1980 Cleveland Browns season

The 1980 Cleveland Browns season was the team's 35th overall, and 31st season in the National Football League. The Browns finished the regular season with eleven wins and five losses, and their first division title in since 1971, winning a tiebreaker with the Houston Oilers. The 1980 Browns were known as the Kardiac Kids for having several games decided in the final moments. The 1980 season was the first time that Cleveland had qualified for the postseason since 1972. Also, for the second straight year, Browns head coach Sam Rutigliano was named NFL Coach of the Year, and quarterback Brian Sipe was named the league's Most Valuable Player.

1980 Cleveland Browns season
Owner	Art Modell
Head coach	Sam Rutigliano
Home field	Cleveland Municipal Stadium
Local radio	WHK
Results
Record	11–5
Division place	1st AFC Central
Playoff finish	Lost Divisional Playoffs (Raiders) 12–14

Rallying from a 10–0 first-half deficit against Cincinnati, the Browns came back to beat the Bengals 27–24 and finally snare the Central championship when Don Cockroft kicked the game-winning 22-yard field goal with 1:25 left. The Bengals tried to come back and got as far as the Cleveland 14-yard line before time ran out.

The Browns played their first home playoff game in nine seasons against the Raiders, in what has become known as the Red Right 88 game. The Browns marched to the Oakland 13 in the waning seconds trailing by 14–12, but Brian Sipe's pass into the end zone for Hall of Fame tight end Ozzie Newsome was intercepted, ending Cleveland's season.

Five players had 50 or more receptions, led by running back Mike Pruitt. Pruitt also rushed for 1,034 yards and six touchdowns. Running back Calvin Hill, recorded six touchdowns among his 27 catches. Wide receiver Ricky Feacher grabbed just 10 passes, but four went for scores, including two within a matter of minutes in the division-clinching win over the Bengals.

Offseason

NFL Draft

The following were selected in the 1980 NFL Draft.

Round	Overall	Player	Position	School/Club Team
1	27	Charles White	Running Back	USC
2	54	Cleveland Crosby	Defensive End	Wisconsin
3	72	Cliff Odom	Linebacker	University of Texas at Arlington
4	99	Ron Crews	Nose Tackle	UNLV
4	109	Paul McDonald	Quarterback	USC
5	116	Elvis Franks	Defensive End	Morgan State
8	209	Jeff Copeland	Linebacker	Texas Tech
9	236	Roy De Walt	Running Back	University of Texas at Arlington
10	263	Kevin Fidel	Center	San Diego State
11	294	Roland Sales	Running Back	Arkansas
12	321	Marcus Jackson	Defensive End	Purdue

[1]

Regular season

Schedule

Week	Date	Opponent	Result	Attendance	Record
1	September 7, 1980	at New England Patriots	L 34–17	49,222	0–1
2	September 15, 1980	Houston Oilers	L 16–7	80,243	0–2
3	September 21, 1980	Kansas City Chiefs	W 20–13	63,614	1–2
4	September 28, 1980	at Tampa Bay Buccaneers	W 34–27	65,540	2–2
5	October 5, 1980	Denver Broncos	L 19–16	81,065	2–3
6	October 12, 1980	at Seattle Seahawks	W 27–3	61,366	3–3
7	October 19, 1980	Green Bay Packers	W 26–21	75,548	4–3
8	October 26, 1980	Pittsburgh Steelers	W 27–26	79,095	5–3
9	November 3, 1980	Chicago Bears	W 27–21	84,225	6–3
10	November 9, 1980	at Baltimore Colts	W 28–27	45,369	7–3
11	November 16, 1980	at Pittsburgh Steelers	L 16–13	54,563	7–4
12	November 23, 1980	Cincinnati Bengals	W 31–7	79,253	8–4
13	November 30, 1980	at Houston Oilers	W 17–14	51,514	9–4
14	December 7, 1980	New York Jets	W 17–14	78,454	10–4
15	December 14, 1980	at Minnesota Vikings	L 28–23	42,202	10–5
16	December 21, 1980	at Cincinnati Bengals	W 27–24	50,058	11–5

Week 3

1 2 3 4 Total Chiefs 0 6 7 0 13 • Browns 0 7 13 0 20 Date: September 21 Location: Cleveland Municipal Stadium, Cleveland, OH Game start: 1:00 p.m. EST Game weather: 76°F; wind 17

