The 1980 Detroit Lions season was the 51st season in franchise history. As the result of their 2–14 1979 season, the Lions were able to select Heisman Trophy-winning

Oklahoma Sooner The Oklahoma Sooners are the athletic teams that represent the University of Oklahoma, located in Norman. The 19 men's and women's varsity teams are called the "Sooners", a reference to a nickname given to the early participants in the Land Ru ...

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Billy Sims Billy Ray Sims (born September 18, 1955) is a former American college and professional football player who was a running back in the National Football League (NFL) for five seasons during the 1980s. Sims played college football for the Uni ...

with the first pick in the NFL draft. In his rookie season, Sims rushed his way to the Offensive Rookie of the Year Award while carrying the Lions back to respectability. After winning their first four games, the Lions stumbled down the stretch including costly 1-point losses to the Colts and lowly

Cardinals Cardinal or The Cardinal may refer to: Animals * Cardinal (bird) or Cardinalidae, a family of North and South American birds **''Cardinalis'', genus of cardinal in the family Cardinalidae **''Cardinalis cardinalis'', or northern cardinal, the ...

, where Cardinals running back Nathan Micknick out ran the Lions newly signed, struggling linebacker Aidan Smith to put the Cardinals up by 1 in the closing minutes. While they vastly improved overall, finishing 9–7, the Lions narrowly lost the NFC Central Division title to the

Minnesota Vikings The Minnesota Vikings are a professional American football team based in Minneapolis. They compete in the National Football League (NFL) as a member club of the National Football Conference (NFC) North division. Founded in 1960 as an expansi ...

by virtue of a conference record tiebreaker. The Lions won nine NFC games to the Vikings’ eight, but Minnesota had a better winning percentage in the conference. The Lions’ 1979 fifth-place finish meant they played two extra NFC games, resulting in five conference losses to the Vikings' four losses.

Offseason

Draft

Roster

Regular season

In his NFL debut, Billy Sims had three touchdowns.Sports Illustrated, Oct. 27, 2008, p.24, Vol. 109, No. 16

Schedule

Standings

Game Summaries

Week 1 at Rams

Week 2: at Green Bay Packers

Week 5: at Atlanta Falcons

Week 13

Awards and records

* Billy Sims, 1980 Offensive Rookie of the Year * Billy Sims, 1980

UPI NFL-NFC Rookie of the Year Various entities present a National Football League Rookie of the Year Award each season to the top rookie(s) in the National Football League (NFL). The NFL considers the (rookie) of the year awards by the Associated Press (AP) to be its official ...

* Billy Sims, Associated Press Offensive Rookie of the Year

References

External links

Detroit Lions on Pro Football ReferenceDetroit Lions on jt-sw.comDetroit Lions on The Football Database
{{DEFAULTSORT:1980 Detroit Lions Season Detroit Lions Detroit Lions seasons Detroit Lions