From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
The Cowboys playing the Eagles in the 1980 NFC Championship Game .
The 1980 Dallas Cowboys season was their 21st in the league . The team improved their previous output of 11–5, winning twelve games.[1] They qualified for the playoffs as an NFC Wild Card, but lost in the Conference Championship.
The season featured a very unusual end to the regular season. Going into the final week of the season, Dallas (11–4) played Philadelphia (12–3) at Texas Stadium. Under the NFL's tiebreaking rules, if Dallas could beat the Eagles by 25 points, they would earn the NFC East title and the number two seed in the NFC playoffs while Philadelphia would be a wildcard team. However, if the Cowboys lost (or won by less than 25) then the roles would reverse. Atlanta (12-4) had the number one NFC seed over either team in any scenario since they beat Philadelphia head-to-head and enjoyed a better conference record (10-2 vs. 9-3) over Dallas.
Dallas led the game 35–10 in the fourth quarter, but the Eagles rallied to lose only 35–27. This forced Dallas to play an extra week in the playoffs and a road game in Atlanta in the divisional round. Dallas ultimately lost at Philadelphia in the NFC Championship game.
Offseason
NFL Draft
Undrafted free agents
Schedule
Week
Date
Opponent
Result
Attendance
Record
1
September 8, 1980
at Washington Redskins
W 17–3
55,045
1–0
2
September 14, 1980
at Denver Broncos
L 41–20
74,919
1–1
3
September 21, 1980
Tampa Bay Buccaneers
W 28–17
62,750
2–1
4
September 28, 1980
at Green Bay Packers
W 28–7
54,776
3–1
5
October 5, 1980
New York Giants
W 24–3
59,126
4–1
6
October 12, 1980
San Francisco 49ers
W 59–14
63,399
5–1
7
October 19, 1980
at Philadelphia Eagles
L 17–10
70,696
5–2
8
October 26, 1980
San Diego Chargers
W 42–31
60,639
6–2
9
November 2, 1980
at St. Louis Cardinals
W 27–24
50,701
7–2
10
November 9, 1980
at New York Giants
L 38–35
68,343
7–3
11
November 16, 1980
St. Louis Cardinals
W 31–21
52,567
8–3
12
November 23, 1980
Washington Redskins
W 14–10
58,809
9–3
13
November 27, 1980
Seattle Seahawks
W 51–7
57,540
10–3
14
December 7, 1980
at Oakland Raiders
W 19–13
53,194
11–3
15
December 15, 1980
at Los Angeles Rams
L 38–14
65,154
11–4
16
December 21, 1980
Philadelphia Eagles
W 35–27
62,548
12–4
Game summaries
Week 1
1
2 3 4 Total
• Cowboys
7
3 0 7
17
Redskins
0
0 0 3
3
Week 2
1
2 3 4 Total
Cowboys
0
10 3 7
20
• Broncos
7
17 14 3
41
Date: September 14, 1980Location: Mile High Stadium Game start: 4:00 p.m. EST Game attendance: 74,919Game weather: Sunny; 67°F
Week 3
1
2 3 4 Total
Bucs
7
10 0 0
17
• Cowboys
7
7 7 7
28
Date: Sunday Sept 21, 1980Location: Texas Stadium Game start: 4:00 p.m. EST Game weather: Sunny; 86°F
Week 4
1
2 3 4 Total
• Cowboys
7
7 7 7
28
Packers
0
7 0 0
7
Week 5
1
2 3 4 Total
Giants
0
0 0 3
3
• Cowboys
3
14 0 7
24
Date: Sunday Oct 5, 1980Location: Texas Stadium Game start: 4:00 p.m. EST Game weather: 69°F
Week 6
1
2 3 4 Total
49ers
0
7 0 7
14
• Cowboys
14
24 14 7
59
Date: Sunday Oct 12, 1980Location: Texas Stadium Game start: 2:00 p.m. EST Game weather: Sunny; 86°F
Week 7
1
2 3 4 Total
Cowboys
7
3 0 0
10
• Eagles
0
10 0 7
17
Scoring summary Q1 DAL Hegman recovered fumble in end zone (Septien kick) DAL 7–0
Q2 PHI Franklin 35 yard field goal DAL 7–3
Q2 PHI Carmichael 5 yard pass from Jaworski (Franklin kick) PHI 10–7
Q2 DAL Septien 33 yard field goal Tie 10–10
Q4 PHI Smith 15 yard pass from Jaworski (Franklin kick) PHI 17–10
Week 8
1
2 3 4 Total
Chargers
3
21 0 7
31
• Cowboys
7
7 21 7
42
Date: Sunday Oct 26,1980Location: Texas Stadium Game start: 9:00 p.m. EST Game weather: Clear; 55°F
Week 9
1
2 3 4 Total
• Cowboys
0
10 3 14
27
Cardinals
7
3 7 7
24
Week 10
1
2 3 4 Total
Cowboys
7
14 14 0
35
• Giants
7
21 0 10
38
