1980 Pittsburgh Steelers season

1980 Pittsburgh Steelers season
1980 Pittsburgh Steelers season
Owner	Art Rooney
General manager	Dick Haley
Head coach	Chuck Noll
Home field	Three Rivers Stadium
Results
Record	9–7
Division place	3rd AFC Central
Playoff finish	Did not qualify
Pro Bowlers	5 LB Jack Ham; RB Franco Harris; LB Jack Lambert; S Donnie Shell; C Mike Webster;
AP All-Pros	3 Jack Lambert (1st team); Donnie Shell (1st team); Mike Webster (1st team);
Team MVP	Donnie Shell
	← 1979; Steelers seasons; 1981 →;

The 1980 Pittsburgh Steelers season was the franchise's 48th season in the National Football League.

Quick Facts Pittsburgh Steelers season, Owner ...

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The Steelers struggled for the first time in many years. The aging defense was not as effective as it had been in the 1978 and '79 seasons, falling from 2nd to 15th in yards allowed. The Steelers also surrendered 313 points, ranked 15th in the league, compared to 262 points (5th in the league) the previous season. The Pittsburgh defense only garnered 18 quarterback sacks.

The offense was still plagued with 42 total turnovers,^[1] but ranking 6th in total offense, and scoring 352 points.^[2]

Despite the team's troubles, the Steelers could have again obtained home-field advantage throughout the playoffs had they not lost several close games, including games against Cincinnati and Cleveland in which they lost despite having large leads in the fourth quarter. Pittsburgh remained in the playoff hunt until a 28–13 loss to Buffalo in week 12, and then a 6–0 loss to Houston effectively eliminated Pittsburgh from the postseason.

To many, these two losses marked the end of the Steeler Dynasty. Several key players retired after the 1980 season and the team was never the same again. The 1980 season was the first in which the Steelers did not qualify for the playoffs since 1971.

NFL draft

More information Round, Pick ...

Round	Pick	Player	Position	College	Notes
1980 Pittsburgh Steelers draft
1	28	Mark Malone	Quarterback	Arizona State
2	35	Bob Kohrs	Linebacker	Arizona State	Played with Steelers from 1981–1985
2	56	John Goodman	Defensive end	Oklahoma
3	83	Ray Sydnor	Tight end	Wisconsin
4	110	Bill Hurley	Defensive back	Syracus
5	138	Craig Wolfley	Guard	Syracuse
6	165	Tunch Ilkin *	Tackle	Indiana State
7	193	Nate Johnson	Wide receiver	Hillsdale
8	221	Ted Walton	Defensive back	UConn
9	249	Ron McCall	Wide receiver	Arkansas–Pine Bluff
10	250	Woodrow Wilson	Defensive back	NC State
10	277	Ken Fritz	Guard	Ohio State
11	305	Frank Pollard	Running back	Baylor
12	306	Charles Vaclavik	Defensive back	Texas
12	333	Tyrone McGriff	Guard	Florida A&M
Made roster * Made at least one Pro Bowl during career

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^[3]

Staff

**1980 Pittsburgh Steelers staff**
	Front office Chairman of the Board – Arthur J. Rooney President – Daniel M. Rooney Vice President – John R. McGinley Vice President – Arthur J. Rooney, Jr. Public Relations Director – Ed Kiely Traveling Secretary – James A. Boston Publicity Director – Joe Gordon Assistant Publicity Director – John Evenson Controller – Dennis P. Thimons Assistant Controller – James S. Maund Director of Ticket Sales – Geraldine Glenn Director of Player Personnel – Dick Haley Assistant Director of Player Personnel – William Nunn, Jr. Pro Talent Scout – Tom Modrak Talent Scout – West Coast – Bob Schmitz College Talent Scout – Joe Krupa Head coaches Head Coach – Chuck Noll Assistant Head Coach – George Perles Offensive coaches Offensive Line – Rollie Dotsch Offensive Backfield – Dick Hoak Receivers – Tom Moore			Defensive coaches Defensive Coordinator – Woody Widenhofer Defensive Backfield – Dick Walker Strength and conditioning Paul Uram Mike Walker Physician, M.D. – Dr. David S. Huber Physician, M.D. – Dr. Anthony P. Yates Physician, Orthopedic – Dr. Paul B. Steele, Jr. Dentist – Dr. George P. Boucek Ophthalmologist – Dr. Phillip Buzzelli Trainer – Ralph Berlin Assistant Trainer – Robert Osborne Equipment Manager – Anthony Parisi Field Manager – Bruce J. Lowry Film Director – Bob McCartney Photographer – Harry Homa ^[4]

