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1980 Los Angeles Rams season

NFL team season

Field	Value
team	Los Angeles Rams
year	1980
record	11–5
division_place	2nd NFC West
coach	Ray Malavasi
general manager	Don Klosterman
owner	Georgia Frontiere
stadium	Anaheim Stadium
playoffs	Lost [Wild Card Playoffs](1980-81-nfl-playoffs)
(at [Cowboys](1980-dallas-cowboys-season)) 13–34
shortnavlink	Rams seasons

(at Cowboys) 13–34

The Rams playing against the New Orleans Saints at Anaheim Stadium in 1980.

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 9 straight division titles in their respective divisions. The Patriots streak ended in 2019, while the Chiefs streak ended in 2024. 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

Main article: 1980 NFL draft

Personnel

Staff / Coaches

Owner/President – Georgia Frontiere
Executive Vice President/General Manager – Don Klosterman
Vice President of Special Projects - James D. Dooley
Assistant General Manager – Jack Faulkner
Director of Player Personnel – John Math
Head Coach – Ray Malavasi
Offensive Coordinator – Lionel Taylor
Quarterbacks – Paul Lanham
Running Backs – Hewritt Dixon
Offensive Line – Dan Radakovich
Defensive Coordinator – Bud Carson
Defensive Line – LaVern Torgeson
Linebackers – Frank Lauterbur
Special Teams – Herb Paterra
Conditioning – Clyde Evans

Roster

Jack Reynolds MLB

Regular season

Schedule

Los Angeles Rams	year=1980	border=2}}"	Week	Los Angeles Rams	year=1980
September 7	[Detroit Lions](1980-detroit-lions-season)	L 20–41	0–1	Anaheim Stadium	64,892
	at [Tampa Bay Buccaneers](1980-tampa-bay-buccaneers-season)	L 9–10	0–2	Tampa Stadium	66,576
September 21	[Green Bay Packers](1980-green-bay-packers-season)	W 51–21	1–2	Anaheim Stadium	63,850
September 28	at [New York Giants](1980-new-york-giants-season)	W 28–7	2–2	Giants Stadium	73,414
October 5	[San Francisco 49ers](1980-san-francisco-49ers-season)	W 48–26	3–2	Anaheim Stadium	62,188
October 12	at [St. Louis Cardinals](1980-st-louis-cardinals-nfl-season)	W 21–13	4–2	Busch Memorial Stadium	50,230
October 19	at [San Francisco 49ers](1980-san-francisco-49ers-season)	W 31–17	5–2	Candlestick Park	55,360
October 26	at [Atlanta Falcons](1980-atlanta-falcons-season)	L 10–13	5–3	Atlanta–Fulton County Stadium	57,401
November 2	[New Orleans Saints](1980-new-orleans-saints-season)	W 45–31	6–3	Anaheim Stadium	59,909
November 9	[Miami Dolphins](1980-miami-dolphins-season)	L 14–35	6–4	Anaheim Stadium	62,198
November 16	at [New England Patriots](1980-new-england-patriots-season)	W 17–14	7–4	Schaefer Stadium	60,609
	at [New Orleans Saints](1980-new-orleans-saints-season)	W 27–7	8–4	Louisiana Superdome	53,448
November 30	[New York Jets](1980-new-york-jets-season)	W 38–13	9–4	Anaheim Stadium	59,743
December 7	at [Buffalo Bills](1980-buffalo-bills-season)	L 7–10 (OT)	9–5	Rich Stadium	77,133
	[Dallas Cowboys](1980-dallas-cowboys-season)	W 38–14	10–5	Anaheim Stadium	65,154
December 21	[Atlanta Falcons](1980-atlanta-falcons-season)	W 20–17 (OT)	11–5	Anaheim Stadium	62,469
Note: Intra-division opponents are in bold text.

Season summary

Week 1 vs Lions

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

Los Angeles Rams	year=1980	border=2}}"	Week	Los Angeles Rams	year=1980	border=2}}"	Date	Los Angeles Rams	year=1980	border=2}}"	Opponent	Los Angeles Rams	year=1980	border=2}}"	Result	Los Angeles Rams	year=1980	border=2}}"	Record	Los Angeles Rams	year=1980	border=2}}"	Venue	Los Angeles Rams	year=1980	border=2}}"	Attendance	Wildcard
December 28	at [Dallas Cowboys](1980-dallas-cowboys-season)	L 13–34	0–1	Texas Stadium	64,533

Standings

References

/https://www.newspapers.com/clip/66363663//

References

"1980 Los Angeles Rams draftees". Pro-Football-Reference.com.

Info: Wikipedia Source

This article was imported from Wikipedia and is available under the Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike 4.0 License. Content has been adapted to SurfDoc format. Original contributors can be found on the article history page.

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