Scoring summary Q1 KC Lowery 38 yard field goal KC 3–0 Q1 KC Lowery 22 yard field goal KC 6–0 Q1 CLE White 2 yard run (Cockroft kick) CLE 7–6 Q3 CLE Wright 12 yard pass from Sipe (kick failed) CLE 13–6 Q3 KC Samuels 16 yard pass from Fuller (Lowery kick) Tie 13–13 Q3 CLE White 31 yard pass from Sipe (Cockroft kick) CLE 20–13

• Charles White 7 Rec, 100 Yds

[2]

Week 7 vs. Green Bay Packers

• The Browns rallied from down 21-13 in the fourth quarter, first on Ozzie Newsome’s touchdown catch from Brian Sipe, then facing third and 20 from the Packers' 46 yard line with 16 seconds left Sipe completed a pass to Dave Logan for the winning touchdown. Browns 26, Packers 21

Week 8 vs. Pittsburgh Steelers

• Sipe and company erased three two-score deficits - 10–0, 20–7, and 26–14 - to defeat the Steelers in Cleveland. Ozzie Newsome hauled in the winning catch with 5:35 to play. Browns 27, Steelers 26

Week 9 vs. Chicago Bears

• Although Mike Pruitt's 56-yard touchdown run ultimately wins the game for Cleveland, Sipe throws for 298 yards and reaches a milestone in Browns history, becoming the Browns' all-time passing leader in NFL play.[3] Browns 27, Bears 21

Week 10 at Baltimore Colts

• A missed PAT by the Colts proved the difference in a 28-27 Browns win as both teams combined for eight touchdowns. Bert Jones had three scores for the Colts but was sacked five times.

Week 11 at Pittsburgh Steelers

• Seeking their first ever win at Pittsburgh's Three Rivers Stadium, the Browns once again were denied, this time on a Terry Bradshaw to Lynn Swann touchdown with eleven seconds left. It was the Browns' 11th consecutive defeat at Pittsburgh. Steelers 16, Browns 13

Week 13 at Houston Oilers

• The Browns edged the Oilers 17-14 in what had become a de facto three-way tie atop the AFC Central. The Browns were out gained in yardage by 126 but five Oilers turnovers were the key.

Week 14 vs. New York Jets

• Once again the Cardiac Browns had to rally, this time down 14-10 in the fourth, this time on a five-yard Greg Pruitt touchdown catch.

Week 15 at Minnesota Vikings

• In a game known to Vikings fans as the "Miracle at the Met", the Browns relinquish a 23–9 lead with only 7:15 remaining. The game is probably most remembered for Browns Safety Thom Darden's deflection of Tommy Kramer's "Hail Mary pass", which is caught by Ahmad Rashād as time expires. Kramer's 456 passing yards were the most ever given up by the Browns. Vikings 28, Browns 23

Week 16 at Cincinnati Bengals

• Needing a win to secure the Central Division title, the Browns rallied against the Bengals 27–24. The game lead tied or changed six times as Don Cockroft's game-winning field goal came with 1:25 left to play. Browns 27, Bengals 24

Standings

AFC Central
	W	L	T	PCT	DIV	CONF	PF	PA	STK
Cleveland Browns^(2)	11	5	0	.688	4–2	8–4	357	310	W1
Houston Oilers^(5)	11	5	0	.688	4–2	7–5	295	251	W3
Pittsburgh Steelers	9	7	0	.563	2–4	5–7	352	313	L1
Cincinnati Bengals	6	10	0	.375	2–4	4–8	244	312	L1

