The 1980 season

1980 NFL season

The 1980 NFL season was the 61st regular season of the National Football League.After the league declined to approve the proposed move by the Raiders from Oakland, California to Los Angeles, the team along with the Los Angeles Coliseum sued the NFL for violating antitrust laws...

 was the Houston Oilers 21st season and their 11th in the NFL. The franchise scored 295 points while the defense gave up 251 points. Their record of 11 wins and 5 losses resulted in a second place finish in the AFC Central Division. The Oilers appeared twice on Monday Night Football

Monday Night Football

Monday Night Football is a live broadcast of the National Football League on ESPN. From to it aired on ABC. Monday Night Football was, along with Hallmark Hall of Fame, and the Walt Disney anthology television series, one of the longest running prime time commercial network television series...

. In their first appearance on Monday Night Football, the Oilers beat the Cleveland Browns 16–7. In their second appearance, the Oilers defeated the New England Patriots

New England Patriots

The New England Patriots, commonly called the "Pats", are a professional football team based in the Greater Boston area, playing their home games in the town of Foxborough, Massachusetts at Gillette Stadium. The team is part of the East Division of the American Football Conference in the National...

 38–34. Earl Campbell

Earl Campbell

Earl Christian Campbell , nicknamed The Tyler Rose, is a former professional American Football running back. He, Paul Hornung and O.J Simpson are the only people to have won the Heisman Trophy , were first overall National Football League draft picks and are in both the Pro Football Hall of Fame...

 would lead the NFL in rushing for the third consecutive year and have four 200 yard rushing games.

NFL Draft

Pick #	|Player	|College
38	Houston Oilers	Angelo Fields Angelo Fields Angelo Bertell Fields is a former offensive tackle in the NFL for the Houston Oilers. He was a second round draft pick in the 1980 NFL Draft out of Michigan State University.-Football career:...	Offensive Tackle	Michigan State University Michigan State University Michigan State University is a public research university in East Lansing, Michigan, USA. Founded in 1855, it was the pioneer land-grant institution and served as a model for future land-grant colleges in the United States under the 1862 Morrill Act.MSU pioneered the studies of packaging,...

Earl Campbell

• In 1980, Earl Campbell had four 200 yard rushing games.

  Date	Opponent	Attempts	Yards	Touchdowns
  Oct. 19	Tampa Bay Buccaneers Tampa Bay Buccaneers The Tampa Bay Buccaneers are a professional American football franchise based in Tampa, Florida, U.S. They are currently members of the Southern Division of the National Football Conference in the National Football League – they are the only team in the division not to come from the old NFC West...	33	203	0
  Oct. 26	Cincinnati Bengals Cincinnati Bengals The Cincinnati Bengals are a professional football team based in Cincinnati, Ohio. They are members of the AFC's North Division in the National Football League . The Bengals began play in 1968 as an expansion team in the American Football League , and joined the NFL in 1970 in the AFL-NFL...	27	202	2
  Nov. 16	Chicago Bears Chicago Bears The Chicago Bears are a professional American football team based in Chicago, Illinois. They are members of the North Division of the National Football Conference in the National Football League...	31	206	0
  Dec. 21	Minnesota Vikings Minnesota Vikings The Minnesota Vikings are a professional American football team based in Minneapolis, Minnesota. The Vikings joined the National Football League as an expansion team in 1960...	29	203	1

