1980 Buffalo Bills season

1980 Buffalo Bills season
Head coach	Chuck Knox
Owner	Ralph Wilson
Home field	Rich Stadium
Results
Record	11–5
Division place	1st AFC East
Playoff finish	Lost AFC Divisional Playoff

The 1980 Buffalo Bills season was the 21st season for the club, and 11th season in the National Football League. Their 11–5 record was tied for best in the AFC.

The Bills' defense allowed only 260 points in 1980, 3rd best in the league. Their 4,101 total yards surrendered were best in the NFL in 1980. Buffalo's defense was well represented on the UPI All-AFC team: nose tackle Fred Smerlas and linebacker Jim Haslett – two thirds of Buffalo's "Bermuda Triangle" with linebacker Shane Nelson – were named to the 1st team All-AFC. Defensive end Ben Williams was named to the second team.

Although Buffalo's offensive statistics were not as impressive as its defense, four offensive players were named All-AFC: left guard Reggie McKenzie, left tackle Ken Jones, wide receiver Jerry Butler and rookie running back Joe Cribbs.^[1]

Cribbs rushed for 1,185 yards, and made his first Pro Bowl. Jerry Butler and Fred Smerlas also were selected to play in the annual all-star game.^[2]

Breaking "The Streak"

The Bills had not beaten the Miami Dolphins in the entire decade of the 1970s, a streak of twenty straight losses, the longest in NFL history. The last time the Bills had defeated Miami was 1969.

The Bills had been outscored 565 (28.5 points per games) to 299 (14.5) during the 1970s by the Dolphins, failing to score more than ten points in over a third of the contests (7). They were shut out three times. Conversely, the Dolphins were held under twenty points just four times, and scored 45 points on the Bills twice. The domination was so thorough that the Bills only lost by one score or less five times, and Don Shula had never lost to Buffalo since taking over as Dolphins coach in 1970. The Bills only held a lead at any point in eight of the games, and only twice in the fourth quarter.^[3] Joe Ferguson had lost to the Dolphins 14 straight times.

On opening day of the 1980 season, Miami visited Rich Stadium, attempting to extend the streak to 21 games. At the end of three quarters, Miami led 7–3. In the fourth quarter, running back Roosevelt Leaks scored the go-ahead touchdown to make the score 10–7. Joe Cribbs added a second touchdown to extend the lead to 17–7, and Jeff Nixon intercepted his third pass of the game with only 36 seconds left, breaking the streak at 20 games.^[4][5]

A rowdy crowd of 79,000 fans celebrated, and many stormed the field to tear down the goal posts, carrying them around the field.^[6]

The rivalry continued well into the 1990s, but with different results: from 1986 to 1996—the years in which Bills quarterback Jim Kelly and Dolphins quarterback Dan Marino played at the same time—the Bills won 14 of 22 match-ups between the teams.^[7]

The Bills suffered similar ineptitude against the New England Patriots in the 2000s, losing 20-of-21 games dating from Week 16 of the 2000 season to Week 16 of the 2010 season. (Only the 2003 home opener stopped the streak from breaking Miami's 20-game record.)

Offseason

NFL Draft

North Carolina State's Jim Ritcher became an anchor of the Buffalo offensive line for the next 14 years; he was the starter for all four Buffalo Super Bowl teams, and was second-team All-Pro in 1991.

Running back Joe Cribbs was Buffalo's starting running back from 1980–1983, and again in 1985 (after returning from one year in the USFL).

Tight end Mark Brammer played for the Bills for five seasons. Greg Cater was Buffalo's starting punter from 1980–1983.^[8]

= Pro Bowler [9]

Round	Pick #	Player	Position	College
1	16	Jim Ritcher	Guard	North Carolina State
2	29	Joe Cribbs	Running back	Auburn
2	37	Gene Bradley	Quarterback	Arkansas State
3	67	Mark Brammer	Tight end	Michigan State
3	71	John Schmeding	Guard	Boston College
4	93	Ervin Parker	Linebacker	South Carolina St.
5	119	Jeff Pyburn	Defensive back	Georgia
5	129	Keith Lee	Defensive back	Colorado St.
8	202	Todd Krueger	Quarterback	Northern Michigan
9	231	Kent Davis	Defensive back	Southeast Missouri St.
10	259	Greg Cater	Punter	Tennessee-Chattanooga
11	286	Joe Gordon	Defensive tackle	Grambling St.
12	316	Roger Lapham	Tight end	Maine

