1980 Washington Redskins season

NFL team season

← 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

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

^[1]

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

^[2]

Roster

**1980 Washington Redskins roster**

	Quarterbacks 15 Mike Kruczek 11 Kim McQuilken 7 Joe Theismann Running backs 35 Rickey Claitt 30 Ike Forte 34 Bobby Hammond 22 Buddy Hardeman 38 Clarence Harmon FB 40 Wilbur Jackson Wide receivers 89 Kenny Harrison 80 John McDaniel 84 Zion McKinney 81 Art Monk 83 Ricky Thompson Tight ends 86 Phil DuBois 89 Grady Richardson 88 Rick Walker 85 Don Warren		Offensive linemen 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 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 51 Monte Coleman OLB 59 Brad Dusek OLB 57 Rich Milot MLB 52 Neal Olkewicz MLB 50 Pete Wysocki OLB Defensive backs 27 Ken Houston SS 20 Joe Lavender CB 29 Mark Murphy FS 21 Mike Nelms FS/KR/PR 24 Lemar Parrish CB 23 Tony Peters SS 47 Ray Waddy CB 45 Jeris White CB Special teams 10 Mike Connell P 3 Mark Moseley K		Reserve lists 69 Perry Brooks DT (IRTooltip Injured reserve) 63 Fred Dean T (IRTooltip Injured reserve) —- Mike Gibbons T (IRTooltip Injured reserve) 61 Melvin Jones G (IRTooltip Injured reserve) 76 Mat Mendenhall DE (IRTooltip Injured reserve) —- Morris Owens WR (IRTooltip Injured reserve) 67 Jerry Scanlan T (IRTooltip Injured reserve) -- Lewis Walker RB (IRTooltip Injured reserve) Practice squad Rookies in italics

^[3]

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

Week One: Dallas Cowboys (0–0) at Washington Redskins (0–0)

Period	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)

Period	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⁽²⁾	12	4	0	.750	6–2	9–3	384	222	L1
Dallas Cowboys⁽⁴⁾	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
Franchise	History Seasons Players Coaches Draft first-round picks Starting quarterbacks Records Broadcasters
Stadiums	Braves Field Fenway Park Griffith Stadium RFK Stadium Commanders Field
Ownership group	Managing partner: Josh Harris Limited partners: Mitchell Rales, Magic Johnson, David Blitzer, Mark Ein, others
Key personnel	Team president: Jason Wright General manager: Adam Peters Head coach: Dan Quinn
Culture	"Hail to the Commanders" Marching Band Major Tuddy Hogettes Chief Zee Redskins name controversy Name change advocates Opinion polls Trademark dispute Original Americans Foundation "Go Fund Yourself" The Replacements Everybody's All-American
Lore	Bears 73, Redskins 0 The Hogs The Fun Bunch The Over-the-Hill Gang Body Bag Game Raljon, Maryland Redskins Rule Ricky Williams trade
Rivalries	Dallas Cowboys New York Giants Philadelphia Eagles
Division championships (15)	1936 1937 1940 1942 1943 1945 1972 1983 1984 1987 1991 1999 2012 2015 2020
Conference championships (5)	1972 1982 1983 1987 1991
League championships (2)	1937 1942
Super Bowl championships (3)	1982 (XVII) 1987 (XXII) 1991 (XXVI)
Hall of Famers	Cliff Battles Sammy Baugh Bill Dudley Turk Edwards Joe Gibbs Darrell Green Russ Grimm Chris Hanburger Ken Houston Sam Huff Deacon Jones Stan Jones Sonny Jurgensen Paul Krause Vince Lombardi Wayne Millner Bobby Mitchell Art Monk John Riggins Bruce Smith Charley Taylor
Affiliations	League: National Football League Conference: National Football Conference Division: East Division
Category Commons

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)
1932 1933 1934 1935 1936 1937 1938 1939 1940 1941 1942 1943 1944 1945 1946 1947 1948 1949 1950 1951 1952 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 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