1980 New York Giants season

NFL team season

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The 1980 New York Giants season was the franchise's 56th season in the National Football League.^[1] The Giants finished in last place in the National Football Conference East Division with a 4–12 record.^[2]

In the 1980 NFL Draft, the Giants selected defensive back Mark Haynes with their first-round pick, which was eighth overall.^[3] New York won its opening game of the season against the St. Louis Cardinals, 41–35, behind a five-touchdown performance by quarterback Phil Simms. Four of those touchdown passes were to Earnest Gray, who set a single-game franchise record for touchdown receptions.^[4] The Giants lost the following game to Washington by two points, the start of an eight-game losing streak. A Week 10 win over the Dallas Cowboys snapped the streak; a subsequent win over the Green Bay Packers was followed by a pair of defeats.^[5] A shoulder injury caused Simms to miss the last three games of the season. Scott Brunner took over as the starting quarterback for those games, during which the Giants went 1–2.^[6]

Simms threw for 2,321 yards in his 13 appearances, and had 15 touchdown passes and 19 interceptions. Brunner threw for four touchdowns and had six interceptions. New York's leading rusher was Billy Taylor, who ran for 580 yards and four touchdowns. Gray had a team-leading 10 touchdown receptions during the season, and caught 52 passes for 777 yards. On defense, Mike Dennis led the Giants with five interceptions.^[2] Two Giants players, Dave Jennings and Brad Van Pelt, were selected for the 1981 Pro Bowl.^[7]

Offseason

NFL Draft

Round	Pick	Player	Position	College
1980 New York Giants draft
1	8	Mark Haynes *	Cornerback	Colorado
3	64	Myron Lapka	Nose tackle	USC
4	90	Danny Pittman	Wide receiver	Wyoming
5	118	Tony Blount	Defensive back	Virginia
6	145	Scott Brunner	Quarterback	Delaware
7	179	Bud Hebert	Defensive back	Oklahoma
7	181	Chris Linnin	Defensive end	Washington
8	200	Ken Harris	Running back	Alabama
9	229	Otis Wonsley	Running back	Alcorn State
10	256	Joe Sanford	Tackle	Washington
11	285	Steve Bernish	Defensive end	South Carolina
12	312	Mike Lansford	Kicker	Washington
Made roster * Made at least one Pro Bowl during career

^[8]

Personnel

Staff

**1980 New York Giants staff**
	Front office President – Wellington Mara General Manager – George Young Director of Pro Personnel – Jim Trimble Head coaches Head Coach – Ray Perkins Offensive coaches Offensive Backfield – Bob Lord Receivers – Pat Hodgson Offensive Line – Bill Austin Offensive Assistant – Ernie Adams			Defensive coaches Defensive Coordinator – Ralph Hawkins Defensive Line – Lamar Leachman Defensive Backfield – Deek Pollard Special teams coaches Special Teams – Bill Belichick

Roster

**1980 New York Giants roster**

	Quarterbacks 12 Scott Brunner 15 Cliff Olander 11 Phil Simms Running backs 27 Larry Heater 41 Bo Matthews 30 Leon Perry 34 Nate Rivers 38 Billy Taylor Wide receivers 25 Alvin Garrett 83 Earnest Gray 84 Nate Johnson 82 Danny Pittman Tight ends 89 Dennis Johnson FB 81 Tom Mullady 87 Gary Shirk		Offensive linemen 60 Brad Benson T 56 Jim Clack C 77 Vernon Holland T 72 Gordon King G 79 Dale Markham T 59 Kelly Saalfeld C 69 Roy Simmons G 65 John Sinnott T 68 J. T. Turner G Defensive linemen 70 Gary Jeter DE 71 Myron Lapka DT 74 Chris Linnin DE 75 George Martin DE 78 George Small DT 80 Phil Tabor DE		Linebackers 62 Ben Apuna 61 Phil Cancik 55 Brian Kelley 52 Joe McLaughlin 66 Kevin Turner 10 Brad Van Pelt 58 Mike Whittington 99 Kervin Wyatt Defensive backs 23 Tony Blount 22 Eric Felton CB 36 Mark Haynes CB 47 Steve Henry 22 Doug Nettles CB 21 Don Patterson 28 Beasley Reece SS 20 Gary Woolford FS Special teams 18 Joe Danelo K 13 Dave Jennings P		Reserve lists 53 Harry Carson LB (IRTooltip Injured reserve) 46 Mike Dennis CB (IRTooltip Injured reserve) 63 Terry Falcon G (IRTooltip Injured reserve) 88 Mike Friede WR (IRTooltip Injured reserve) 37 Don Harris SS (IRTooltip Injured reserve) 26 Bud Hebert FS (IRTooltip Injured reserve) 24 Terry Jackson CB (IRTooltip Injured reserve) 44 Doug Kotar RB (IRTooltip Injured reserve) 54 Dan Lloyd LB (NF-Ill.Tooltip Non-football injury and illness) 51 Frank Marion LB (IRTooltip Injured reserve) 76 Curtis McGriff DT (IRTooltip Injured reserve) 86 Johnny Perkins WR (IRTooltip Injured reserve) 57 John Skorupan LB (IRTooltip Injured reserve) -- Steve Tobin C (IRTooltip Injured reserve) 73 Jeff Weston DT (IRTooltip Injured reserve) Practice squad Rookies in italics