Regular season

Sports Illustrated's Paul Zimmerman wrote about the Bills' 1981 season, "It was a euphoric kind of year for Buffalo. Chuck Knox and his defensive coordinator, Tom Catlin, built the defense into No. 1 in the NFL with virtually the same people who had been lousy in '79. The Bills even beat Miami for the first time in a generation. And then Quarterback Joe Ferguson picked exactly the wrong time of year to sprain his ankle -- the playoffs. And San Diego ended the dream."^[10]

Schedule

Game	Date	Opponent	Result	Bills points	Opponents	Bills first downs	Record	Attendance
1	Sep 7	Miami Dolphins	Win	17	7	22	1–0	79,598
2	Sep 14	New York Jets	Win	20	10	22	2–0	65,315
3	Sep 21	at New Orleans Saints	Win	35	26	26	3–0	51,154
4	Sep 28	Oakland Raiders	Win	24	7	25	4–0	77,259
5	Oct 5	at San Diego Chargers	Win	26	24	14	5–0	51,982
6	Oct 12	Baltimore Colts	Loss	12	17	24	5–1	73,634
7	Oct 19	at Miami Dolphins	Loss	14	17	18	5–2	41,636
8	Oct 26	New England Patriots	Win	31	13	21	6–2	75,092
9	Nov 2	Atlanta Falcons	Loss	14	30	20	6–3	57,959
10	Nov 9	at New York Jets	Win	31	24	17	7–3	45,677
11	Nov 16	at Cincinnati Bengals	Win	14	0	22	8–3	40,836
12	Nov 23	Pittsburgh Steelers	Win	28	13	23	9–3	79,659
13	Nov 30	at Baltimore Colts	Loss	24	28	24	9–4	36,184
14	Dec 7	Los Angeles Rams	Win	10	7	15	10–4	77,133
15	Dec 14	at New England Patriots	Loss	2	24	28	10–5	58,324
16	Dec 21	at San Francisco 49ers	Win	18	13	16	11–5	37,476

^[11]

Standings

AFC East
	W	L	T	PCT	DIV	CONF	PF	PA	STK
Buffalo Bills(3)	11	5	0	.688	4–4	8–4	320	260	W1
New England Patriots	10	6	0	.625	6–2	9–3	441	325	W2
Miami Dolphins	8	8	0	.500	3–5	4–8	266	305	L1
Baltimore Colts	7	9	0	.438	5–3	6–8	355	387	L3
New York Jets	4	12	0	.250	2–6	3–9	302	395	W1

Game summaries

Week 1

Miami Dolphins at Buffalo Bills

1 2 3 4 Total Dolphins 0 0 7 0 7 • Bills 0 3 0 14 17 Date: September 7 Location: Rich Stadium, Orchard Park, New York Game start: 1:00 p.m. EST Game weather: 64°F, wind 8 mph

Scoring summary 2 BUF Nick Mike-Mayer 40 yard field goal BUF 3–0 3 MIA Tony Nathan 4 yard pass from Bob Griese (Uwe von Schamann kick) MIA 7–3 4 Bills Roosevelt Leaks 4 yard pass from Joe Ferguson (Nick Mike-Mayer kick) BUF 10–7 4 Bills Joe Cribbs 2 yard run (Nick Mike-Mayer kick) BUF 17–7

^[12]

Week 2

1 2 3 4 Total Jets 3 0 0 7 10 • Bills 0 10 10 0 20 Date: September 14 Location: Rich Stadium, Orchard Park, New York Game start: 1:00 p.m. Game weather: 68°F, wind 13

^[13]

Week 3

1 2 3 4 Total • Bills 7 7 7 14 35 Saints 0 19 0 7 26 Date: September 21 Location: Louisiana Superdome, New Orleans, Louisiana Game start: 1:00 p.m. Game weather: indoors (dome)

^[14]

Week 4

1 2 3 4 Total Raiders 0 0 7 0 7 • Bills 7 10 0 7 24 Date: September 28 Location: Rich Stadium, Orchard Park, New York Game start: 1:00 p.m. Game weather: 54°F, wind 9

^[15]

Week 5

1 2 3 4 Total • Bills 3 9 0 14 26 Chargers 7 10 7 0 24 Date: October 5 Location: Jack Murphy Stadium, San Diego, California Game start: 1:00 p.m. Game weather: 68°F, wind 10

^[16]

Week 6

1 2 3 4 Total • Colts 10 7 0 0 17 Bills 0 9 0 3 12 Date: October 12 Location: Rich Stadium, Orchard Park, New York Game start: 1:00 p.m. Game weather: 49°F, wind 12

^[17]

Week 7

1 2 3 4 Total Bills 0 0 7 7 14 • Dolphins 7 7 3 0 17 Date: October 19 Location: Orange Bowl, Miami, Florida Game start: 1:00 p.m. Game weather: 80°F, wind 8

