1980 Minnesota Vikings season

1980 Minnesota Vikings season
General manager	Mike Lynn
Head coach	Bud Grant
Home field	Metropolitan Stadium
Results
Record	9–7
Division place	1st NFC Central
Playoff finish	Lost Divisional Playoffs (at Eagles) 16–31
Uniform

← 1979 Vikings seasons 1981 →

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. In the Divisional Playoffs the Vikings lost to the Philadelphia Eagles 31–16.

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 Rashad caught at the 2-yard line before backing into the end zone to give Minnesota a 28–23 win.^[1]

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Offseason

1980 Draft

1980 Minnesota Vikings Draft
Draft order		Player name	Position	College	Notes
Round	Selection	Player name	Position	College	Notes
1	9	Doug Martin	Defensive tackle	Washington
2	30	Willie Teal	Defensive back	Louisiana State	from 49ers^[a]
2	39	Traded to the San Francisco 49ers^[a]
3	65	Traded to the San Francisco 49ers^[a]
3	68	Brent Boyd	Center	UCLA	from Saints^[b]
4	92	Dennis Johnson	Linebacker	USC
5	121	Doug Paschal	Running back	North Carolina
5	122	Paul Jones	Running back	California	from Saints^[b]
6	148	Ray Yakavonis	Defensive end	East Stroudsburg (PA)
7	174	Henry Johnson	Linebacker	Georgia Tech
8	204	Traded to the Seattle Seahawks^[c]
9	232	Dennis Mosley	Running back	Iowa	in lieu of #232 (passed)^[d]
10	258	Kenny Brown	Wide receiver	Nebraska
11	288	Sam Harrell	Running back	East Carolina
12	315	Thomas Lane	Defensive back	Florida 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.

Undrafted free agents

1980 Undrafted Free Agents of note
Player	Position	College
Robert Meyer	Defensive back	Wisconsin–River Falls
Leven Weiss	Linebacker	Iowa

Roster

**1980 Minnesota Vikings final roster**

	Quarterbacks 12 Steve Dils 9 Tommy Kramer 13 Mike Livingston Running backs 23 Ted Brown FB 35 Robert Miller 40 Doug Paschal 31 Eddie Payton 34 Rickey Young Wide receivers 80 Terry LeCount 87 Kevin Miller 28 Ahmad Rashad 85 Sammy White Tight ends 82 Bob Bruer 81 Joe Senser 38 Bob Tucker		Offensive linemen 62 Brent Boyd G 61 Wes Hamilton G 56 Dave Huffman G 58 Jim Langer C 68 Melvin Mitchell T 78 Steve Riley T 67 Dennis Swilley C 71 John Vella T 73 Ron Yary T Defensive linemen 75 Randy Holloway DE 79 Doug Martin DE 77 Mark Mullaney DE 76 Dave Roller DT 89 Ken Sanders DE 69 Doug Sutherland DT 72 James White DT		Linebackers 59 Matt Blair 52 Dennis Johnson 53 Henry Johnson 54 Fred McNeill 50 Jeff Siemon 55 Scott Studwell Defensive backs 24 Larry Brune 20 Bobby Bryant CB 26 Marvin Cobb 45 Tommy Hannon SS 25 Kurt Knoff FS 49 Keith Nord FS 37 Willie Teal CB 27 John Turner CB Special teams 8 Greg Coleman P 7 Rick Danmeier K		Reserve lists 36 Sam Harrell RB (IRTooltip Injured reserve) 51 Jim Hough G (IRTooltip Injured reserve) 91 Ray Yakavonis DT (IRTooltip Injured reserve) Rookies in italics

Preseason

Week	Date	Opponent	Result	Record	Venue	Attendance^[2]
1	August 9	San Diego Chargers	W 21–17	1–0	Metropolitan Stadium	45,179
2	August 18	at Kansas City Chiefs	L 10–14	1–1	Arrowhead Stadium	39,879
3	August 23	at Miami Dolphins	W 17–10	2–1	Miami Orange Bowl	36,116
4	August 30	Cleveland Browns	W 38–16	3–1	Metropolitan Stadium	47,262

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.

