1980 Atlanta Falcons season

1980 Atlanta Falcons season
Owner	Rankin M. Smith, Sr.
General manager	Eddie LeBaron
Head coach	Leeman Bennett
Home field	Fulton County Stadium
Results
Record	12–4
Division place	1st NFC West
Playoff finish	Lost NFC Divisional Playoff

The 1980 Atlanta Falcons season was the Falcons 15th season. It was the first season division title in franchise history. After a 3-3 start the Falcons went on a nine-game winning streak as Quarterback Steve Bartkowski has a career season passing for 3,544 yards while connecting on 31 Touchdown passes, as the Falcons won their first ever division Championship. The Falcons, would earn home field throughout the playoffs. Playing before 60,022 fans at Fulton County Stadium the Falcons lead the Dallas Cowboys 24-10 in the 4th Quarter. However, the Cowboys would score 20 points to stun the Falcons 30-27.

Offseason

NFL Draft

Main article: 1980 NFL Draft

1980 Atlanta Falcons draft
Round	Pick	Player	Position	College	Notes
1	7	Junior Miller *	Tight end	Nebraska
Made roster    *   Made at least one Pro Bowl during career

Personnel

Staff

1980 Atlanta Falcons staff

Front office Chairman of the Board – Rankin M. Smith, Sr. President – Rankin M. Smith, Jr. General Manager – Eddie LeBaron Director of Player Personnel – Tom Braatz Head coaches Head Coach – Leeman Bennett Offensive coaches Quarterbacks – Dick Wood Offensive Backs – John North Receivers – Jimmy Raye Offensive Line – Bill Walsh

Defensive coaches Defensive Coordinator – Jerry Glanville Defensive Line – Jim Stanley Linebackers – Doug Shively

Regular season

Schedule

Week	Date	Opponent	Result	Attendance
1	September 7, 1980	at Minnesota Vikings	L 24–23	44,773
2	September 14, 1980	at New England Patriots	W 37–21	48,321
3	September 21, 1980	Miami Dolphins	L 20–17	55,470
4	September 28, 1980	at San Francisco 49ers	W 20–17	56,518
5	October 5, 1980	Detroit Lions	W 43–28	57,652
6	October 12, 1980	New York Jets	L 14–7	57,458
7	October 19, 1980	at New Orleans Saints	W 41–14	62,651
8	October 26, 1980	Los Angeles Rams	W 13–10	57,401
9	November 2, 1980	at Buffalo Bills	W 30–14	57,959
10	November 9, 1980	at St. Louis Cardinals	W 33–27	48,662
11	November 16, 1980	New Orleans Saints	W 31–13	53,871
12	November 23, 1980	Chicago Bears	W 28–17	49,156
13	November 30, 1980	Washington Redskins	W 10–6	55,665
14	December 7, 1980	at Philadelphia Eagles	W 20–17	70,205
15	December 14, 1980	San Francisco 49ers	W 35–10	55,767
16	December 21, 1980	at Los Angeles Rams	L 20–17	62,469

Game summaries

Week 7

1 2 3 4 Total • Falcons 7 6 21 7 41 Saints 7 7 0 0 14 Date: October 19 Location: Louisiana Superdome, New Orleans, Louisiana Game start: 1:00 p.m. Game weather: indoors (dome)

Scoring summary 1 NO Wes Chandler 18 yard pass from Archie Manning (Benny Ricardo kick) Saints 7–0 1 ATL Junior Miller 11 yard pass from Steve Bartkowski (Tim Mazzetti kick) Tie 7–7 2 NO Tony Galbreath 15 yard pass from Archie Manning (Benny Ricardo kick) Saints 14–7 2 ATL Wallace Francis 24 yard pass from Steve Bartkowski (Tim Mazzetti kick) Saints 14–13 3 ATL Alfred Jenkins 49 yard pass from Steve Bartkowski (Tim Mazzetti kick) Falcons 20–14 3 ATL Lynn Cain 1 yard run (Tim Mazzetti kick) Falcons 27–14 3 ATL Junior Miller 4 yard pass from Steve Bartkowski (Tim Mazzetti kick) Falcons 34–14 4 ATL William Andrews 13 yard run (Tim Mazzetti kick) Falcons 41–14

Playoffs

Week	Date	Opponent	Result	Attendance
Divisional	January 4, 1981	Dallas Cowboys	L 30–27	60,022

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

External links

• 1980 Atlanta Falcons at Pro-Football-Reference.com