^[18]

Week 8

1 2 3 4 Total Patriots 3 0 10 0 13 • Bills 0 14 0 17 31 Date: October 26 Location: Rich Stadium, Orchard Park, New York Game start: 1:00 p.m. Game weather: 41°F, wind 26

^[19]

Week 9

1 2 3 4 Total • Falcons 0 10 10 10 30 Bills 7 7 0 0 14 Date: November 2 Location: Rich Stadium, Orchard Park, New York Game start: 1:00 p.m. Game weather: 40°F, wind 9

^[20]

Week 10

1 2 3 4 Total • Bills 10 7 7 7 31 Jets 0 10 0 14 24 Date: November 9 Location: Shea Stadium, Flushing, New York Game start: 4:00 p.m. Game weather: 44°F, wind 12

^[21]

Week 11

1 2 3 4 Total • Bills 0 7 0 7 14 Bengals 0 0 0 0 0 Date: November 16 Location: Riverfront Stadium, Cincinnati Game start: 1:00 p.m. Game weather: 34°F, wind 11

^[22]

Week 12

1 2 3 4 Total Steelers 7 3 0 3 13 • Bills 7 7 7 7 28 Date: November 23 Location: Rich Stadium, Orchard Park, New York Game start: 1:00 p.m. Game weather: 41°F, wind 10

^[23]

Week 13

1 2 3 4 Total Bills 7 7 3 7 24 • Colts 0 14 7 7 28 Date: November 30 Location: Memorial Stadium, Baltimore, Maryland Game start: 1:00 p.m. Game weather: 43°F, wind 14

^[24]

Week 14

1 2 3 4 OT Total Rams 0 0 7 0 0 7 • Bills 0 0 7 0 3 10 Date: December 7 Location: Rich Stadium, Orchard Park, New York Game start: 1:00 p.m. Game weather: 43°F, wind 9

^[25]

Week 15

1 2 3 4 Total Bills 0 0 2 0 2 • Patriots 7 7 7 3 24 Date: December 14 Location: Schaefer Stadium, Foxboro, Massachusetts Game start: 1:00 p.m. Game weather: 28°F, wind 15

^[26]

Week 16

1 2 3 4 Total • Bills 6 7 5 0 18 49ers 6 0 7 0 13 Date: December 21 Location: Candlestick Park, San Francisco, California Game start: 1:00 p.m. Game weather: 53°F, wind 6

^[27]

Roster

Starters

• Offense: QB Joe Ferguson, RB Joe Cribbs, FB Curtis Brown, WR Jerry Butler, WR Frank Lewis, TE Reuben Gant/Mark Brammer, LT Ken Jones, LG Reggie McKenzie, C Will Grant, RG Conrad Dobler, RT Joe Devlin
• Defense: RDE Sherman White, NT Fred Smerlas, LDE Ben Williams, ROLB Isiah Robertson, RILB Shane Nelson, LILB Jim Haslett, LOLB Lucius Sanford, CB Mario Clark, CB Charles Romes, FS Bill Simpson/Jeff Nixon, SS Steve Freeman

^[28]

Postseason

Divisional

Buffalo Bills at San Diego Chargers

1 2 3 4 Total Bills 0 14 0 0 14 • Chargers 3 0 7 10 20 Date: January 3 Location: Jack Murphy Stadium, San Diego, California Game start: 4:00 p.m. EST Game attendance: 52,028 Game weather: Sunny, 65 °F (18 °C), wind 9 Referee: Gene Barth TV announcers (NBC): Dick Enberg and Merlin Olsen

With 2:08 left in the game, Chargers quarterback Dan Fouts threw the 50-yard winning touchdown pass to receiver Ron Smith to defeat the Bills, 20–14.

Wrote Paul Zimmerman in Sports Illustrated's 1981 NFL preview, "If Charley Romes intercepts the pass that bounces off his chest in the last few minutes of the playoff game against San Diego, then the Chargers don't score on the next play, and win the game. And Buffalo gets to play Oakland at home -- where the Bills crushed the Raiders earlier in the season. And Buffalo's in the Super Bowl."^[29]

Notable events

In Week 15, the Bills became the thirty-fourth team to score only a safety in a full game. It was the first occurrence of this since the San Diego Chargers against the Pittsburgh Steelers in the last game of the 1972 season, and there have been only three since, by the 1983 Minnesota Vikings, the 1993 Cincinnati Bengals, and the 2011 Atlanta Falcons in a playoff game.

Awards and Honors

All-Pros

• Fred Smerlas, Nose tackle

References

• Bills on Pro Football Reference
• Bills on jt-sw.com
• Bills Stats on jt-sw.com