Game summaries

Week 15: vs Cleveland Browns

Week 15: Cleveland Browns at Minnesota Vikings – Game summary

Period	1	2	3	4	Total
Browns	7	6	3	7	23
Vikings	0	0	9	19	28

at Metropolitan Stadium, Bloomington, Minnesota

Date: December 14, 1980
Game time: 12:00 p.m. CST
Game weather: 23 °F (−5 °C)
Referee: Ben Dreith
TV announcers (NBC): Charlie Jones and Len Dawson

Game information
First quarter CLE – Calvin Hill 18-yard pass from Brian Sipe (Don Cockroft kick). Browns 7–0. 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 Rashad 12-yard pass from Tommy Kramer (Rick Danmeier kick). Browns 23–22. MIN – Ahmad Rashad 46-yard pass from Tommy Kramer (kick failed). Vikings 28–23.

Game information

First quarter

CLE – Calvin Hill 18-yard pass from Brian Sipe (Don Cockroft kick). Browns 7–0.

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 Rashad 12-yard pass from Tommy Kramer (Rick Danmeier kick). Browns 23–22.
MIN – Ahmad Rashad 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 Rashad to clinch the NFC Central Division title in what became known as the "Miracle at the Met".

Standings

NFC Central
view talk edit	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 yards	Tommy Kramer	3,582
Passing touchdowns	Tommy Kramer	19
Rushing yards	Ted Brown	912
Rushing touchdowns	Ted Brown	8
Receiving yards	Ahmad Rashad	1,095
Receiving touchdowns	Joe Senser	7
Points	Rick Danmeier	81
Kickoff return yards	Eddie Payton	1,184
Punt return yards	Eddie Payton	251
Interceptions	John Turner	6

League rankings

Category	Total yards	Yards per game	NFL rank (out of 28)
Passing offense	3,688	230.5	3rd
Rushing offense	1,642	102.6	27th
Total offense	5,330	333.1	11th
Passing defense	3,400	212.5	24th
Rushing defense	2,456	153.5	25th
Total defense	5,856	366.0	26th

References

v t e Minnesota Vikings
Founded in 1961 Based in Minneapolis, Minnesota Headquartered in Eagan, Minnesota
Franchise	Franchise History Expansion draft Players First-round draft picks Quarterbacks Head coaches Seasons Statistics Draft Broadcasters Ownership Twin Cities Orthopedics Performance Center
Stadiums	Metropolitan Stadium Hubert H. Humphrey Metrodome TCF Bank Stadium U.S. Bank Stadium
Culture	Purple People Eaters "Skol, Vikings" Herschel Walker trade Love Boat scandal How I Met Your Mother "Little Minnesota" "Tailgate" Cheerleaders Alan Roach Truth Hurts (song) Quarterback "Higher" (Creed song)
Lore	The Wrong Way Run Hail Mary Ed Thorp Memorial Trophy Santa Claus game Miracle at the Met Gary Anderson's missed field goal Minneapolis Miracle Minneapolis Miracle II
Rivalries	Chicago Bears Dallas Cowboys Detroit Lions Green Bay Packers Los Angeles Rams New Orleans Saints
Division championships (21)	1968 1969 1970 1971 1973 1974 1975 1976 1977 1978 1980 1989 1992 1994 1998 2000 2008 2009 2015 2017 2022
Conference championships (4)	1969 1973 1974 1976
League championships (1)	1969
Retired numbers	10 53 70 77 80 88
Current league affiliations	League: National Football League Conference: National Football Conference Division: North Division

v t e Minnesota Vikings seasons
1961 1962 1963 1964 1965 1966 1967 1968 1969 1970 1971 1972 1973 1974 1975 1976 1977 1978 1979 1980 1981 1982 1983 1984 1985 1986 1987 1988 1989 1990 1991 1992 1993 1994 1995 1996 1997 1998 1999 2000 2001 2002 2003 2004 2005 2006 2007 2008 2009 2010 2011 2012 2013 2014 2015 2016 2017 2018 2019 2020 2021 2022 2023 2024
Bold indicates NFL Championship (1920–69) or Super Bowl (1966–) victory Italics indicates Super Bowl (1966–) 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

This page was last edited on 15 March 2024, at 02:07

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