1980 Oakland Raiders season

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1980 Oakland Raiders season
Owner
Oakland–Alameda County Coliseum
Results
Record11–5
Division place2nd AFC West
Playoff finishWon Wild Card Playoffs
(vs. Oilers) 27–7
Won Divisional Playoffs
(at Browns) 14–12
Won AFC Championship
(at Chargers) 34–27
Won Super Bowl XV
(vs. Eagles) 27–10
Uniform

The

head coach Tom Flores
.

The team improved on their 9–7 record from 1979 to an 11–5 record, and ended with their second Super Bowl victory. In 1979, Raiders owner Al Davis announced his intention to move the Raiders to Los Angeles. Negotiations between Davis and the Oakland Coliseum regarding potential improvements to the facility came to an end in February 1980. At the NFL's annual meeting on March 10, 1980, team owners voted 22-0 against allowing the move, with the Raiders not participating and five teams abstaining. Davis announced he would ignore the vote and move the team anyway.[1]

The Raiders played the entire 1980 season in Oakland. At a Monday Night Football game against the Denver Broncos on December 1, 1980, Raiders fans protested by entering the Oakland Coliseum five minutes after the start of the game and holding up signs stating "Save Our Raiders" at each half's 2-minute warning. By some estimates, "almost two-thirds" of the Coliseum's seats had been empty at the game's kickoff.[1]

The announced move was involved in four lawsuits: the Los Angeles Coliseum Commission sued the NFL charging antitrust violations, the NFL sued the Raiders charging breach of contract, Raider season ticket holders filed a class-action lawsuit, and the City of Oakland filed for eminent domain of the team.[1] It wouldn’t be the only controversial event the team was involved in, as Lester Hayes’ use of stickum for competitive advantage reached its head during the season, leading to the substance’s banning the next season in what was dubbed the “Lester Hayes Rule”. Hayes, along with other NFL players such as Hall of Fame wide receiver Fred Biletnikoff, had used the substance in years past to assist in intercepting, catching and to disrupt opposing quarterbacks’ passing ability.[2]

Still playing in Oakland, the Raiders entered the season with a new quarterback after acquiring

AFC Championship Game in San Diego, the game would be a shoot out as the Raiders stunned the Chargers 34–27 to become the first AFC Wild Card to make the Super Bowl. Highlighted by Jim Plunkett's MVP performance and Rod Martin's 3 interceptions, the Raiders defeated the Philadelphia Eagles 27–10 in Super Bowl XV
.

Offseason

NFL draft

1980 Oakland Raiders draft
Round Pick Player Position College Notes
1 15 Marc Wilson  Quarterback BYU
2 43 Matt Millen *  Linebacker Penn State
5 125 Kenny Lewis  Running back Virginia Tech
5 126 John Adams  Linebacker LSU
5 128 William Bowens  Linebacker North Alabama
7 173 Malcolm Barnwell  Wide receiver Virginia Union Made roster in 1981.
8 194 Kenny Hill  Defensive back Yale Made roster in 1981.
10 264 Walter Carter  Defensive end Florida State
11 291 Mike Massey  Linebacker Arkansas
12 322 Calvin Muhammad  Wide receiver Texas Southern Made roster in 1982.
      Made roster    *   Made at least one Pro Bowl during career

[2]

Roster

1980 Oakland Raiders roster
Quarterbacks

Running backs

Wide receivers

Tight ends

Offensive linemen

Defensive linemen

Linebackers

Defensive backs

Special teams

Reserve lists
  • --
    IRTooltip Injured reserve)
  • 80
    IRTooltip Injured reserve)
  • 48
    IRTooltip Injured reserve)


Practice squad



Rookies in italics


Depth chart

Staff

Head Coach: Tom Flores

Ast: Ray Willsey (RB), Lew Erber (WR), Sam Boghosian (OL), Earl Leggett (DL), Charlie Sumner (LB), Chet Franklin (DB), Steve Ortmayer (ST), Bob Mischak (OfA, pro sct), Joe Madro (OfA, sct), Willie Brown (DfA)

[3]

Season summary

Five weeks into the Raiders season, starting QB

MVP
.

At wide receiver, Cliff Branch re-emerged again as one of the games deep threats and had his best season since 1977. Bob Chandler, the other WR, had one of his best seasons, leading the team in receptions (49) and TDs (10).