Schedule

Week	Date	Opponent	Result	Record	Venue	Attendance
1	September 7	at St. Louis Cardinals	W 41–35	1–0	Busch Memorial Stadium	49,122
2	September 14	Washington Redskins	L 21–23	1–1	Giants Stadium	73,343
3	September 22	at Philadelphia Eagles	L 3–35	1–2	Veterans Stadium	70,767
4	September 28	Los Angeles Rams	L 7–28	1–3	Giants Stadium	73,414
5	October 5	at Dallas Cowboys	L 3–24	1–4	Texas Stadium	59,126
6	October 12	Philadelphia Eagles	L 16–31	1–5	Giants Stadium	71,051
7	October 19	at San Diego Chargers	L 7–44	1–6	San Diego Stadium	50,397
8	October 26	Denver Broncos	L 9–14	1–7	Giants Stadium	67,598
9	November 2	at Tampa Bay Buccaneers	L 13–30	1–8	Tampa Stadium	68,256
10	November 9	Dallas Cowboys	W 38–35	2–8	Giants Stadium	68,343
11	November 16	Green Bay Packers	W 27–21	3–8	Giants Stadium	76,609
12	November 23	at San Francisco 49ers	L 0–12	3–9	Candlestick Park	38,574
13	November 30	St. Louis Cardinals	L 7–23	3–10	Giants Stadium	65,852
14	December 7	at Seattle Seahawks	W 27–21	4–10	Kingdome	51,617
15	December 13	at Washington Redskins	L 13–16	4–11	RFK Stadium	44,443
16	December 21	Oakland Raiders	L 17–33	4–12	Giants Stadium	61,287

Note: Intra-division opponents are in bold text.

Season summary

Week 1: at St. Louis Cardinals

	1	2	3	4	Total
• Giants	7	7	17	10	41
Cardinals	7	7	14	7	35

Date: September 7
Location: Civic Center Busch Memorial Stadium
Game start: 1:00 p.m. EST
Game weather: 80 °F (26.7 °C); wind 15 miles per hour (24 km/h; 13 kn)

Source: Pro-Football-Reference.com

Scoring summary

Q1	STL	Morris 5 yard run (Little kick)	STL 7–0

Q1	NYG	Gray 10 yard pass from Simms (Danelo kick)	Tie 7–7

Q2	NYG	Gray 37 yard pass from Simms (Danelo kick)	NYG 14–7

Q2	STL	Morris 9 yard run (Little kick)	Tie 14–14

Q3	NYG	Danelo 28 yard field goal	NYG 17–14

Q3	STL	Anderson 24 yard run (Little kick)	STL 21–17

Q3	NYG	Perkins 58 yard pass from Simms (Danelo kick)	NYG 24–21

Q3	NYG	Gray 42 yard pass from Simms (Danelo kick)	NYG 31–21

Q3	STL	Marsh 7 yard pass from Hart (Little kick)	NYG 31–28

Q4	NYG	Gray 20 yard pass from Simms (Danelo kick)	NYG 38–28

Q4	STL	Tilley 42 yard pass from Hart (Little kick)	NYG 38–35

Q4	NYG	Danelo 33 yard field goal	NYG 41–35

Phil Simms 16/31, 280 Yds^[9]
Earnest Gray 9 Rec, 174 Yds^[9]