Schedule

Game	Date	Opponent	Result	Oilers points	Opponents	Oilers first downs	Record	Attendance
1	Sept. 7	at Pittsburgh Steelers Pittsburgh Steelers The Pittsburgh Steelers are a professional football team based in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania. The team currently belongs to the North Division of the American Football Conference in the National Football League . Founded in , the Steelers are the oldest franchise in the AFC...	Loss	17	31	16	0–1	54,386
2	Sept. 15	at Cleveland Browns Cleveland Browns The Cleveland Browns are a professional football team based in Cleveland, Ohio. They are currently members of the North Division of the American Football Conference in the National Football League...	Win	16	7	23	1–1	80,243
3	Sept. 21	Baltimore Colts	Win	21	16	27	2–1	47,878
4	Sept. 28	at Cincinnati Bengals Cincinnati Bengals The Cincinnati Bengals are a professional football team based in Cincinnati, Ohio. They are members of the AFC's North Division in the National Football League . The Bengals began play in 1968 as an expansion team in the American Football League , and joined the NFL in 1970 in the AFL-NFL...	Win	13	10	20	3–1	50,413
5	Oct. 5	Seattle Seahawks Seattle Seahawks The Seattle Seahawks are a professional American football team based in Seattle, Washington. They are currently members of the Western Division of the National Football Conference in the National Football League . The team joined the NFL in 1976 as an expansion team...	Loss	7	26	16	3–2	46,860
6	Oct. 12	at Kansas City Chiefs Kansas City Chiefs The Kansas City Chiefs are a professional American football team based in Kansas City, Missouri. They are a member of the Western Division of the American Football Conference in the National Football League . Originally named the Dallas Texans, the club was founded by Lamar Hunt in 1960 as a...	Loss	20	21	21	3–3	75,048
7	Oct. 19	Tampa Bay Buccaneers Tampa Bay Buccaneers The Tampa Bay Buccaneers are a professional American football franchise based in Tampa, Florida, U.S. They are currently members of the Southern Division of the National Football Conference in the National Football League – they are the only team in the division not to come from the old NFC West...	Win	20	14	23	4–3	48,167
8	Oct. 26	Cincinnati Bengals Cincinnati Bengals The Cincinnati Bengals are a professional football team based in Cincinnati, Ohio. They are members of the AFC's North Division in the National Football League . The Bengals began play in 1968 as an expansion team in the American Football League , and joined the NFL in 1970 in the AFL-NFL...	Win	23	3	17	5–3	49,189
9	Nov. 2	at Denver Broncos Denver Broncos The Denver Broncos are a professional American football team based in Denver, Colorado. They are currently members of the West Division of the American Football Conference in the National Football League...	Win	20	16	23	6–3	74,717
10	Nov. 10	New England Patriots New England Patriots The New England Patriots, commonly called the "Pats", are a professional football team based in the Greater Boston area, playing their home games in the town of Foxborough, Massachusetts at Gillette Stadium. The team is part of the East Division of the American Football Conference in the National...	Win	38	34	20	7–3	51,524
11	Nov. 16	at Chicago Bears Chicago Bears The Chicago Bears are a professional American football team based in Chicago, Illinois. They are members of the North Division of the National Football Conference in the National Football League...	Win	10	6	20	8–3	59,390
12	Nov. 23	at New York Jets New York Jets The New York Jets are a professional football team headquartered in Florham Park, New Jersey, representing the New York metropolitan area. The team is a member of the Eastern Division of the American Football Conference in the National Football League...	Loss	28	31	28	8–4	52,358
13	Nov. 30	Cleveland Browns Cleveland Browns The Cleveland Browns are a professional football team based in Cleveland, Ohio. They are currently members of the North Division of the American Football Conference in the National Football League...	Loss	14	17	17	8–5	51,514
14	Dec. 4	Pittsburgh Steelers Pittsburgh Steelers The Pittsburgh Steelers are a professional football team based in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania. The team currently belongs to the North Division of the American Football Conference in the National Football League . Founded in , the Steelers are the oldest franchise in the AFC...	Win	6	0	13	9–5	53,960
15	Dec. 14	at Green Bay Packers Green Bay Packers The Green Bay Packers are an American football team based in Green Bay, Wisconsin. They are members of the North Division of the National Football Conference in the National Football League . The Packers are the current NFL champions...	Win	22	3	22	10–5	53,201
16	Dec. 21	Minnesota Vikings Minnesota Vikings The Minnesota Vikings are a professional American football team based in Minneapolis, Minnesota. The Vikings joined the National Football League as an expansion team in 1960...	Win	20	16	23	11–5	51,064

Standings

AFC Central
Team	W	L	T	PCT	PF	PA
Cleveland Browns 1980 Cleveland Browns season The 1980 Cleveland Browns season was the team's 31st season with the National Football League.For more details on the season, see Kardiac Kids and Red Right 88.-NFL Draft:The following were selected in the 1980 NFL Draft.-Memorable moments:...	11	5	0	.688	357	310
Houston Oilers	11	5	0	.688	295	251
Pittsburgh Steelers 1980 Pittsburgh Steelers season - Regular season :In 1980, the Steelers had their struggles. The aging defense wasn't as effective in 1978–79, falling from 2nd to 15th in yards allowed and 313 points, 15th in the league, up from 262 5th in the league, while only recording 18 QB sacks. The offense was still plagued with too many...	9	7	0	.563	352	313
Cincinnati Bengals 1980 Cincinnati Bengals season The 1980 Cincinnati Bengals season was the team's 13th year in professional football and its 11th with the National Football League.-NFL Draft:-Schedule:-Standings:-Roster:-References:* * *...	6	10	0	.375	244	312

Roster

Quarterbacks Running Backs Wide Receivers Tight Ends		Offensive Linemen Defensive Linemen		Linebackers Defensive Backs CB Special Teams		Reserve Lists Practice Squad Rookies in italics

AFC Wild Card

Even though the Oilers recorded more yards, more first downs, and more time of possession, the Raiders scored on big plays to win, 27–7.

Awards and records

• Earl Campbell
  Earl Campbell
  Earl Christian Campbell , nicknamed The Tyler Rose, is a former professional American Football running back. He, Paul Hornung and O.J Simpson are the only people to have won the Heisman Trophy , were first overall National Football League draft picks and are in both the Pro Football Hall of Fame...
  
  , NFL Rushing Leader, (1,934)
• Earl Campbell, All-Pro selection 1980
• Earl Campbell, Pro Bowl selection 1980
• Earl Campbell, NEA NFL MVP (1980)
• Earl Campbell, NFL Offensive Player of the Year (1980)

Milestones

• Earl Campbell, 3rd 1,000 yard rushing season
• Earl Campbell, 3rd NFL Rushing Title
• Earl Campbell, Four 200 Yard Rushing Games (Oct. 19, Oct. 26, Nov., 16, Dec. 21)