1980 Minnesota Vikings season

The 1980 season was the Minnesota Vikings' 20th in the National Football League and their 14th under head coach Bud Grant. The Vikings finished with a 9–7 record, equal to that of the Detroit Lions, but won the NFC Central division title on the tiebreaker.

1980 Minnesota Vikings season
Head coachBud Grant
General managerMike Lynn
Home fieldMetropolitan Stadium
Results
Record9–7
Division place1st NFC Central
Playoff finishLost NFC Divisional Playoff (at Eagles) 16-31

The most dramatic game of the season came in a Week 15 home game against Cleveland, with Minnesota at 8–6. The Vikings trailed 23–9 early in the fourth quarter, but with five seconds left in regulation, despite missing two field goals and two extra points in the game, they were on the Cleveland 46-yard line having reduced the Browns' lead to one point. Quarterback Tommy Kramer threw a Hail Mary pass that Ahmad Rashād at the 2-yard line before backing into the end zone to give Minnesota a 28–23 win.[1]

Offseason

1980 Draft
Main article: 1980 NFL draft
1980 Minnesota Vikings Draft
Draft order Player name Position College Notes
Round Selection
19 Doug MartinDefensive tackleWashington
230 Willie TealDefensive backLouisiana Statefrom 49ers[a]
39 Traded to the San Francisco 49ers[a]
365 Traded to the San Francisco 49ers[a]
68 Brent BoydCenterUCLAfrom Saints[b]
492 Dennis JohnsonLinebackerUSC
5121 Doug PaschalRunning backNorth Carolina
122 Paul JonesRunning backCaliforniafrom Saints[b]
6148 Ray YakavonisDefensive endEast Stroudsburg (PA)
7175 Henry JohnsonLinebackerGeorgia Tech
8205 Traded to the Seattle Seahawks[c]
9233 Dennis MosleyRunning backIowain lieu of #232 (passed)[d]
10259 Kenny BrownWide receiverNebraska
11289 Sam HarrellRunning backEast Carolina
12316 Thomas LaneDefensive backFlorida A&M
^[a] The Vikings traded their second- and third-round selections (39th and 65th overall) to the San Francisco 49ers in exchange for San Francisco's second-round selection (30th overall).
^[b] The Vikings traded RB Steve Riley to the New Orleans Saints in exchange for New Orleans' third- and fifth-round selections (68th and 122nd overall).
^[c] The Vikings traded their eighth-round selection (205th overall) to the Seattle Seahawks in exchange for DL Steve Niehaus.
^[d] The Vikings originally had the 232nd overall selection, but passed allowing Buffalo to move up and Minnesota to choose 233rd overall.

Roster
1980 Minnesota Vikings final roster
Quarterbacks

Running backs

Wide receivers

Tight ends

 Offensive linemen

Defensive linemen

 Linebackers

Defensive backs

Special teams

 Reserve lists


Practice squad



Rookies in italics

Preseason
WeekDateOpponentResultRecordVenueAttendance[2]
1August 9San Diego ChargersW 21–171–0Metropolitan Stadium45,179
2August 18at Kansas City ChiefsL 10–141–1Arrowhead Stadium39,879
3August 23at Miami DolphinsW 17–102–1Miami Orange Bowl36,116
4August 30Cleveland BrownsW 38–163–1Metropolitan Stadium47,262

