1980 Los Angeles Rams season
OwnerGeorgia Frontiere
General managerDon Klosterman
Head coachRay Malavasi
Home fieldAnaheim Stadium
Results
Record11–5
Division place2nd NFC West
Playoff finishLost Wild Card Playoffs
(at Cowboys) 13–34
The Rams playing against the New Orleans Saints at Anaheim Stadium in 1980.

The 1980 Los Angeles Rams season was the team's 43rd year with the National Football League (NFL), the 35th season in Los Angeles, and the first season at Anaheim Stadium. The Rams improved from their 9-7 Super Bowl season from the previous year with an 11-5 record. They made the playoffs for the 8th straight season. Coming off a Super Bowl appearance the previous season, the Rams had high hopes of winning the championship for the first time. After a slow start to the season, the Rams caught fire and won five games in a row to sit at 5-2. In week 15, the Rams hosted the Dallas Cowboys on Monday Night Football. In a highly anticipated matchup, the Rams wound up crushing the Cowboys 38-14. This win clinched a playoff berth for the Rams for the 8th straight season, still a team record. However, they couldn't beat Dallas when it mattered, losing at Texas Stadium in the Wild Card game 34-13. Because the Steelers missed the playoffs for the first time since 1971, the Rams were the only team from 1973 to this year that never missed the playoffs.

Offseason

NFL Draft

Main article: 1980 NFL Draft
1980 Los Angeles Rams draft
Round Pick Player Position College Notes
1 17 Johnnie Johnson  Safety Texas
2 50 Irv Pankey  Tackle Penn State
3 58 Jewerl Thomas  Running back San Jose State
3 70 LeRoy Irvin  Cornerback Kansas
3 82 Phil Murphy  Defensive tackle South Carolina State
6 154 Mike Guman  Running back Penn State
7 176 Kirk Collins  Defensive back Baylor Made roster in 1981
7 192 Gerry Ellis  Running back Missouri
8 220 Tom Pettigrew  Tackle Eastern Illinois
9 248 George Farmer  Wide receiver Southern Made roster in 1982
10 276 Bob Gruber  Tackle Pittsburgh
11 304 Terry Greer  Wide receiver Alabama State
12 332 Kevin Scanlon  Quarterback Arkansas
      Made roster    *   Made at least one Pro Bowl during career

[1]

Personnel

Staff

1980 Los Angeles Rams staff

Front office

  • Owner/President – Georgia Frontiere
  • Executive Vice President/General Manager – Don Klosterman
  • Vice President of Special Projects - James D. Dooley
  • Assistant General Manager – Jack Faulkner
  • Director of Player Personnel – John Math

Head coaches

Offensive coaches

Defensive coaches

Special teams coaches

Strength and conditioning

  • Conditioning – Clyde Evans

Roster

1980 Los Angeles Rams roster
Quarterbacks

Running backs

Wide receivers

Tight ends

Offensive linemen

Defensive linemen

Linebackers

Defensive backs

Special teams

Reserve lists


Practice squad



Rookies in italics

Regular season

Schedule

Week Date Opponent Result Record Venue Attendance
1 September 7 Detroit Lions L 20–41 0–1 Anaheim Stadium 64,892
2 September 11 at Tampa Bay Buccaneers L 9–10 0–2 Tampa Stadium 66,576
3 September 21 Green Bay Packers W 51–21 1–2 Anaheim Stadium 63,850
4 September 28 at New York Giants W 28–7 2–2 Giants Stadium 73,414
5 October 5 San Francisco 49ers W 48–26 3–2 Anaheim Stadium 62,188
6 October 12 at St. Louis Cardinals W 21–13 4–2 Busch Memorial Stadium 50,230
7 October 19 at San Francisco 49ers W 31–17 5–2 Candlestick Park 55,360
8 October 26 at Atlanta Falcons L 10–13 5–3 Atlanta–Fulton County Stadium 57,401
9 November 2 New Orleans Saints W 45–31 6–3 Anaheim Stadium 59,909
10 November 9 Miami Dolphins L 14–35 6–4 Anaheim Stadium 62,198
11 November 16 at New England Patriots W 17–14 7–4 Schaefer Stadium 60,609
12 November 24 at New Orleans Saints W 27–7 8–4 Louisiana Superdome 53,448
13 November 30 New York Jets W 38–13 9–4 Anaheim Stadium 59,743
14 December 7 at Buffalo Bills L 7–10 (OT) 9–5 Rich Stadium 77,133
15 December 15 Dallas Cowboys W 38–14 10–5 Anaheim Stadium 65,154
16 December 21 Atlanta Falcons W 20–17 (OT) 11–5 Anaheim Stadium 62,469
Note: Intra-division opponents are in bold text.

Season summary

Week 1 vs Lions

See also: 1980 Detroit Lions season
Week One: Detroit Lions (0–0) at Los Angeles Rams (0–0)
Period 1 2 34Total
Lions 10 7 101441
Rams 6 14 0020

at Anaheim Stadium, Anaheim, California

  • Date: September 7
  • Game time: 4:00 p.m.
  • Game weather: Clear; 66 °F (19 °C)
  • Game attendance: 64,892
  • TV: CBS
  • Box Score
Game information

Playoffs

Week Date Opponent Result Record Venue Attendance
Wildcard December 28 at Dallas Cowboys L 13–34 0–1 Texas Stadium 64,533

Standings

NFC West
W L T PCT DIV CONF PF PA STK
Atlanta Falcons(1) 12 4 0 .750 5–1 10–2 405 272 L1
Los Angeles Rams(5) 11 5 0 .688 5–1 9–3 424 289 W2
San Francisco 49ers 6 10 0 .375 2–4 4–8 320 415 L2
New Orleans Saints 1 15 0 .063 0–6 0–12 291 487 L1

See also

Other Anaheim–based teams in 1980

References

  1. ^ "1980 Los Angeles Rams draftees". Pro-Football-Reference.com. Retrieved October 4, 2014.

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External links


Los Angeles Rams
Los Angeles Rams seasons
1980 NFL season
Categories