**1980 Pittsburgh Steelers roster**
Quarterbacks (QB) 12 Terry Bradshaw 16 Mark Malone WR 18 Cliff Stoudt Running backs (RB) 20 Rocky Bleier 45 Russell Davis 32 Franco Harris 27 Greg Hawthorne 44 Frank Pollard KR 38 Sidney Thornton Wide receivers (WR) 83 Theo Bell PR 86 Jim Smith 88 Lynn Swann 85 Calvin Sweeney Tight ends (TE) 89 Bennie Cunningham 84 Randy Grossman		Offensive linemen (OL) 79 Larry Brown T 77 Steve Courson G 62 Tunch Ilkin 55 Jon Kolb T 61 Tyrone McGriff G 66 Ted Petersen T 74 Ray Pinney G/T 52 Mike Webster C 73 Craig Wolfley G Defensive linemen (DL) 76 John Banaszak DE 65 Tom Beasley DE 67 Gary Dunn DT 64 Steve Furness DT 75 Joe Greene DT 68 L. C. Greenwood DE 78 Dwight White DE		Linebackers (LB) 56 Robin Cole LB 59 Jack Ham LB 58 Jack Lambert MLB 51 Loren Toews LB 54 Zack Valentine LB 53 Dennis Winston MLB Defensive backs (DB) 30 Larry Anderson 47 Mel Blount CB 25 Marvin Cobb DB 29 Ron Johnson CB 41 Tom Moriarty S 31 Donnie Shell SS 24 J. T. Thomas FS 23 Mike Wagner FS 49 Dwayne Woodruff DB Special teams 52 Mike Webster LS 9 Matt Bahr K 5 Craig Colquitt				Practice squad ^[4] ^[5] ^[6] Reserve 57 Sam Davis G (IR) 87 Jim Ferranti WR (IR) 95 John Goodman DE (IR) 22 Bill Hurley FS (IR) 90 Bob Kohrs MLB (IR) 82 John Stallworth WR (IR) 36 Ted Walton S (IR) 40 Bill Riehl CB (IR) Rookies in italics 48 active, 7 reserve

Schedule

More information Week, Date ...

Week	Date	Opponent	Result	Record	Venue
1	August 9	at New York Giants	W 13–0	1–0	Giants Stadium
2	August 15	at Atlanta Falcons	W 17–14	2–0	Atlanta–Fulton County Stadium
3	August 23	New York Jets	L 13–20	2–1	Three Rivers Stadium
4	August 30	at Dallas Cowboys	W 31–10	3–1	Texas Stadium

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Schedule

More information Week, Date ...

Week	Date	Opponent	Result	Record	Venue
1	September 7	Houston Oilers	W 31–17	1–0	Three Rivers Stadium
2	Sun. Sep. 14	at Baltimore Colts	W 20–17	2–0	Memorial Stadium
3	September 21	at Cincinnati Bengals	L 28–30	2–1	Riverfront Stadium
4	September 28	Chicago Bears	W 38–3	3–1	Three Rivers Stadium
5	October 5	at Minnesota Vikings	W 23–17	4–1	Metropolitan Stadium
6	October 12	Cincinnati Bengals	L 16–17	4–2	Three Rivers Stadium
7	October 20	Oakland Raiders	L 34–45	4–3	Three Rivers Stadium
8	October 26	at Cleveland Browns	L 26–27	4–4	Cleveland Municipal Stadium
9	November 2	Green Bay Packers	W 22–20	5–4	Three Rivers Stadium
10	November 9	at Tampa Bay Buccaneers	W 24–21	6–4	Tampa Stadium
11	November 16	Cleveland Browns	W 16–13	7–4	Three Rivers Stadium
12	November 23	at Buffalo Bills	L 13–28	7–5	Rich Stadium
13	November 30	Miami Dolphins	W 23–10	8–5	Three Rivers Stadium
14	December 4	at Houston Oilers	L 0–6	8–6	Astrodome
15	December 14	Kansas City Chiefs	W 21–16	9–6	Three Rivers Stadium
16	December 22	at San Diego Chargers	L 17–26	9–7	San Diego Stadium

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Game summaries

Week 1: vs. Houston Oilers

The Steelers sat on a 17-0 first quarter lead and then had to score twice in the final 13 minutes to fight off a Houston comeback as Terry Bradshaw accounted for three of the Steelers four touchdowns. Larry Anderson provided the early fireworks when he returned the opening kickoff for 63 yards. The Steelers went on to score three of the four possessions but realized only three points as a result of four interceptions by Ken Stabler passes the first six times Houston has the ball. The Oilers got the 17 points back in the third quarter. Trailing 17-3, they scored two touchdowns in a span of 97 seconds. Earl Campbell's first pass, a sidearm wobbler, got the first score and when Theo Bell fumbled the next kickoff, Houston tied the game six plays later. Four Bradshaw passes ate up 72 of the 80-yard drive to get the Steelers back on top. A broken play on which John Stallworth outfought two defenders for a high Bradshaw lob was the final score of the game. Franco Harris passes Jim Taylor to become the third leading rusher in NFL history with 8,609 yards. Mel Blount and Donnie Shell had two interceptions each and Mike Wagner got the fifth.