17 | 5–2 | Candlestick Park | 55,360 |
| 8 | October 26 | at Atlanta Falcons | L 10–13 | 5–3 | Atlanta–Fulton County Stadium | 57,401 |
| 9 | November 2 | New Orleans Saints | W 45–31 | 6–3 | Anaheim Stadium | 59,909 |
| 10 | November 9 | Miami Dolphins | L 14–35 | 6–4 | Anaheim Stadium | 62,198 |
| 11 | November 16 | at New England Patriots | W 17–14 | 7–4 | Schaefer Stadium | 60,609 |
| 12 | November 24 | at New Orleans Saints | W 27–7 | 8–4 | Louisiana Superdome | 53,448 |
| 13 | November 30 | New York Jets | W 38–13 | 9–4 | Anaheim Stadium | 59,743 |
| 14 | December 7 | at Buffalo Bills | L 7–10 (OT) | 9–5 | Rich Stadium | 77,133 |
| 15 | December 15 | Dallas Cowboys | W 38–14 | 10–5 | Anaheim Stadium | 65,154 |
| 16 | December 21 | Atlanta Falcons | W 20–17 (OT) | 11–5 | Anaheim Stadium | 62,469 |
| Note: Intra-division opponents are in bold text. |||||||

### Season summary
#### Week 1 vs Lions

| 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 (19 °C)
* Game attendance: 64,892
* TV: CBS
* 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 :

### Playoffs

| Week | Date | Opponent | Result | Record | Venue | Attendance |
| Wildcard | December 28 | at Dallas Cowboys | L 13–34 | 0–1 | Texas Stadium | 64,533 |

### 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 |