1980 Washington Redskins season

NFL team season

1980 Washington Redskins season
Owner	Jack Kent Cooke
President	Edward Bennett Williams
General manager	Bobby Beathard
Head coach	Jack Pardee
Offensive coordinator	Joe Walton
Defensive coordinator	Doc Urich
Home field	RFK Stadium
Results
Record	6–10
Division place	3rd NFC East
Playoff finish	Did not qualify
← 1979 Redskins seasons 1981 →

The 1980 Washington Redskins season was the franchise's 49th season in the National Football League (NFL) and their 43rd in Washington, D.C. They failed to improve on their 10–6 record from 1979, dropping to 6–10, their only double-digit losing season between 1964 and 1992. This was Jack Pardee's last season as head coach.

This would be the final season for a number of longtime Redskins players; as center Bob Kuziel, defensive end Paul Smith, strong safety Ken Houston and the two remaining members of Washington's Super Bowl VII team - offensive tackle Terry Hermeling and defensive tackle Diron Talbert - before their retirements.

Offseason

NFL draft

Main article: 1980 NFL draft

Round	Pick	Player	Position	College
1980 Washington Redskins draft
1	18	Art Monk *	Wide receiver	Syracuse
2	55	Mat Mendenhall	Defensive end	BYU
6	155	Farley Bell	Linebacker	Cincinnati
7	187	Melvin Jones	Guard	Houston
9	241	Lawrence McCullough	Wide receiver	Illinois
10	268	Lewis Walker	Running back	Utah
11	295	Mike Matocha	Defensive end	Texas–Arlington
12	327	Marcene Emmett	Defensive back	North Alabama
Made roster † Pro Football Hall of Fame * Made at least one Pro Bowl during career

Personnel

Staff

**1980 Washington Redskins staff**
	Front office Chairman of the Board/Chief Executive Officer – Jack Kent Cooke President – Edward Bennett Williams General Manager – Bobby Beathard Executive Assistant to the President – Bobby Mitchell Assistant General Manager – Joel Margolis Assistant General Manager – Dick Meyers Director of Player Personnel – Mike Allman Director of Pro Scouting – Kirk Mee Director of College Scouting – Dick Daniels Personnel Scouts – Charley Casserly, Charley Taylor Head coaches Head Coach – Jack Pardee Special Assistant to Head Coach – Bob Bowser Offensive coaches Offensive Coordinator – Joe Walton Running Backs – Fred O'Connor Tight Ends – John Hilton Offensive Line – Ray Callahan			Defensive coaches Defensive Coordinator/Defensive Line – Doc Urich Linebackers – George Dickson Defensive Secondary – Richie Petitbon Special teams coaches Special Teams – John Hilton

Roster

**1980 Washington Redskins roster**
Quarterbacks (QB) 15 Mike Kruczek 11 Kim McQuilken 7 Joe Theismann Running backs (RB) 35 Rickey Claitt 30 Ike Forte 34 Bobby Hammond 22 Buddy Hardeman 38 Clarence Harmon FB 40 Wilbur Jackson Wide receivers (WR) 89 Kenny Harrison 80 John McDaniel 84 Zion McKinney 81 Art Monk 83 Ricky Thompson Tight ends (TE) 88 Rick Walker 85 Don Warren		Offensive linemen (OL) 60 Gary Anderson G 53 Jeff Bostic C 75 Terry Hermeling T 54 Bob Kuziel C 62 Dan Nugent G 56 Dan Peiffer C 64 Ron Saul G 74 George Starke T 73 Jeff Williams G Defensive linemen (DL) 79 Coy Bacon DE 65 Dave Butz DT 82 Dallas Hickman DE/OLB 77 Joe Jones DE 71 Karl Lorch DE 78 Paul Smith DT 72 Diron Talbert DT		Linebackers (LB) 51 Monte Coleman OLB 59 Brad Dusek OLB 57 Rich Milot MLB 52 Neal Olkewicz MLB 50 Pete Wysocki OLB Defensive backs (DB) 27 Ken Houston SS 20 Joe Lavender CB 29 Mark Murphy FS 21 Mike Nelms 24 Lemar Parrish CB 23 Tony Peters SS 45 Jeris White CB Special teams 10 Mike Connell P 3 Mark Moseley K		Reserve -- Farley Bell LB (Left squad) 69 Perry Brooks DT (IR) 63 Fred Dean T (IR) 86 Phil DuBois TE (IR) —- Mike Gibbons T (IR) 61 Melvin Jones G (IR) 76 Mat Mendenhall DE (IR) —- Morris Owens WR (IR) 67 Jerry Scanlan T (IR) 47 Ray Waddy CB (IR) -- Lewis Walker RB (IR) Rookies in italics

