1980 Baltimore Colts season

28th season in franchise history

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The 1980 Baltimore Colts season was the 28th season for the team in the National Football League (NFL). The Colts finished the NFL's 1980 season with a record of 7 wins and 9 losses, and fourth position in the AFC East division.

Offseason

NFL draft

Round	Pick	Player	Position	College	Notes
1980 Baltimore Colts draft
1	5	Curtis Dickey	Running back	Texas A&M
1	24	Derrick Hatchett	Defensive back	Texas	from Dallas
2	32	Ray Donaldson *	Center	Georgia
2	51	Tim Foley	Tackle	Notre Dame	from Dallas
4	88	Ray Butler	Wide receiver	USC
6	144	Chris Foote	Center	USC
7	170	Wes Roberts	Defensive end	TCU
8	195	Ken Walter	Tackle	Texas Tech
9	227	Mark Bright	Running back	Temple
10	254	Larry Stewart	Tackle	Maryland
11	280	Eddie Whitley	Tight end	Kansas State
12	311	Randy Bielski	Kicker	Towson State
12	324	Marvin Sims	Running back	Clemson
Made roster * Made at least one Pro Bowl during career

^[1]

Personnel

Staff

**1980 Baltimore Colts staff**
	Front office President and Treasurer – Robert Irsay General manager – Dick Szymanski Assistant General Manager – Ernie Accorsi Head coaches Head coach – Mike McCormack Offensive coaches Offensive Backfield – John Idzik Receivers – Dick Bielski Offensive Line – Ray Wietecha			Defensive coaches Defensive Coordinator – Chuck Weber Defensive Line – Ed Khayat Defensive Backfield – John Symank Special teams coaches Special Teams – George Boutselis

Roster

**1980 Baltimore Colts roster**

	Quarterbacks 7 Bert Jones 11 Greg Landry Running backs 27 Curtis Dickey 31 Zachary Dixon 38 Cleveland Franklin 23 Don McCauley 39 Marvin Sims FB 20 Joe Washington Wide receivers 80 Ray Butler 84 Randy Burke 81 Roger Carr 87 Brian DeRoo 45 Mike Siani Tight ends 83 Mack Alston 85 Ron LaPointe 86 Reese McCall -- Bob Raba		Offensive linemen 53 Ray Donaldson C 66 Chris Foote G 69 Wade Griffin T 68 Jeff Hart T 62 Ken Huff G 75 George Kunz T 57 Ken Mendenhall C 61 Robert Pratt G Defensive linemen 63 Mike Barnes DT 72 Fred Cook DE 76 Joe Ehrmann DT 79 Greg Fields DE 88 Herb Orvis DT 71 Mike Ozdowski DE		Linebackers 58 Steve Heimkreiter 51 Ricky Jones 55 Barry Krauss MLB 54 Sanders Shiver OLB 56 Ed Simonini MLB 52 Ed Smith 59 Mike Woods OLB Defensive backs 26 Kim Anderson FS 44 Lyle Blackwood FS 47 Larry Braziel CB 25 Nesby Glasgow CB/FS 42 Derrick Hatchett CB 40 Bruce Laird SS 37 Reggie Pinkney SS Special teams 4 Mike Bragg P 5 Steve Mike-Mayer K		Reserve lists 78 Tim Foley T (IRTooltip Injured reserve) 29 Ben Garry RB (IRTooltip Injured reserve) 65 Jimmy Moore G (IRTooltip Injured reserve) 67 Bob Van Duyne G (IRTooltip Injured reserve) Practice squad Rookies in italics

Regular season

Schedule

Week	Date	Opponent	Result	Record	Venue	Attendance
1	September 7	at New York Jets	W 17–14	1–0	Shea Stadium	50,777
2	September 14	Pittsburgh Steelers	L 17–20	1–1	Memorial Stadium	54,914
3	September 21	at Houston Oilers	L 16–21	1–2	Astrodome	47,878
4	September 28	New York Jets	W 35–21	2–2	Memorial Stadium	33,373
5	October 5	at Miami Dolphins	W 30–17	3–2	Miami Orange Bowl	50,631
6	October 12	at Buffalo Bills	W 17–12	4–2	Rich Stadium	73,634
7	October 19	New England Patriots	L 21–37	4–3	Memorial Stadium	53,924
8	October 26	St. Louis Cardinals	L 10–17	4–4	Memorial Stadium	33,506
9	November 2	at Kansas City Chiefs	W 31–24	5–4	Arrowhead Stadium	52,383
10	November 9	Cleveland Browns	L 27–28	5–5	Memorial Stadium	45,369
11	November 16	at Detroit Lions	W 10–9	6–5	Pontiac Silverdome	77,677
12	November 23	at New England Patriots	L 21–47	6–6	Schaefer Stadium	60,994
13	November 30	Buffalo Bills	W 28–24	7–6	Memorial Stadium	36,184
14	December 7	at Cincinnati Bengals	L 33–34	7–7	Riverfront Stadium	35,651
15	December 14	Miami Dolphins	L 14–24	7–8	Memorial Stadium	30,564
16	December 21	Kansas City Chiefs	L 28–38	7–9	Memorial Stadium	16,941
Note: Intra-division opponents are in bold text.