Week 10 vs Cowboys

Week Ten: Dallas Cowboys (7–2) at New York Giants (1–8)

Period	1	2	3	4	Total
Cowboys	7	14	14	0	35
Giants	7	21	0	10	38

at Giants Stadium, East Rutherford, New Jersey

Date: November 9
Game time: 1:00 p.m. EST
Game weather: 44 °F (7 °C)
Game attendance: 68,343
TV announcers (CBS): Frank Glieber and Roger Staubach
Box Score

Game information

First quarter

NYG – Earnest Gray 25-yard pass from Phil Simms (Joe Danelo kick). Giants 7–0.
DAL – Tony Dorsett 1-yard run (Rafael Septien kick). Tie 7–7.

Second quarter

NYG – Larry Heater 1-yard run (Joe Danelo kick). Giants 14–7.
DAL – Robert Newhouse 1-yard run (Rafael Septien kick). Tie 14–14.
NYG – George Martin 4-yard pass from Phil Simms (Joe Danelo kick). Giants 21–14.
NYG – Leon Perry 1-yard run (Joe Danelo kick). Giants 28–14.
DAL – Ron Springs 58-yard pass from Danny White (Rafael Septien kick). Giants 28–21.

Third quarter

DAL – Robert Newhouse 29-yard run (Rafael Septien kick). Tie 28–28.
DAL – Tony Dorsett 13-yard run (Rafael Septien kick). Cowboys 35–28.

Fourth quarter

NYG – Tom Mullady 20-yard pass from Phil Simms (Joe Danelo kick). Tie 35–35.
NYG – Joe Danelo 27-yard field goal, 0:27. Giants 38–35.

Top passers

DAL – Danny White – 10/23, 155 yards, TD, 5 INT
NYG – Phil Simms – 18/33, 351 yards, 3 TD, INT

Top rushers

DAL – Tony Dorsett – 24 rushes, 183 yards, 2 TD
NYG – Larry Heater – 24 rushes, 69 yards, TD

Top receivers

DAL – Ron Springs – 1 reception, 58 yards, TD
NYG – Mike Friede – 7 receptions, 137 yards

Giants' first win against Dallas since 1974^[10]

Standings

NFC East
view talk edit	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

References

^ "New York Giants Franchise Encyclopedia". Pro-Football-Reference.com. Retrieved February 8, 2020.
^ ^a ^b "1980 New York Giants". Pro-Football-Reference.com. Archived from the original on April 13, 2009. Retrieved May 10, 2009.
^ "1980 NFL Draft". Pro-Football-Reference.com. Retrieved June 26, 2021.
^ Whittingham, Richard (2005). Illustrated History of the New York Giants. Chicago: Triumph Books. p. 191. ISBN 1-57243-641-7.
^ "1980 New York Giants Game Log". Pro-Football-Reference.com. Retrieved June 26, 2021.
^ Whittingham, pp. 191–192.
^ "1980 NFL Pro Bowlers". Pro-Football-Reference.com. Retrieved June 26, 2021.
^ "1980 New York Giants Draftees". Pro Football Reference. Retrieved May 14, 2022.
^ ^a ^b "New York Giants at St. Louis Cardinals – September 7th, 1980". Pro-Football-Reference.com. Retrieved November 20, 2017.
^ "All Matchups, New York Giants vs. Dallas Cowboys". Pro-Football-Reference.com. Retrieved January 8, 2022.

v t e New York Giants
Founded in 1925 Based and headquartered in East Rutherford, New Jersey
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v t e New York Giants seasons
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Bold indicates NFL Championship (1920–1969) or Super Bowl (1966–present) victory Italics indicates NFL Championship (1920–1969) or Super Bowl (1966–present) appearance

New York Giants seasons

Bold indicates NFL Championship (1920–1969) or Super Bowl (1966–present) victory
Italics indicates NFL Championship (1920–1969) or Super Bowl (1966–present) appearance

1980 NFL season

East	Central	West	East	Central	West
Baltimore	Cincinnati	Denver	Dallas	Chicago	Atlanta
Buffalo	Cleveland	Kansas City	NY Giants	Detroit	Los Angeles
Miami	Houston	Oakland	Philadelphia	Green Bay	New Orleans
New England	Pittsburgh	San Diego	St. Louis	Minnesota	San Francisco
NY Jets		Seattle	Washington	Tampa Bay