Regular season

Schedule

Week	Date	Opponent	Result	Record	Venue	Attendance	Recap
1	September 8	Dallas Cowboys	L 17–3	0–1	RFK Stadium	55,045	Recap
2	September 14	at New York Giants	W 23–21	1–1	Giants Stadium	73,343	Recap
3	September 21	at Oakland Raiders	L 21–24	1–2	Oakland–Alameda County Coliseum	45,163	Recap
4	September 28	Seattle Seahawks	L 0–14	1–3	RFK Stadium	53,263	Recap
5	October 5	at Philadelphia Eagles	L 14–24	1–4	Veterans Stadium	69,044	Recap
6	October 13	at Denver Broncos	L 17–20	1–5	Mile High Stadium	74,657	Recap
7	October 19	St. Louis Cardinals	W 23–0	2–5	RFK Stadium	51,060	Recap
8	October 26	New Orleans Saints	W 22–14	3–5	RFK Stadium	51,375	Recap
9	November 2	Minnesota Vikings	L 14–39	3–6	RFK Stadium	52,060	Recap
10	November 9	at Chicago Bears	L 21–35	3–7	Soldier Field	57,159	Recap
11	November 16	Philadelphia Eagles	L 0–24	3–8	RFK Stadium	51,897	Recap
12	November 23	at Dallas Cowboys	L 10–14	3–9	Texas Stadium	58,809	Recap
13	November 30	at Atlanta Falcons	L 6–10	3–10	Atlanta–Fulton County Stadium	55,665	Recap
14	December 7	San Diego Chargers	W 40–17	4–10	RFK Stadium	48,556	Recap
15	December 13	New York Giants	W 16–13	5–10	RFK Stadium	44,443	Recap
16	December 21	at St. Louis Cardinals	W 31–7	6–10	Busch Memorial Stadium	35,942	Recap
Note: Intra-division opponents are in bold text.

Season summary

Week 1 vs Cowboys

See also: 1980 Dallas Cowboys season Week One: Dallas Cowboys (0–0) at Washington Redskins (0–0)

Quarter	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

Game information

First quarter

DAL – Tony Dorsett 6-yard run (Rafael Septien kick). Cowboys 7–0. Drive:

Second quarter

DAL – Rafael Septien 19-yard field goal. Cowboys 10–0. Drive:

Third quarter

No scoring

Fourth quarter

WSH – Mark Moseley 45-yard field goal. Cowboys 10–3. Drive:
DAL – Ron Springs 4-yard run (Rafael Septien kick). Cowboys 17–3. Drive:

Top passers

DAL – Danny White – 10/18, 107 yards, 2 INT
WSH – Joe Theismann – 19/34, 190 yards, INT

Top rushers

DAL – Tony Dorsett – 17 rushes, 66 yards, TD
WSH – Clarence Harmon – 7 rushes, 39 yards

Top receivers

DAL – Tony Hill – 3 receptions, 69 yards
WSH – Clarence Harmon – 7 receptions, 67 yards

Week 2 at Giants

Week Two: Washington Redskins (0–1) at New York Giants (1–0)

Quarter	1	2	3	4	Total
Redskins	6	14	0	3	23
Giants	0	14	0	7	21

at Giants Stadium, East Rutherford, New Jersey

Game time: 4:00 p.m.
Game weather: 74 °F (23 °C)
Game attendance: 73,343
Box Score

Game information

First quarter

WSH – Clarence Harmon 20-yard pass from Joe Theismann (kick failed). Redskins 6–0. Drive:

Second quarter

NYG – Mike Hogan 1-yard run (Joe Danelo kick). Giants 7–6. Drive:
WSH – Joe Theismann 37-yard run (Mark Moseley kick). Redskins 13–7. Drive:
NYG – Alvin Garrett 32-yard pass from Phil Simms (Joe Danelo kick). Giants 14–13. Drive:
WSH – Wilbur Jackson 2-yard run (Mark Moseley kick). Redskins 20–14. Drive:

Third quarter

No scoring

Fourth quarter

NYG – Tom Mullady 35-yard pass from Phil Simms (Joe Danelo kick). Giants 21–20. Drive:
WSH – Mark Moseley 45-yard field goal. Redskins 23–21. Drive:

Top passers

WSH – Joe Theismann – 10/21, 120 yards, TD
NYG – Phil Simms – 12/29, 174 yards, 2 TD, 3 INT

Top rushers

WSH – Rickey Claitt – 15 rushes, 77 yards
NYG – Larry Heater – 15 rushes, 57 yards

Top receivers

WSH – Wilbur Jackson – 1 reception, 22 yards
NYG – Earnest Gray – 7 receptions, 63 yards

Standings

NFC East
view talk edit	W	L	T	PCT	DIV	CONF	PF	PA	STK
Philadelphia Eagles	12	4	0	.750	6–2	9–3	384	222	L1
Dallas Cowboys	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

References

"1980 Washington Redskins draftees". Pro-Football-Reference.com. Retrieved December 15, 2014.
Washington Redskins 1980 Press Guide. pp. 2–20.
"1980 Washington Redskins starters and roster". Pro-Football-Reference.com. Retrieved December 16, 2014.

External links

1980 Washington Redskins at Pro-Football-Reference.com

v t e Washington Commanders
Formerly the Boston Braves (1932), Boston Redskins (1933–1936), Washington Redskins (1937–2019), and Washington Football Team (2020–2021) Based in Landover, Maryland Headquartered in Ashburn, Virginia
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v t e Washington Commanders seasons
Formerly the Boston Braves (1932), Boston Redskins (1933–1936), Washington Redskins (1937–2019), and Washington Football Team (2020–2021)
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Bold indicates NFL Championship or Super Bowl victory Italics indicates NFL Championship or Super Bowl appearance

1980 NFL season

East	Central	West	East	Central	West
Baltimore	Cincinnati	Denver	Dallas	Chicago	Atlanta
Buffalo	Cleveland	Kansas City	NY Giants	Detroit	Los Angeles
Miami	Houston	Oakland	Philadelphia	Green Bay	New Orleans
New England	Pittsburgh	San Diego	St. Louis	Minnesota	San Francisco
NY Jets		Seattle	Washington	Tampa Bay

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