1980 Dallas Cowboys season
The 1980 Dallas Cowboys season was their 21st in the league. The team improved their previous output of 11–5, winning twelve games.[1] They qualified for the playoffs as an NFC Wild Card, but lost in the Conference Championship.
| 1980 Dallas Cowboys season | |
|---|---|
| Owner | Clint Murchison, Jr. |
| Head coach | Tom Landry |
| General manager | Tex Schramm |
| Home field | Texas Stadium |
| Results | |
| Record | 12–4 |
| Division place | 2nd NFC East |
| Playoff finish | Won Wild Card Playoffs (Rams) 34–13 Won Divisional Playoffs (Falcons) 30–27 Lost Conference Championship (Eagles) 20–7 |
The Cowboys playing the Eagles in the 1980 NFC Championship Game.
The season featured a very unusual end to the regular season. Going into the final week of the season, Dallas (11–4) played Philadelphia (12–3) at Texas Stadium. Under the NFL's tiebreaking rules, if Dallas could beat the Eagles by 25 points, they would earn the NFC East title and the number two seed in the NFC playoffs while Philadelphia would be a wildcard team. However, if the Cowboys lost (or won by less than 25) then the roles would reverse. Atlanta (12-4) had the number one NFC seed over either team in any scenario since they beat Philadelphia head-to-head and enjoyed a better conference record (10-2 vs. 9-3) over Dallas.
Dallas led the game 35–10 in the fourth quarter, but the Eagles rallied to lose only 35–27. This forced Dallas to play an extra week in the playoffs and a road game in Atlanta in the divisional round. Dallas ultimately lost at Philadelphia in the NFC Championship game.
Offseason
NFL Draft
| 1980 Dallas Cowboys draft | |||||
| Round | Pick | Player | Position | College | Notes |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 3 | 78 | Bill Roe | LB | Colorado | |
| 3 | 80 | James Jones | RB | Mississippi State | |
| 4 | 105 | Kurt Petersen | OG | Missouri | |
| 5 | 133 | Gary Hogeboom | QB | Central Michigan | |
| 6 | 162 | Timmy Newsome | FB | Winston-Salem State | |
| 7 | 189 | Lester Brown | RB | Clemson | |
| 8 | 216 | Larry Savage | LB | Michigan State | |
| 9 | 246 | Jackie Flowers | WR | Florida State | |
| 10 | 273 | Matthew Teague | LB | Prairie View A&M | |
| 11 | 300 | Gary Padjen | LB | Arizona State | |
| 12 | 330 | Norm Wells | DE | Northwestern | |
| Made roster † Pro Football Hall of Fame * Made at least one Pro Bowl during career | |||||
Undrafted free agents
| Player | Position | College |
|---|---|---|
| Dextor Clinkscale | Safety | South Carolina State |
| Anthony Dickerson | Linebacker | SMU |
| Don Smerek | Defensive end | Nevada |
Schedule
| Week | Date | Opponent | Result | Record | Game Site | Attendance | Recap |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | September 8 | at Washington Redskins | W 17–3 | 1–0 | RFK Stadium | 55,045 | Recap |
| 2 | September 14 | at Denver Broncos | L 20–41 | 1–1 | Mile High Stadium | 74,919 | Recap |
| 3 | September 21 | Tampa Bay Buccaneers | W 28–17 | 2–1 | Texas Stadium | 62,750 | Recap |
| 4 | September 28 | at Green Bay Packers | W 28–7 | 3–1 | Milwaukee County Stadium | 54,776 | Recap |
| 5 | October 5 | New York Giants | W 24–3 | 4–1 | Texas Stadium | 59,126 | Recap |
| 6 | October 12 | San Francisco 49ers | W 59–14 | 5–1 | Texas Stadium | 63,399 | Recap |
| 7 | October 19 | at Philadelphia Eagles | L 10–17 | 5–2 | Veterans Stadium | 70,696 | Recap |
| 8 | October 26 | San Diego Chargers | W 42–31 | 6–2 | Texas Stadium | 60,639 | Recap |
| 9 | November 2 | at St. Louis Cardinals | W 27–24 | 7–2 | Busch Memorial Stadium | 50,701 | Recap |
| 10 | November 9 | at New York Giants | L 35–38 | 7–3 | Giants Stadium | 68,343 | Recap |
| 11 | November 16 | St. Louis Cardinals | W 31–21 | 8–3 | Texas Stadium | 52,567 | Recap |
| 12 | November 23 | Washington Redskins | W 14–10 | 9–3 | Texas Stadium | 58,809 | Recap |
| 13 | November 27 | Seattle Seahawks | W 51–7 | 10–3 | Texas Stadium | 57,540 | Recap |
| 14 | December 7 | at Oakland Raiders | W 19–13 | 11–3 | Oakland–Alameda County Coliseum | 53,194 | Recap |
| 15 | December 15 | at Los Angeles Rams | L 14–38 | 11–4 | Anaheim Stadium | 65,154 | Recap |
| 16 | December 21 | Philadelphia Eagles | W 35–27 | 12–4 | Texas Stadium | 62,548 | Recap |
Division opponents are in bold text
Week 1 at Redskins
Week One: Dallas Cowboys (0–0) at Washington Redskins (0–0)
| 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | Total | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Cowboys | 7 | 3 | 0 | 7 | 17 |
| Redskins | 0 | 0 | 0 | 3 | 3 |
at RFK Stadium, Washington, D.C.
- Date: September 8
- Game time: 9:00 p.m. EST
- Game weather: 78 °F (26 °C)
- Game attendance: 55,045
- Referee: Gene Barth
- TV announcers (ABC): Frank Gifford, Don Meredith, and Howard Cosell
- Box Score
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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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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 | Result | Game Site | Attendance | Recap |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Wild Card | December 28, 1980 | Los Angeles Rams (5) | W 34–13 | Texas Stadium | 64,533 | Recap |
| Divisional | January 4, 1981 | at Atlanta Falcons (1) | W 30–27 | Atlanta–Fulton County Stadium | 60,022 | Recap |
| NFC Championship | January 11, 1981 | at Philadelphia Eagles (2) | L 7–20 | Veterans Stadium | 70,696 | Recap |
Wildcard Round
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Divisional Round
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Conference Championship
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Veterans Stadium during the 1980 NFC Championship Game against the Dallas Cowboys, January 11, 1981.
Standings
| NFC East | |||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| W | L | T | PCT | DIV | CONF | PF | PA | STK | |
| Philadelphia Eagles(2) | 12 | 4 | 0 | .750 | 6–2 | 9–3 | 384 | 222 | L1 |
| Dallas Cowboys(4) | 12 | 4 | 0 | .750 | 6–2 | 9–3 | 454 | 311 | W1 |
| Washington Redskins | 6 | 10 | 0 | .375 | 4–4 | 5–7 | 261 | 293 | W3 |
| St. Louis Cardinals | 5 | 11 | 0 | .313 | 2–6 | 4–10 | 299 | 350 | L2 |
| New York Giants | 4 | 12 | 0 | .250 | 2–6 | 3–9 | 249 | 425 | L2 |
Roster
References
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