1980 Cleveland Browns season

The 1980 Cleveland Browns season was the team's 35th overall, and 31st season in the National Football League. The Browns finished the regular season with eleven wins and five losses, and their first division title since 1971, winning a tiebreaker with the Houston Oilers. The 1980 Browns were known as the Kardiac Kids for having several games decided in the final moments. The 1980 season was the first time that Cleveland had qualified for the postseason since 1972. Also, for the second straight year, Browns head coach Sam Rutigliano was named NFL Coach of the Year, and quarterback Brian Sipe was named the league's Most Valuable Player.

1980 Cleveland Browns season
OwnerArt Modell
Head coachSam Rutigliano
Home fieldCleveland Municipal Stadium
Local radioWHK
Results
Record11–5
Division place1st AFC Central
Playoff finishLost Divisional Playoffs
(vs. Raiders) 12–14

Rallying from a 10–0 first-half deficit against Cincinnati, the Browns came back to beat the Bengals 27–24 and finally snare the Central championship when Don Cockroft kicked the game-winning 22-yard field goal with 1:25 left. The Bengals tried to come back and got as far as the Cleveland 14-yard line before time ran out.

The Browns played their first home playoff game in nine seasons against the Raiders, in what has become known as the Red Right 88 game. The Browns marched to the Oakland 13 in the waning seconds trailing by 14–12, but Brian Sipe's pass into the end zone for Hall of Fame tight end Ozzie Newsome was intercepted, ending Cleveland's season.

Five players had 50 or more receptions, led by running back Mike Pruitt. Pruitt also rushed for 1,034 yards and six touchdowns. Running back Calvin Hill, recorded six touchdowns among his 27 catches. Wide receiver Ricky Feacher grabbed just 10 passes, but four went for scores, including two within a matter of minutes in the division-clinching win over the Bengals.

Offseason

NFL Draft
Main article: 1980 NFL Draft
1980 Cleveland Browns draft
Round Pick Player Position College Notes
1 27 Charles White *  Running back USC
2 54 Cleveland Crosby  Defensive end Arizona
3 72 Cliff Odom  Linebacker Texas–Arlington
4 99 Ron Crews  Defensive tackle UNLV
4 109 Paul McDonald  Quarterback USC
5 116 Elvis Franks  Defensive end Morgan State
8 209 Jeff Copeland  Linebacker Texas Tech
9 236 Roy Dewalt  Running back Texas–Arlington
10 263 Kevin Fidel  Center San Diego State
11 294 Roland Sales  Running back Arkansas
12 321 Marcus Jackson  Defensive end Purdue
      Made roster    *   Made at least one Pro Bowl during career

[1]

Regular season

Schedule
Week Date Opponent Result Record Venue Attendance Recap
1 September 7 at New England Patriots L 17–34 0–1 Schaefer Stadium 49,222 Recap
2 September 15 Houston Oilers L 7–16 0–2 Cleveland Municipal Stadium 80,243 Recap
3 September 21 Kansas City Chiefs W 20–13 1–2 Cleveland Municipal Stadium 63,614 Recap
4 September 28 at Tampa Bay Buccaneers W 34–27 2–2 Tampa Stadium 65,540 Recap
5 October 5 Denver Broncos L 16–19 2–3 Cleveland Municipal Stadium 81,065 Recap
6 October 12 at Seattle Seahawks W 27–3 3–3 Kingdome 61,366 Recap
7 October 19 Green Bay Packers W 26–21 4–3 Cleveland Municipal Stadium 75,548 Recap
8 October 26 Pittsburgh Steelers W 27–26 5–3 Cleveland Municipal Stadium 79,095 Recap
9 November 3 Chicago Bears W 27–21 6–3 Cleveland Municipal Stadium 84,225 Recap
10 November 9 at Baltimore Colts W 28–27 7–3 Memorial Stadium 45,369 Recap
11 November 16 at Pittsburgh Steelers L 13–16 7–4 Three Rivers Stadium 54,563 Recap
12 November 23 Cincinnati Bengals W 31–7 8–4 Cleveland Municipal Stadium 79,253 Recap
13 November 30 at Houston Oilers W 17–14 9–4 Houston Astrodome 51,514 Recap
14 December 7 New York Jets W 17–14 10–4 Cleveland Municipal Stadium 78,454 Recap
15 December 14 at Minnesota Vikings L 23–28 10–5 Metropolitan Stadium 42,202 Recap
16 December 21 at Cincinnati Bengals W 27–24 11–5 Riverfront Stadium 50,058 Recap

Note: Intra-division opponents are in bold text.

Week 3
1 234Total
Chiefs 0 670 13
• Browns 0 7130 20
Scoring summary
Q1KCLowery 38-yard field goalKC 3–0
Q1KCLowery 22-yard field goalKC 6–0
Q1CLEWhite 2-yard run (Cockroft kick)CLE 7–6
Q3CLEWright 12-yard pass from Sipe (kick failed)CLE 13–6
Q3KCSamuels 16-yard pass from Fuller (Lowery kick)Tie 13–13
Q3CLEWhite 31-yard pass from Sipe (Cockroft kick)CLE 20–13

[2]

Week 7 vs. Green Bay Packers
  • The Browns rallied from down 21-13 in the fourth quarter, first on Ozzie Newsome’s touchdown catch from Brian Sipe, then facing third and 20 from the Packers' 46 yard line with 16 seconds left Sipe completed a pass to Dave Logan for the winning touchdown. Browns 26, Packers 21

Week 8 vs. Pittsburgh Steelers
  • Sipe and company erased three two-score deficits - 10–0, 20–7, and 26–14 - to defeat the Steelers in Cleveland. Ozzie Newsome hauled in the winning catch with 5:35 to play. Browns 27, Steelers 26

Week 9 vs. Chicago Bears
  • Although Mike Pruitt's 56-yard touchdown run ultimately wins the game for Cleveland, Sipe throws for 298 yards and reaches a milestone in Browns history, becoming the Browns' all-time passing leader in NFL play.[3] Browns 27, Bears 21

Week 10 at Baltimore Colts
  • A missed PAT by the Colts proved the difference in a 28-27 Browns win as both teams combined for eight touchdowns. Bert Jones had three scores for the Colts but was sacked five times.