Date: Sunday Nov 9,1980Location: Giants Stadium Game start: 1:00 p.m. EST Game weather: Overcast; 44°F, wind 12 mph
Week 11
1
2 3 4 Total
Cardinals
14
7 0 0
21
• Cowboys
7
10 7 7
31
Date: Sunday Nov 16,1980Location: Texas Stadium Game start: 2:00 p.m. EST Game weather: 44°F, wind 18 mph
Week 12
1
2 3 4 Total
Redskins
0
3 0 7
10
• Cowboys
7
0 0 7
14
Date: Sunday Nov 23,1980Location: Texas Stadium Game start: 4:00 p.m. EST Game weather: 47°F, wind 8 mph
Week 13
1
2 3 4 Total
Seahawks
0
0 0 7
7
• Cowboys
9
21 0 21
51
Date: Thursday Nov 27, 1980Location: Texas Stadium Game start: 4:00 p.m. EST Game weather: 40°F, wind 14 mph
Week 14
1
2 3 4 Total
• Cowboys
7
9 3 0
19
Raiders
7
3 3 0
13
Scoring summary Q1 OAK Raymond Chester 6 yard pass from Jim Plunkett (Chris Bahr kick) OAK 7–0
Q1 DAL Tony Dorsett 20 yard rush (Rafael Septien kick) TIE 7–7
Q2 DAL Rafael Septien 52 yard field goal DAL 7–10
Q2 DAL Ron Springs 2 yard rush DAL 7–16
Q2 OAK Chris Bahr 22 yard field goal DAL 10–16
Q3 DAL Rafael Septien 34 yard field goal DAL 10–19
Q3 OAK Chris Bahr 38 yard field goal DAL 13–19
Week 15
1
2 3 4 Total
Cowboys
0
0 0 14
14
• Rams
7
21 10 0
38
Week 16
1
2 3 4 Total
Eagles
0
0 10 17
27
• Cowboys
7
14 7 7
35
Scoring summary 1 DAL Danny White 1 yard run (Rafael Septién kick)Cowboys 7–0
2 DAL Tony Hill 36 yard pass from Danny White (Rafael Septien kick)Cowboys 14–0
2 DAL Preston Pearson 9 yard pass from Danny White (Rafael Septien kick)Cowboys 21–0
3 PHI Louie Giammona 1 yard run (Tony Franklin kick) Cowboys 21–7
3 DAL Drew Pearson 11 yard pass from Danny White (Rafael Septien kick)Cowboys 28–7
3 PHI Tony Franklin 29 yard field goal Cowboys 28–10
4 DAL Billy Joe DuPree 15 yard pass from Danny White (Rafael Septien kick)Cowboys 35–10
4 PHI Rodney Parker 30 yard pass from Ron Jaworski (Tony Franklin kick) Cowboys 35–17
4 PHI Tony Franklin 19 yard field goal Cowboys 35–20
4 PHI Wilbert Montgomery 6 yard run (Tony Franklin kick)Cowboys 35–27
[2]
Playoffs
Wildcard Round
1
2 3 4 Total
Rams
6
7 0 0
13
• Cowboys
3
10 14 7
34
Date: December 28,1980Location: Texas Stadium Game start: 1:30 p.m. EST Game attendance: 64,533Game weather: Sunny; 49°F
Divisional Round
1
2 3 4 Total
• Cowboys
3
7 0 20
30
Falcons
10
7 7 3
27
Scoring summary Q1 ATL Tim Mazzetti 38 yard field goal ATL 7–0
Q1 ATL Alfred Jenkins 60 yard pass from Steve Bartkowski (Tim Mazzetti kick) ATL 10-0
Q1 Dal Rafael Septien 38 yard field goal ATL 10-3
Q2 DAL Billy Joe DuPree 5 yard pass from Danny White (Rafael Septien kick) Tie 10-10
Q2 ATL Lynn Cain 1 yard rush (Tim Mazzetti kick) ATL 17-10
Q3 ATL William Andrews 12 yard pass from Steve Bartkowski (Tim Mazzetti kick) ATL 24-10
Q4 DAL Robert Newhouse 1 yard rush (Rafael Septien kick) ATL 24-17
Q4 ATL Tim Mazzetti 34 yard field goal ATL 27-17
Q4 DAL Drew Pearson 14 yard pass from Danny White (Rafael Septien kick) ATL 27-24
Q4 DAL Drew Pearson 23 yard pass from Danny White (Rafael Septien kick) DAL 30-27
Conference Championship
1
2 3 4 Total
Cowboys
0
7 0 0
7
• Eagles
7
0 10 3
20
Scoring summary Q1 PHI Montgomery 42 yard run (Franklin kick) PHI 7–0
Q2 DAL Dorsett 3 yard run (Septien kick) Tie 7–7
Q3 PHI Franklin 26 yard field goal PHI 10–7
Q3 PHI Harris 9 yard run (Franklin kick) PHI 17–7
Q4 PHI Franklin 20 yard field goal PHI 20–7
Veterans Stadium during the 1980 NFC Championship Game against the Dallas Cowboys, January 11, 1981.
Standings
Roster
Dallas Cowboys 1980 roster
Quarterbacks
Running Backs
Wide Receivers
Tight Ends
Offensive Linemen
Defensive Linemen
Linebackers
Defensive Backs
Special Teams
Reserve Lists
Rookies in italics
45 Active, 2 Inactive
References
Franchise Stadiums Culture Lore Rivalries Division championships (25) Conference championships (10) League championships (5) Media Current league affiliations