The 1980

Houston Oilers The Houston Oilers were a professional American football team that played in Houston from its founding in 1960 to 1996 before relocating to Memphis, and later Nashville, Tennessee becoming the Tennessee Titans. The Oilers began play in 1960 a ...

season was the franchise's 21st overall and the 11th in the

National Football League The National Football League (NFL) is a professional American football league that consists of 32 teams, divided equally between the American Football Conference (AFC) and the National Football Conference (NFC). The NFL is one of the ...

(NFL). The team scored 295 points while the defense gave up 251 points. Their record of 11 wins and 5 losses resulted in a second-place finish in the AFC Central Division. The Oilers appeared twice on

Monday Night Football ''ESPN Monday Night Football'' (abbreviated as ''MNF'' and also known as ''ESPN Monday Night Football on ABC'' for simulcasts) is an American live television broadcast of weekly National Football League (NFL) games currently airing on ESPN, A ...

. In their first appearance on Monday Night Football, the Oilers beat the Cleveland Browns 16–7. In their second appearance, the Oilers defeated the

New England Patriots The New England Patriots are a professional American football team based in the Greater Boston area. They compete in the National Football League (NFL) as a member club of the league's American Football Conference (AFC) AFC East, East divisio ...

38–34.

Earl Campbell Earl Christian Campbell (born March 29, 1955), nicknamed "the Tyler Rose", is an American former professional football player who played as a running back in the National Football League (NFL) for the Houston Oilers and New Orleans Saints. K ...

led the NFL in rushing for the third consecutive year and had four 200-yard rushing games. This was the third season in a row that the Oilers made the playoffs. The team lost in the AFC Wild Card Round to the eventual

Super Bowl The Super Bowl is the annual final playoff game of the National Football League (NFL) to determine the league champion. It has served as the final game of every NFL season since 1966, replacing the NFL Championship Game. Since 2022, the game ...

champions, the

Oakland Raiders The Oakland Raiders were a professional American football team that played in Oakland from its founding in 1960 to 1981 and again from 1995 to 2019 before relocating to the Las Vegas metropolitan area where they now play as the Las Vegas Raide ...

. The Oilers would not make it back to the playoffs again until 1987. The last remaining active member of the 1980 Houston Oilers was defensive lineman

Mike Stensrud Michael Iver Stensrud (born February 19, 1956) is a former American football defensive lineman who played for five teams in eleven seasons in the National Football League. He wrestled for Lake Mills High School, winning the super heavy weight bra ...

, who retired after the 1989 season.

Offseason

NFL draft

Personnel

Staff

Roster

Regular season

Earl Campbell

* In 1980, Earl Campbell had four 200-yard rushing games.

Schedule

Standings

Postseason

AFC Wild Card

Even though the Oilers recorded more yards, more first downs, and more time of possession, the Raiders scored on big plays to win, 27–7. This would be Ken Stabler's final playoff game.

Awards and records

, NFL Rushing Leader, (1,934) * Earl Campbell, All-Pro selection 1980 * Earl Campbell, Pro Bowl selection 1980 * Earl Campbell,

NEA NFL MVP The Jim Thorpe Memorial Trophy was an American football award presented by the Newspaper Enterprise Association (NEA) to the most valuable player (MVP) of the National Football League (NFL) from 1955 to 2008. It was the only NFL MVP award whose w ...

(1980) * Earl Campbell,

NFL Offensive Player of the Year The National Football League Offensive Player of the Year Award is an annual American football award given by various organizations to the National Football League (NFL) player who is considered the top offensive player during the regular season. Or ...

(1980)

Milestones

* Earl Campbell, 3rd 1,000-yard rushing season * Earl Campbell, 3rd NFL Rushing Title * Earl Campbell, Four 200-yard rushing games (Oct 19, Oct 26, Nov., 16, Dec. 21)

References

External links

1980 Houston Oilers
at

Pro-Football-Reference.com Pro-Football-Reference.com is a website providing a variety of statistics for American football. It is one of the few sites that provides information on both active and retired players. The site provides statistics for teams dating back to 1920. ...

Houston Oilers seasons

Houston Houston (; ) is the most populous city in Texas, the most populous city in the Southern United States, the fourth-most populous city in the United States, and the sixth-most populous city in North America, with a population of 2,304,580 in ...

{{Americanfootball-season-stub