Week 11 at Pittsburgh Steelers
  • Seeking their first ever win at Pittsburgh's Three Rivers Stadium, the Browns once again were denied, this time on a Terry Bradshaw to Lynn Swann touchdown with eleven seconds left. It was the Browns' 11th consecutive defeat at Pittsburgh. Steelers 16, Browns 13

Week 13 at Houston Oilers
  • The Browns edged the Oilers 17-14 in what had become a de facto three-way tie atop the AFC Central. The Browns were out gained in yardage by 126 but five Oilers turnovers were the key.

Week 14 vs. New York Jets
  • Once again the Cardiac Browns had to rally, this time down 14-10 in the fourth, this time on a five-yard Greg Pruitt touchdown catch.

Week 15 at Minnesota Vikings
  • In a game known to Vikings fans as the "Miracle at the Met", the Browns relinquish a 23–9 lead with only 7:15 remaining. The game is probably most remembered for Browns Safety Thom Darden's deflection of Tommy Kramer's "Hail Mary pass", which is caught by Ahmad Rashad as time expires. Kramer's 456 passing yards were the most ever given up by the Browns. Vikings 28, Browns 23

Week 16 at Cincinnati Bengals
  • Needing a win to secure the Central Division title, the Browns rallied against the Bengals 27–24. The game lead tied or changed six times as Don Cockroft's game-winning field goal came with 1:25 left to play. Browns 27, Bengals 24

Standings
AFC Central
W L T PCT DIV CONF PF PA STK
Cleveland Browns(2) 11 5 0 .688 4–2 8–4 357 310 W1
Houston Oilers(5) 11 5 0 .688 4–2 7–5 295 251 W3
Pittsburgh Steelers 9 7 0 .563 2–4 5–7 352 313 L1
Cincinnati Bengals 6 10 0 .375 2–4 4–8 244 312 L1

Personnel

Staff / Coaches
1980 Cleveland Browns staff
Front office

Head coaches

Offensive coaches

 Defensive coaches

Special teams coaches

Strength and conditioning

Roster
1980 Cleveland Browns roster
Quarterbacks

Running backs

Wide receivers

Tight ends

 Offensive linemen

Defensive linemen

 Linebackers

Defensive backs

Special teams

 Reserve lists

rookies in italics

[4]

Son of the Kardiac Kids

The 2007 Cleveland Browns had a season similar to the Kardiac Kids, with several games being decided in the final minutes or in overtime. One game in particular against the Baltimore Ravens, which the Browns won in overtime because of a reversed call on a field goal by kicker Phil Dawson, led the Cleveland Plain Dealer to publish an editorial calling the 2007 Browns "The 'Son of the Kardiac Kids'" . The similarities have been at least acknowledged by the organization, with offensive coordinator Rob Chudzinski being quoted in the article calling his team "The Kardiac Kids' little brother."

Postseason
See also: 1980–81 NFL playoffs
Round Date Opponent (seed) Result Record Venue Recap
Divisional January 4, 1981 Oakland Raiders (4) L 12–14 0–1 Cleveland Municipal Stadium Recap

AFC Divisional Playoff
  • Oakland Raiders 14, Cleveland Browns 12
1 2 3 4 Total
Raiders 0 7 0 7 14
Browns 0 6 6 0 12

at Cleveland Stadium, Cleveland, Ohio

  • TV: NBC
  • Attendance: 77,655

Red Right 88
Main article: Red Right 88

AFC Divisional Playoff Game (Home) January 4, 1981 – Browns 12, Oakland Raiders 14 In sub-zero conditions on Cleveland's windy Lakefront, the Browns and Raiders battled into the waning moments of the contest. Down 14–12 and having mounted a 72-yard drive, the Browns were within striking distance at the Oakland 13-yard line with less than a minute remaining. Although it was only second down, Don Cockroft had already missed two field goal attempts in the swirling winds. Browns Coach Sam Rutigliano chose a more aggressive strategy, opting to go for the kill and pass the ball on second down instead of conservatively running the ball and then, perhaps, settling for a last second field goal. The play called was Red Right 88, which was intended for Dave Logan. However, Ozzie Newsome managed to get clear in the Raiders endzone and Sipe fired the ball to him—but the wind managed to interfere with the plan and heartbreak was the outcome for the frozen 77,655 Cleveland faithful: the ball was intercepted by Oakland Cornerback Mike Davis. The 1980 season will be remembered fondly albeit bittersweet, but the game would go down in Browns history (along with The Drive and The Fumble) as one of the franchises sadder moments.

Awards and records

References
  1. "1980 Cleveland Browns Draftees". Pro Football Reference. Retrieved January 22, 2022.
  2. "Kansas City Chiefs at Cleveland Browns – September 21st, 1980". Pro-Football-Reference.com.
  3. Although quarterback Otto Graham had more overall passing yards with the Browns from 1946 to 1955, only the last six of these seasons were in the NFL; Graham's first four seasons were in the AAFC. Pro-Football-Reference.com: For combined seasons, from 1920 to 1980, played in the NFL, playing for the Cleveland Browns, played QB, sorted by descending Passing Yds.
  4. "1980 Cleveland Browns Starters, Roster, & Players". Pro-Football-Reference.com.
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