1980 New York Giants season
NFL team season
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
[8]
Personnel
Staff
1980 New York Giants staff
Front office
Head coaches
Offensive coaches
Defensive coaches
Special teams coaches
Roster
1980 New York Giants roster
Quarterbacks
Running backs
Wide receivers
Tight ends
Offensive linemen
Defensive linemen
Linebackers
Defensive backs
Special teams
Reserve lists
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
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
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
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
Week 10 vs Cowboys
Game information
First quarter
Second quarter
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
Top rushers
Top receivers
Giants' first win against Dallas since 1974[10]
Standings
See also
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 .
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