1980 Dallas Cowboys Season

The 1980 Dallas Cowboys season was their 21st in the league.

The team improved to 12-4 following Roger Staubach's retirement after the 1979 season. They qualified for the 1980 NFL postseason as an NFC Wild Card, yet ultimately lost in the Conference Championship game.

1980 Dallas Cowboys season
OwnerClint Murchison, Jr.
General managerTex Schramm
Head coachTom Landry
Home fieldTexas Stadium
Results
Record12–4
Division place2nd NFC East
Playoff finishWon Wild Card Playoffs
(vs. Rams) 34–13
Won Divisional Playoffs
(at Falcons) 30–27
Lost NFC Championship
(at Eagles) 7–20
1980 Dallas Cowboys Season
The Cowboys playing the Eagles in the 1980 NFC Championship Game

Going into the final week of the season, Dallas (11–4) played Philadelphia (12–3) at Texas Stadium. Under that season's NFL tiebreakers, Dallas had to beat the Eagles by 25 points or greater to win the NFC East, entering the NFC postseason as the number two seed while Philadelphia would be a wildcard team. The Eagles win NFC East should the Cowboys lose, tie or win by 24 points or fewer.

Dallas was leading the final regular season game 35–10 in the fourth quarter; however, the Eagles scored 17 unanswered points to pull within 35–27. Dallas had to play an extra week in the Wild Card round and as visitors in the following week road game in Atlanta in the Divisional Round. Dallas lost at Philadelphia in the NFC Championship Games

Offseason

NFL Draft

1980 Dallas Cowboys draft
Round Pick Player Position College Notes
3 78 Bill Roe  LB Colorado
3 80 James Jones  RB Mississippi State
4 105 Kurt Petersen  OG Missouri
5 133 Gary Hogeboom  QB Central Michigan
6 162 Timmy Newsome  FB Winston-Salem State
7 189 Lester Brown  RB Clemson
8 216 Larry Savage  LB Michigan State
9 246 Jackie Flowers  WR Florida State
10 273 Matthew Teague  LB Prairie View A&M
11 300 Gary Padjen  LB Arizona State
12 330 Norm Wells  DE Northwestern
      Made roster    †   Pro Football Hall of Fame    *   Made at least one Pro Bowl during career

Undrafted free agents

1980 Undrafted Free Agents of note
Player Position College
Mike Brock Offensive Line Alabama
Dextor Clinkscale Safety South Carolina State
Roy Dean Wide receiver Alabama
Anthony Dickerson Linebacker SMU
Mike Glenn Offensive Line Utah State
Richard Grimmett Offensive tackle Illinois
Jim Himic Offensive Line West Virginia
Jay Howlett Defensive Line Holy Cross
Kevin Kelly Offensive Line Duke
Bill Leer Offensive Line Colorado State
Mike Mancuso Quarterback Nebraska–Omaha
Don Smerek Defensive end Nevada
Roosevelt Smith Running back Michigan

Schedule

Week Date Opponent Result Record Game Site Attendance Recap
1 September 8 at Washington Redskins W 17–3 1–0 RFK Stadium 55,045 Recap
2 September 14 at Denver Broncos L 20–41 1–1 Mile High Stadium 74,919 Recap
3 September 21 Tampa Bay Buccaneers W 28–17 2–1 Texas Stadium 62,750 Recap
4 September 28 at Green Bay Packers W 28–7 3–1 Milwaukee County Stadium 54,776 Recap
5 October 5 New York Giants W 24–3 4–1 Texas Stadium 59,126 Recap
6 October 12 San Francisco 49ers W 59–14 5–1 Texas Stadium 63,399 Recap
7 October 19 at Philadelphia Eagles L 10–17 5–2 Veterans Stadium 70,696 Recap
8 October 26 San Diego Chargers W 42–31 6–2 Texas Stadium 60,639 Recap
9 November 2 at St. Louis Cardinals W 27–24 7–2 Busch Memorial Stadium 50,701 Recap
10 November 9 at New York Giants L 35–38 7–3 Giants Stadium 68,343 Recap
11 November 16 St. Louis Cardinals W 31–21 8–3 Texas Stadium 52,567 Recap
12 November 23 Washington Redskins W 14–10 9–3 Texas Stadium 58,809 Recap
13 November 27 Seattle Seahawks W 51–7 10–3 Texas Stadium 57,540 Recap
14 December 7 at Oakland Raiders W 19–13 11–3 Oakland–Alameda County Coliseum 53,194 Recap
15 December 15 at Los Angeles Rams L 14–38 11–4 Anaheim Stadium 65,154 Recap
16 December 21 Philadelphia Eagles W 35–27 12–4 Texas Stadium 62,548 Recap

Division opponents are in bold text

Game summaries

Week 1 at Redskins

Week One: Dallas Cowboys (0–0) at Washington Redskins (0–0)
Period 1 2 34Total
Cowboys 7 3 0717
Redskins 0 0 033

at RFK Stadium, Washington, D.C.