Regular season

Schedule
Week Date Opponent Result Record Venue Attendance
1 September 7 Atlanta Falcons W 24–23 1–0 Metropolitan Stadium 44,773
2 September 14 Philadelphia Eagles L 7–42 1–1 Metropolitan Stadium 46,460
3 September 21 at Chicago Bears W 34–14 2–1 Soldier Field 59,983
4 September 28 at Detroit Lions L 7–27 2–2 Silverdome 80,291
5 October 5 Pittsburgh Steelers L 17–23 2–3 Metropolitan Stadium 47,583
6 October 12 Chicago Bears W 13–7 3–3 Metropolitan Stadium 46,751
7 October 19 at Cincinnati Bengals L 0–14 3–4 Riverfront Stadium 44,487
8 October 26 at Green Bay Packers L 3–16 3–5 Lambeau Field 56,191
9 November 2 at Washington Redskins W 39–14 4–5 Robert F. Kennedy Memorial Stadium 52,060
10 November 9 Detroit Lions W 34–0 5–5 Metropolitan Stadium 46,264
11 November 16 Tampa Bay Buccaneers W 38–30 6–5 Metropolitan Stadium 46,032
12 November 23 Green Bay Packers L 13–25 6–6 Metropolitan Stadium 47,234
13 November 30 at New Orleans Saints W 23–20 7–6 Louisiana Superdome 30,936
14 December 7 at Tampa Bay Buccaneers W 21–10 8–6 Tampa Stadium 65,649
15 December 14 Cleveland Browns W 28–23 9–6 Metropolitan Stadium 42,202
16 December 21 at Houston Oilers L 16–20 9–7 Astrodome 51,064

Note: Intra-division opponents are in bold text.

Week 15
Week 15: Cleveland Browns at Minnesota Vikings – Game summary
1 2 34Total
Browns 7 6 3723
Vikings 0 0 91928

at Metropolitan Stadium, Bloomington, Minnesota

Game information
First quarter

Second quarter

  • CLE – Brian Sipe 2-yard run (kick failed). Browns 13–0.

Third quarter

  • MIN – Joe Senser 31-yard pass from Tommy Kramer (kick failed). Browns 13–6.
  • CLE – Don Cockroft 32-yard field goal. Browns 16–6.
  • MIN – Rick Danmeier 24-yard field goal. Browns 16–9.

Fourth quarter

  • CLE – Cleo Miller 1-yard run (Don Cockroft kick). Browns 23–9.
  • MIN – Ted Brown 7-yard pass from Tommy Kramer (kick failed). Browns 23–15.
  • MIN – Ahmad Rashād 12-yard pass from Tommy Kramer (Rick Danmeier kick). Browns 23–22.
  • MIN – Ahmad Rashād 46-yard pass from Tommy Kramer (kick failed). Vikings 28–23.

Trailing 23–9 entering the fourth quarter the Vikings came back and won on a desperation Hail Mary pass from quarterback Tommy Kramer to wide receiver Ahmad Rashād to clinch the NFC Central Division title in what became known as the "Miracle at the Met".

Standings
NFC Central
W L T PCT DIV CONF PF PA STK
Minnesota Vikings(3) 9 7 0 .563 5–3 8–4 317 308 L1
Detroit Lions 9 7 0 .563 5–3 9–5 334 272 W2
Chicago Bears 7 9 0 .438 5–3 7–5 304 264 W1
Tampa Bay Buccaneers 5 10 1 .344 1–6–1 4–7–1 271 341 L3
Green Bay Packers 5 10 1 .344 3–4–1 4–7–1 231 371 L4

Postseason
Week Date Opponent Result Venue Attendance
Divisional January 3 at Philadelphia Eagles L 16–31 Veterans Stadium 68,434

Statistics

Team leaders
Category Player(s) Value
Passing yardsTommy Kramer3,582
Passing touchdownsTommy Kramer19
Rushing yardsTed Brown912
Rushing touchdownsTed Brown8
Receiving yardsAhmad Rashād1,095
Receiving touchdownsJoe Senser7
PointsRick Danmeier81
Kickoff return yardsEddie Payton1,184
Punt return yardsEddie Payton251
InterceptionsJohn Turner6

League rankings
Category Total yards Yards per game NFL rank
(out of 28)
Passing offense3,688230.53rd
Rushing offense1,642102.627th
Total offense5,330333.111th
Passing defense3,400212.524th
Rushing defense2,456153.525th
Total defense5,856366.026th

References
  1. Pro-Football-Reference.com: Cleveland Browns 23 at Minnesota Vikings 28, Sunday, December 14, 1980
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