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 ...
halfback
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
See also
*
1980 in Michigan
Events from the year 1980 in Michigan.
The Associated Press (AP) selected the top Michigan news stories in Michigan as follows:
# Record losses by the Big Three automakers and layoffs of 190,000 workers by year's end and production falling below ...
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