NFL team season
The 1980 Seattle Seahawks season was the team's fifth season in the National Football League (NFL).
The 1980 season was a strange season for the Seattle Seahawks. The team started off 4–3, then lost the remaining nine games of the season. They accumulated four road wins, but lost all eight regular season home games. The offense struggled, especially after losing Sherman Smith to a knee injury for the season. With the running game struggling, the team gave up 52 sacks, up from 23 in 1979. The offense went from 7th to 21st. Even though the defense improved from 27th to 13th, the Seahawks still gave up 405 points.
Memorable moments included a 26–7 road win against the Houston Oilers, intercepting Kenny Stabler five times; a 17–16 road win against the Kansas City Chiefs (their last at Arrowhead Stadium until 1990); and a 14–0 road win against the Washington Redskins, with the offense rushing for over 220 yards. All 4 of Seattle's wins were away games; the Seahawks failed to win a home game for the first (and so far only) time in franchise history.
More indicative of the season were the home losses: a week 1 34–13 rout at home inflicted by the San Diego Chargers, a 37–31 loss to the New England Patriots, featuring several lead changes, as the Seattle defense could not hold on; losing to the Kansas City Chiefs 31–30, after going into the 4th quarter with a 23–10 lead, and the Chiefs intercepting Jim Zorn a season-high five times, leading to 17 Kansas City points. The low point of the season was a 27–21 loss to a struggling New York Giants team, one which finished 4–12 (although one was over the Cowboys). On Thanksgiving Day, November 27, the Dallas Cowboys defeated the Seahawks 51–7, in Dallas, but many people believe the Giants loss was worse.
The successes of the 1978 and 1979 seasons were long forgotten by the season's end.
Offseason
NFL Draft
- Source:[1]
Undrafted free agents
Personnel
Staff
Final roster
[2]
Schedule
Preseason
- Source: Seahawks Media Guides[3][4]
Regular season
Divisional matchups have the AFC West playing the NFC East.
- Bold indicates division opponents.
- Source: 1980 NFL season results[5]
Standings
Game summaries
Preseason
Week P1: vs. Atlanta Falcons
Preseason Week One: Seattle Seahawks vs. Atlanta Falcons – Game summary
at Kingdome, Seattle
- Date:
- Game time: 7:36 pm local
- Game weather: indoors
- Game attendance: 59,555
- Referee: Bob Frederic
- TV: KIRO
- Gamebook
Week P2: vs. Miami Dolphins
Preseason Week Two: Seattle Seahawks vs. Miami Dolphins – Game summary
at Kingdome, Seattle
- Date:
- Game time: 7:30 pm local
- Game weather: indoors
- Game attendance: 59,550
- Referee: Fred Silva
- TV: KIRO
- Gamebook
Week P3: at San Francisco 49ers
Preseason Week Three: Seattle Seahawks at San Francisco 49ers – Game summary
at Candlestick Park, San Francisco
- Date:
- Game time: 7:04 pm local
- Game weather: clear, 58 °F (14 °C), wind 5 miles per hour (8.0 km/h)
- Game attendance: 41,841
- Referee: Jim Tunney
- TV: KIRO
- Gamebook
Week P4: vs. New England Patriots
Preseason Week Four: Seattle Seahawks vs. New England Patriots – Game summary
at Kingdome, Seattle
- Date:
- Game time: 5:35 pm local
- Game weather: indoors
- Game attendance: 56,947
- Referee: Gene Barth
- TV: NBC
- Gamebook
Regular season
Week 1: vs. San Diego Chargers
Week One: Seattle Seahawks vs. San Diego Chargers – Game summary
at Kingdome, Seattle
- Date: September 7
- Game time: 1:01 pm local
- Game weather: indoors
- Game attendance: 62,042
- Referee: Jerry Seeman
- TV announcers (NBC): Merle Harmon and Carl Eller
- Gamebook
Week 2: at Kansas City Chiefs
Week 3: vs. New England Patriots
Week Three: Seattle Seahawks vs. New England Patriots – Game summary
at Kingdome, Seattle
Week 4: at Washington Redskins
Week Four: Seattle Seahawks at Washington Redskins – Game summary
at RFK Stadium, Washington, D.C.