Game information

Week 2

1 234Total
Cowboys 0 1037 20
• Broncos 7 17143 41

Week 3

1 234Total
Bucs 7 1000 17
• Cowboys 7 777 28
  • Date: Sunday Sept 21, 1980
  • Location: Texas Stadium
  • Game start: 4:00 p.m. EST
  • Game weather: Sunny; 86 °F (30 °C)
  • Referee: Chuck Heberling
  • TV announcers (CBS): Pat Summerall and Tom Brookshier

Week 4

1 234Total
• Cowboys 7 777 28
Packers 0 700 7

Week 5

1 234Total
Giants 0 003 3
• Cowboys 3 1407 24
  • Date: Sunday Oct 5, 1980
  • Location: Texas Stadium
  • Game start: 4:00 p.m. EST
  • Game weather: 69 °F (21 °C)

Week 6

1 234Total
49ers 0 707 14
• Cowboys 14 24147 59
  • Date: Sunday Oct 12, 1980
  • Location: Texas Stadium
  • Game start: 2:00 p.m. EST
  • Game weather: Sunny; 86 °F (30 °C)
  • Referee: Pat Haggerty
  • Television network: CBS

Week 7

1 234Total
Cowboys 7 300 10
• Eagles 0 1007 17
  • Date: October 19
  • Location: Veterans Stadium
  • Game start: 1:00 p.m. EST
  • Game attendance: 70,696
  • Game weather: Sunny; 69 °F (21 °C)
  • Referee: Cal Lepore
  • TV announcers (CBS): Pat Summerall and Tom Brookshier

Week 8

1 234Total
Chargers 3 2107 31
• Cowboys 7 7217 42
  • Date: Sunday Oct 26, 1980
  • Location: Texas Stadium
  • Game start: 9:00 p.m. EST
  • Game weather: Clear; 55 °F (13 °C)
  • Referee: Dick Jorgensen
  • Television network: ABC

Week 9

1 234Total
• Cowboys 0 10314 27
Cardinals 7 377 24

Week 10

1 234Total
Cowboys 7 14140 35
• Giants 7 21010 38
  • Date: Sunday Nov 9, 1980
  • Location: Giants Stadium
  • Game start: 1:00 p.m. EST
  • Game weather: Overcast; 44 °F (7 °C), wind 12 mph (19 km/h)
  • Referee: Ben Dreith
  • TV announcers (CBS): Frank Glieber and Roger Staubach

Week 11

1 234Total
Cardinals 14 700 21
• Cowboys 7 1077 31
  • Date: Sunday Nov 16, 1980
  • Location: Texas Stadium
  • Game start: 2:00 p.m. EST
  • Game weather: 44 °F (7 °C), wind 18 mph (29 km/h)
  • TV announcers (CBS): Frank Glieber and Roger Staubach

Week 12

1 234Total
Redskins 0 307 10
• Cowboys 7 007 14
  • Date: Sunday Nov 23, 1980
  • Location: Texas Stadium
  • Game start: 4:00 p.m. EST
  • Game weather: 47 °F (8 °C), wind 8 mph (13 km/h)
  • Referee: Fred Silva
  • TV announcers (CBS): Pat Summerall and Tom Brookshier

Week 13

1 234Total
Seahawks 0 007 7
• Cowboys 9 21021 51
  • Date: Thursday Nov 27, 1980
  • Location: Texas Stadium
  • Game start: 4:00 p.m. EST
  • Game weather: 40 °F (4 °C), wind 14 mph (23 km/h)
  • Referee: Pat Haggerty
  • TV announcers (NBC): Dick Enberg and Merlin Olsen

Week 14

1 234Total
• Cowboys 7 930 19
Raiders 7 330 13

Week 15

1 234Total
Cowboys 0 0014 14
• Rams 7 21100 38

Week 16

1 234Total
Eagles 0 01017 27
• Cowboys 7 1477 35

Playoffs

Round Date Opponent Result Game Site Attendance Recap
Wild Card December 28, 1980 Los Angeles Rams (5) W 34–13 Texas Stadium 64,533 Recap
Divisional January 4, 1981 at Atlanta Falcons (1) W 30–27 Atlanta–Fulton County Stadium 60,022 Recap
NFC Championship January 11, 1981 at Philadelphia Eagles (2) L 7–20 Veterans Stadium 70,696 Recap

Wildcard Round

1 234Total
Rams 6 700 13
• Cowboys 3 10147 34

Divisional Round

1 234Total
• Cowboys 3 7020 30
Falcons 10 773 27

Conference Championship

1 234Total
Cowboys 0 700 7
Eagles 7 0103 20
  • Date: January 11, 1981
  • Location: Veterans Stadium
  • Game start: 12:30 p.m. EST
  • Game attendance: 70,696
  • Game weather: Sunny; 17 °F (−8 °C)
  • Referee: Jerry Markbreit
  • TV announcers (CBS): Pat Summerall and Tom Brookshier
1980 Dallas Cowboys Season 
Veterans Stadium during the 1980 NFC Championship Game against the Dallas Cowboys, January 11, 1981.

Standings

NFC East
W L T PCT DIV CONF PF PA STK
Philadelphia Eagles(2) 12 4 0 .750 6–2 9–3 384 222 L1
Dallas Cowboys(4) 12 4 0 .750 6–2 9–3 454 311 W1
Washington Redskins 6 10 0 .375 4–4 5–7 261 293 W3
St. Louis Cardinals 5 11 0 .313 2–6 4–10 299 350 L2
New York Giants 4 12 0 .250 2–6 3–9 249 425 L2

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
46 active, 3 inactive

References

Tags:

1980 Dallas Cowboys Season Offseason1980 Dallas Cowboys Season Schedule1980 Dallas Cowboys Season Playoffs1980 Dallas Cowboys Season Standings1980 Dallas Cowboys Season Roster1980 Dallas Cowboys Season

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