Roster

1980 Cleveland Browns roster
Quarterbacks 16 Paul McDonald 17 Brian Sipe Running Backs 25 Charles White 30 Cleo Miller FB 34 Greg Pruitt 35 Calvin Hill 43 Mike Pruitt FB Wide Receivers 33 Reggie Rucker 80 Willis Adams 83 Ricky Feacher 85 Dave Logan 89 Keith Wright KR/PR Tight Ends 82 Ozzie Newsome 84 McDonald Oden 87 Curtis Weathers LB		Offensive Linemen 54 Tom DeLeone C 63 Cody Risien T 64 Joe DeLamielleure G 65 Henry Sheppard G 68 Robert E. Jackson G 69 Joel Patten T 73 Doug Dieken T 79 Gerry Sullivan T/C Defensive Linemen 70 Jerry Wilkinson DE 72 Jerry Sherk DT 77 Lyle Alzado DE 90 Marshall Harris DE 91 Henry Bradley DT 93 Ron Crews DE 94 Elvis Franks DE		Linebackers 50 Don Goode OLB 52 Dick Ambrose ILB 53 Bill Cowher ILB 55 John Mohring LB 56 Robert L. Jackson ILB 57 Clay Matthews OLB 58 Cliff Odom ILB 59 Charlie Hall OLB Defensive Backs 20 Judson Flint CB 21 Oliver Davis CB 22 Clarence Scott SS 24 Autry Beamon SS 27 Thom Darden FS 28 Ron Bolton CB 48 Lawrence Johnson CB 49 Clinton Burrell CB Special Teams  8 Johnny Evans P/QB 12 Don Cockroft K 26 Dino Hall KR		Reserve Lists 71 Matt Miller T (IR) 75 Cleveland Crosby DE (Inactive) Rookies in italics

[4]

Son of the Kardiac Kids

The 2007 Cleveland Browns had a season similar to the Kardiac Kids, with several games being decided in the final minutes or in overtime. One game in particular against the Baltimore Ravens, which the Browns won in overtime because of a reversed call on a field goal by kicker Phil Dawson, led the Cleveland Plain Dealer to publish an editorial calling the 2007 Browns "The 'Son of the Kardiac Kids'" . The similarities have been at least acknowledged by the organization, with offensive coordinator Rob Chudzinski being quoted in the article calling his team "The Kardiac Kids' little brother."

Postseason

AFC Divisional Playoff

• Oakland Raiders 14, Cleveland Browns 12

	1	2	3	4	Total
Raiders	0	7	0	7	14
Browns	0	6	6	0	12

at Cleveland Stadium, Cleveland, Ohio

• TV: NBC
• Attendance: 77,655

Red Right 88

AFC Divisional Playoff Game (Home) January 4, 1981 – Browns 12, Oakland Raiders 14 In sub-zero conditions on Cleveland's windy Lakefront, the Browns and Raiders battled into the waning moments of the contest. Down 14–12 and having mounted a 72-yard drive, the Browns were within striking distance at the Oakland 13-yard line with less than a minute remaining. Although it was only second down, Don Cockroft had already missed two field goal attempts in the swirling winds. Browns Coach Sam Rutigliano chose a more aggressive strategy, opting to go for the kill and pass the ball on second down instead of conservatively running the ball and then, perhaps, settling for a last second field goal. The play called was Red Right 88, which was intended for Dave Logan. However, Ozzie Newsome managed to get clear in the Raiders endzone and Sipe fired the ball to him—but the wind managed to interfere with the plan and heartbreak was the outcome for the frozen 77,655 Cleveland faithful: the ball was intercepted by Oakland Cornerback Mike Davis. The 1980 season will be remembered fondly albeit bittersweet, but the game would go down in Browns history (along with The Drive and The Fumble) as one of the franchises sadder moments.

Awards and records

• Brian Sipe, NFL MVP
• Brian Sipe, PFWA MVP
• Brian Sipe, UPI AFL-AFC Offensive Player of the Year
• Brian Sipe, AFC Leader, Touchdown Passes (30), Tied with another player
• Sam Rutigliano, UPI NFL Coach of the Year

References

1. "1980 NFL Draft". Pro-Football-Reference.com.
2. "Kansas City Chiefs at Cleveland Browns – September 21st, 1980". Pro-Football-Reference.com.
3. Although quarterback Otto Graham had more overall passing yards with the Browns from 1946 to 1955, only the last six of these seasons were in the NFL; Graham's first four seasons were in the AAFC. Pro-Football-Reference.com: For combined seasons, from 1920 to 1980, played in the NFL, playing for the Cleveland Browns, played QB, sorted by descending Passing Yds.
4. "1980 Cleveland Browns Starters, Roster, & Players". Pro-Football-Reference.com.

• "1980 Cleveland Browns Statistics & Players". Pro-Football-Reference.com.
• Browns on jt-sw.com