- Date: September 28
- Game time: 4:00 pm local
- Game weather: clear, 76 °F (24 °C), 60% humidity, wind S 11 miles per hour (18 km/h)
- Game attendance: 53,263
- Referee: Jim Tunney
- TV announcers (NBC): Dick Enberg and Merlin Olsen
- Gamebook
Week 5: at Houston Oilers
Week Five: Seattle Seahawks at Houston Oilers – Game summary
at Astrodome, Houston, Texas
- Date: October 5
- Game time: 12:00 pm local
- Game weather: indoors
- Game attendance: 46,860
- Referee: Fred Wyant
- TV announcers (NBC): Sam Nover and Bob Trumpy
- Gamebook
Week 6: vs. Cleveland Browns
Week Six: Seattle Seahawks vs. Cleveland Browns – Game summary
at Kingdome, Seattle
Week 7: at New York Jets
Week Seven: Seattle Seahawks at New York Jets – Game summary
at Shea Stadium, New York
- Date: October 19
- Game time: 1:01 pm local
- Game weather: clear, 64 °F (18 °C), 70% humidity, wind W 10 miles per hour (16 km/h)
- Game attendance: 52,496
- Referee: Bob McElwee
- TV announcers (NBC): Charlie Jones and Len Dawson
- Gamebook
Week 8: at Oakland Raiders
Week Eight: Seattle Seahawks at Oakland Raiders – Game summary
at Oakland–Alameda County Coliseum, Oakland, California
- Date: October 26
- Game time: 1:01 pm local
- Game weather: clear, 63 °F (17 °C), 73% humidity, wind SW 5 miles per hour (8.0 km/h)
- Game attendance: 50,185
- Referee: Cal Lepore
- TV announcers (NBC): Sam Nover and Bob Trumpy
- Gamebook
Week 9: vs. Philadelphia Eagles
Week Nine: Seattle Seahawks vs. Philadelphia Eagles – Game summary
at Kingdome, Seattle
Week 10: vs. Kansas City Chiefs
Week Ten: Seattle Seahawks vs. Kansas City Chiefs – Game summary
at Kingdome, Seattle
- Date: November 9
- Game time: 1:03 pm local
- Game weather: indoors
- Game attendance: 58,976
- Referee: Jim Tunney
- TV announcers (NBC): Mike Adamle and Mike Haffner
- Gamebook
Week 11: vs. Oakland Raiders
Week Eleven: Seattle Seahawks vs. Oakland Raiders – Game summary
at Kingdome, Seattle
Week 12: at Denver Broncos
Week Twelve: Seattle Seahawks at Denver Broncos – Game summary
at Mile High Stadium, Denver, Colorado
- Date: November 23
- Game time: 2:00 pm local
- Game weather: cloudy, 34 °F (1 °C), 69% humidity, wind E 9 miles per hour (14 km/h)
- Game attendance: 73,274
- Referee: Jerry Seeman
- TV announcers (NBC): Charlie Jones and Len Dawson
- Gamebook
Week 13: at Dallas Cowboys
Week Thirteen: Seattle Seahawks at Dallas Cowboys – Game summary
at Texas Stadium, Irving, Texas
- Date: November 27
- Game time: 3:00 pm local
- Game weather: partly cloudy, 49 °F (9 °C), 52% humidity, wind WNW 17 miles per hour (27 km/h)
- Game attendance: 57,540
- Referee: Pat Haggerty
- TV announcers (NBC): Dick Enberg and Merlin Olsen
- Gamebook
Week 14: vs. New York Giants
Week Fourteen: Seattle Seahawks vs. New York Giants – Game summary
at Kingdome, Seattle
Week 15: at San Diego Chargers
Week Fifteen: Seattle Seahawks at San Diego Chargers – Game summary
at San Diego Stadium, San Diego, California
- Date: December 13
- Game time: 1:01 pm local
- Game weather: clear, 72 °F (22 °C), 48% humidity, wind SW 5 miles per hour (8.0 km/h)
- Game attendance: 49,980
- Referee: Red Cashion
- TV announcers (NBC): Charlie Jones and Len Dawson
- Gamebook
Week 16: vs. Denver Broncos
Week Sixteen: Seattle Seahawks vs. Denver Broncos – Game summary
at Kingdome, Seattle
- Date: December 21
- Game time: 1:01 pm local
- Game weather: indoors
- Game attendance: 51,853
- Referee: Bob McElwee
- TV announcers (NBC): Jay Randolph and Gene Washington
- Gamebook
References
- ^ "1980 Seattle Seahawks Draftees". Pro Football Reference. Retrieved May 14, 2022.
- ^ "Home". pro-football-reference.com.
- ^ 1980 Seahawks Media Guide, accessed February 14, 2015.
- ^ 1981 Seahawks Media Guide, accessed February 14, 2015.
- ^ 1980 NFL season results, NFL.com, accessed February 14, 2015.
External links
- Seahawks draft history at NFL.com
- 1980 NFL season results at NFL.com
