1980 Atlanta Falcons season
NFL team season
- ← 1979
- Falcons seasons
- 1981 →
The 1980 Atlanta Falcons season was the Falcons' 15th season and culminated in their first division title in franchise history. After a 3–3 start, the Falcons went on a nine-game winning streak as quarterback Steve Bartkowski passed for a career-best 3,544 yards while connecting on 31 touchdown passes. As the NFC's top seed, the Falcons gained home-field advantage throughout the playoffs. The Falcons' season ended with a 30–27 divisional playoff loss to the Dallas Cowboys before 60,022 fans at Fulton County Stadium.
Offseason
Draft
1980 Atlanta Falcons draft | |||||
Round | Pick | Player | Position | College | Notes |
---|---|---|---|---|---|
1 | 7 | Junior Miller * | Tight end | Nebraska | |
2 | 36 | Buddy Curry | Linebacker | North Carolina | |
3 | 63 | Earl Jones | Defensive back | Norfolk State | |
4 | 91 | Jim Laughlin | Linebacker | Ohio State | |
4 | 104 | I. M. Hipp | Running back | Nebraska | |
5 | 117 | Brad Vassar | Linebacker | Pacific | |
5 | 137 | Kenny Johnson | Defensive back | Mississippi State | |
6 | 146 | Mike Davis | Defensive back | Colorado | |
7 | 172 | Mike Smith | Wide receiver | Grambling State | |
8 | 201 | Al Richardson | Linebacker | Georgia Tech | |
9 | 228 | Glen Keller | Center | West Texas State | |
10 | 257 | Walt Bellamy | Defensive back | VMI | |
11 | 284 | Mike Babb | Defensive back | Oklahoma | |
12 | 313 | Quinn Jones | Running back | Tulsa | |
Made roster * Made at least one Pro Bowl during career |
[1]
Personnel
Staff
Front office
Head coaches
Offensive coaches
| Defensive coaches
|
Roster
Quarterbacks
Running backs
Wide receivers
Tight ends
| Offensive linemen
Defensive linemen
| Linebackers
Defensive backs
Special teams
| Reserve lists
Rookies in italics |
Regular season
Schedule
Week | Date | Opponent | Result | Record | Venue | Attendance | Recap |
---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
1 | September 7 | at Minnesota Vikings | L 23–24 | 0–1 | Metropolitan Stadium | 44,773 | Recap |
2 | September 14 | at New England Patriots | W 37–21 | 1–1 | Schaefer Stadium | 48,321 | Recap |
3 | September 21 | Miami Dolphins | L 17–20 | 1–2 | Atlanta–Fulton County Stadium | 55,470 | Recap |
4 | September 28 | at San Francisco 49ers | W 20–17 | 2–2 | Candlestick Park | 56,518 | Recap |
5 | October 5 | Detroit Lions | W 43–28 | 3–2 | Atlanta–Fulton County Stadium | 57,652 | Recap |
6 | October 12 | New York Jets | L 7–14 | 3–3 | Atlanta–Fulton County Stadium | 57,458 | Recap |
7 | October 19 | at New Orleans Saints | W 41–14 | 4–3 | Louisiana Superdome | 62,651 | Recap |
8 | October 26 | Los Angeles Rams | W 13–10 | 5–3 | Atlanta–Fulton County Stadium | 57,401 | Recap |
9 | November 2 | at Buffalo Bills | W 30–14 | 6–3 | Rich Stadium | 57,959 | Recap |
10 | November 9 | at St. Louis Cardinals | W 33–27 | 7–3 | Busch Memorial Stadium | 48,662 | Recap |
11 | November 16 | New Orleans Saints | W 31–13 | 8–3 | Atlanta–Fulton County Stadium | 53,871 | Recap |
12 | November 23 | Chicago Bears | W 28–17 | 9–3 | Atlanta–Fulton County Stadium | 49,156 | Recap |
13 | November 30 | Washington Redskins | W 10–6 | 10–3 | Atlanta–Fulton County Stadium | 55,665 | Recap |
14 | December 7 | at Philadelphia Eagles | W 20–17 | 11–3 | Veterans Stadium | 70,205 | Recap |
15 | December 14 | San Francisco 49ers | W 35–10 | 12–3 | Atlanta–Fulton County Stadium | 55,767 | Recap |
16 | December 21 | at Los Angeles Rams | L 17–20 | 12–4 | Anaheim Stadium | 62,469 | Recap |
Note: Intra-division opponents are in bold text. |
Game summaries
Week 1
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Week 2
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Week 3
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Week 4
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Week 5
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Week 6
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Week 7
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[2]
Week 8
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Week 9
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Week 10
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Week 11
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Week 12
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Week 13
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Week 14
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Week 15
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Week 16
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Playoffs
Round | Date | Opponent (seed) | Result | Venue | Attendance | Recap |
---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
Divisional | January 4 | Dallas Cowboys (4) | L 27–30 | Atlanta–Fulton County Stadium | 60,022 | Recap |
Divisional
|
Standings
NFC West | |||||||||
---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 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 |
References
External links
- 1980 Atlanta Falcons at Pro-Football-Reference.com