Game summaries

Week 1

	1	2	3	4	Total
• Colts	0	7	7	3	17
Jets	0	0	14	0	14

Date: September 7
Location: Shea Stadium, Flushing, New York
Game start: 4:00 p.m. EST
Game weather: 75 °F or 23.9 °C, wind 12 miles per hour (19 km/h; 10 kn)
TV announcers (NBC): Charlie Jones and Len Dawson

Scoring summary

2	BAL	Bert Jones 12 yard run (Steve Mike-Mayer kick)	Colts 7–0

3	BAL	Cleveland Franklin 1 yard run (Steve Mike-Mayer kick)	Colts 14–0

3	NYJ	Richard Todd 3 yard run (Pat Leahy kick)	Colts 14–7

3	NYJ	Darrol Ray 75 yard fumble return (Pat Leahy kick)	Tie 14–14

4	BAL	Steve Mike-Mayer 46 yard field goal	Colts 17–14

^[2]

Week 2

Pittsburgh Steelers (1-0) at Baltimore Colts (1-0)

	1	2	3	4	Total
• Steelers	3	10	0	7	20
Colts	0	7	10	0	17

Date: Sep 14, 1980
Location: Memorial Stadium (Baltimore) - Baltimore, Maryland
Game start: 2:00 p.m. EST
Game weather: 77 °F or 25 °C; wind 7 miles per hour (11 km/h; 6.1 kn)
Referee: Ben Dreith
TV announcers (NBC Sports): Charlie Jones and Len Dawson

^[3]

Week 3

Despite Houston's pride and joy Earl Campbell injured and their quarterback Ken Stabler intercepting two passes, the Colts couldn't capitalize on their opportunity as they fell to the Oilers. Rob Carpenter filled in for Campbell and did remarkably well as he carried for 114 yards on 24 carries and 1 touchdown (a 1-yard plunge). Stabler though not perfect did threw 16 of 19 passes for 219 yards and 1 touchdown pass (a 3-yarder to Rich Caster) while the Oilers defense sack Bert Jones 5 times.

Week 4

Week 5

Week 6 at Bills

Week Six: Baltimore Colts (3–2) at Buffalo Bills (5–0)

Period	1	2	3	4	Total
Colts	10	7	0	0	17
Bills	0	9	0	3	12

at Rich Stadium, Orchard Park, New York

Date: October 12
Game time: 1:00 p.m. EDT
Game weather: 49 °F (9 °C)
Game attendance: 73,634
Referee: Jim Tunney
TV: NBC
Box Score

Game information

First quarter

BAL – Mike Siani 38-yard pass from Bert Jones (Steve Mike-Mayer kick). Colts 7–0.
BAL – Steve Mike-Mayer 21-yard field goal. Colts 10–0.

Second quarter

BUF – Roosevelt Leaks 1-yard run. Colts 10–6.
BAL – Don McCauley 1-yard run (Steve Mike-Mayer kick). Colts 17–6.
BUF – Nick Mike-Mayer 49-yard field goal. Colts 17–9.

Third quarter

No scoring

Fourth quarter

BUF – Nick Mike-Mayer 20-yard field goal. Colts 17–12.

Top passers

BAL – Bert Jones – 10/21, 206 yards, TD, INT
BUF – Joe Ferguson – 17/36, 210 yards, INT

Top rushers

BAL – Joe Washington – 22 rushes, 74 yards
BUF – Joe Cribbs – 18 rushes, 76 yards

Top receivers

BAL – Mike Siani – 4 receptions, 91 yards, TD
BUF – Frank Lewis – 3 receptions, 52 yards

Week 7

Week 8

Standings

AFC East
view talk edit	W	L	T	PCT	DIV	CONF	PF	PA	STK
Buffalo Bills⁽³⁾	11	5	0	.688	4–4	8–4	320	260	W1
New England Patriots	10	6	0	.625	6–2	9–3	441	325	W2
Miami Dolphins	8	8	0	.500	3–5	4–8	266	305	L1
Baltimore Colts	7	9	0	.438	5–3	6–8	355	387	L3
New York Jets	4	12	0	.250	2–6	3–9	302	395	W1

References

^ "1980 Baltimore Colts Draftees". Pro Football Reference. Retrieved January 22, 2022.
^ "Baltimore Colts at New York Jets — September 7th, 1980". Pro Football Reference.
^ "Pittsburgh Steelers at Baltimore Colts — September 14th, 1980". Pro Football Reference.

v t e Indianapolis Colts
Founded in 1953 Played in Baltimore (1953–1983) Based and headquartered in Indianapolis, Indiana
Franchise	History in Baltimore relocation to Indianapolis Players Quarterbacks Coaches Seasons Draft First-round draft picks Ring of Honor
Stadiums	Memorial Stadium RCA Dome Lucas Oil Stadium
Culture	Carroll Rosenbloom Robert Irsay Jim Irsay 12th Man AAFC Colts Baltimore Colts Marching Band Blue Cheerleaders Elway to Marino Parks and Recreation
Lore	Dayton Triangles The Greatest Game Ever Played Ghost to the Post Move to Indianapolis 1995 AFC Championship Game Immaculate Redemption/The Tackle Deflategate Colts Catastrophe Snowvertime Minneapolis Miracle II
Rivalries	Houston Texans New England Patriots Brady–Manning rivalry
Division championships (16)	1968 1970 1975 1976 1977 1987 1999 2003 2004 2005 2006 2007 2009 2010 2013 2014
Conference championships (7)	1958 1959 1964 1968 1970 2006 2009
League championships (5)	1958 1959 1968 1970 (V) 2006 (XLI)
Retired numbers	18 19 22 24 70 77 82 89
Media	Broadcasters WFNI-AM Bob Lamey Jim Sorgi
Current league affiliations	League: National Football League Conference: American Football Conference Division: South Division
Category

v t e Indianapolis Colts seasons
Played in Baltimore (1953–1983)
1953 1954 1955 1956 1957 1958 1959 1960 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 (1920–65) or Super Bowl (1966–present) victory Italics indicates NFL Championship (1920–65) or Super Bowl (1966–present) 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