All – Pro veteran Raymond Chester at tight end also contributed with timely big plays throughout the year and in the post season. On defense, the Raiders were led by Lester Hayes who arguably had the best season for a cornerback in NFL history – 18 interceptions, 2 TDs in 19 games played. Oakland led the NFL in interceptions (35) and takeaways (52) and 2nd in sacks with 54. Hayes was known for using "stickum" and would have stickum all over his upper body. After the season, the NFL prohibited its use.[citation needed]

The Raiders' Super Bowl win was the first by an NFL wild card team and the second by a non-division champion. The Kansas City Chiefs won Super Bowl IV after finishing second to the Raiders in the AFL West Division during the 1969 season.

Preseason

Week Date Opponent Result Record Venue Recap
1 August 9 at San Francisco 49ers L 14–33 0–1 Candlestick Park Recap
2 August 16 New England Patriots W 31–29 1–1
Oakland–Alameda County Coliseum
Recap
3 August 23 at Washington Redskins L 17–34 1–2 RFK Stadium Recap
4 August 30 Philadelphia Eagles W 24–23 2–2
Oakland–Alameda County Coliseum
Recap

Regular season

Schedule

Week Date Opponent Result Record Venue Recap
1 September 7 at Kansas City Chiefs W 27–14 1–0 Arrowhead Stadium Recap
2 September 14 at San Diego Chargers L 24–30 (OT) 1–1 San Diego Stadium Recap
3 September 21 Washington Redskins W 24–21 2–1
Oakland–Alameda County Coliseum
Recap
4 September 28 at Buffalo Bills L 7–24 2–2
Rich Stadium
Recap
5 October 5 Kansas City Chiefs L 17–31 2–3
Oakland–Alameda County Coliseum
Recap
6 October 12 San Diego Chargers W 38–24 3–3
Oakland–Alameda County Coliseum
Recap
7 October 20 at Pittsburgh Steelers W 45–34 4–3 Three Rivers Stadium Recap
8 October 26 Seattle Seahawks W 33–14 5–3
Oakland–Alameda County Coliseum
Recap
9 November 2 Miami Dolphins W 16–10 6–3
Oakland–Alameda County Coliseum
Recap
10 November 9 Cincinnati Bengals W 28–17 7–3
Oakland–Alameda County Coliseum
Recap
11 November 17 at Seattle Seahawks W 19–17 8–3 Kingdome Recap
12 November 23 at Philadelphia Eagles L 7–10 8–4 Veterans Stadium Recap
13 December 1 Denver Broncos W 9–3 9–4
Oakland–Alameda County Coliseum
Recap
14 December 7 Dallas Cowboys L 13–19 9–5
Oakland–Alameda County Coliseum
Recap
15 December 14 at Denver Broncos W 24–21 10–5 Mile High Stadium Recap
16 December 21 at New York Giants W 33–17 11–5 Giants Stadium Recap
Note: Intra-division opponents are in bold text.

Standings

AFC West
W L T PCT DIV CONF PF PA STK
San Diego Chargers(1) 11 5 0 .688 6–2 9–3 418 327 W2
Oakland Raiders(4) 11 5 0 .688 6–2 9–3 364 306 W2
Kansas City Chiefs 8 8 0 .500 4–4 6–8 319 336 W1
Denver Broncos 8 8 0 .500 3–5 5–7 310 323 W1
Seattle Seahawks 4 12 0 .250 1–7 3–9 291 408 L9

Game summaries

Week 1 at Kansas City Chiefs

Week One: Oakland Raiders (0–0) at Kansas City Chiefs (0–0)
Period 1 2 34Total
Raiders 7 0 14627
Chiefs 7 0 0714

at Arrowhead Stadium, Kansas City, Missouri

  • Date: September 7
  • Game time: 4:00 p.m.
  • Game weather: 82 °F (28 °C)
  • Game attendance: 54,269
  • Referee:
    Gene Washington
  • Box Score
Game information

Week 2: San Diego Chargers

Week Two: Oakland Raiders at San Diego Chargers – Game summary
Period 1 2 34OTTotal
Raiders 3 7 77024
Chargers 3 7 014630

at San Diego Stadium, San Diego

  • Date: September 14
  • Game time: 1:00 p.m.
  • Game weather: 68 °F (20 °C), wind 8 mph (13 km/h)
  • Game attendance: 51,943
  • Referee:
    Jim Tunney
  • TV announcers (NBC): Dick Enberg and Merlin Olsen
  • Box Score

Week 3: vs. Washington Redskins

Week Three: Washington Redskins at Oakland Raiders – Game summary
Period 1 2 34Total
Redskins 0 7 7721
Raiders 3 7 7724

at

Oakland–Alameda County Coliseum, Oakland, California

Week 4 at Buffalo Bills

Week Four: Oakland Raiders (2–1) at Buffalo Bills (3–0)
Period 1 2 34Total
Raiders 0 0 707
Bills 7 10 0724

at

Game information

Week 5: vs. Kansas City Chiefs