1980 Houston Oilers season

NFL team season

1980 Houston Oilers season

Owner| Bud Adams
General manager| Bum Phillips
Head coach| Bum Phillips
Home field| Houston Astrodome
Results
Record| 11–5
Division place| 2nd AFC Central
Playoff finish| Lost Wild Card Playoffs
(at Raiders) 7–27

* <- 1979
* Oilers seasons
* 1981 ->

The 1980 Houston Oilers season was the franchise's 21st overall and the 11th in the National Football League (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. 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 38–34. Earl Campbell 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 champions, the Oakland Raiders. 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, who retired after the 1989 season.

3rd year fullback Earl Campbell had the best season of his career rushing for 1,934 yards and scored 13 touchdowns.

## Offseason[edit]

### NFL draft[edit]

Main article: 1980 NFL draft

1980 Houston Oilers draft

Round  | Pick  | Player  | Position  | College  | Notes
2  | 38  | Angelo Fields | Tackle | Michigan State |
2  | 52  | Daryle Skaugstad | Defensive tackle | California |
3  | 79  | Tim Smith | Wide receiver | Nebraska |
4  | 106  | Chris Combs | Tight end | New Mexico |
5  | 134  | John Corker | Linebacker | Oklahoma State |
7  | 182  | Craig Bradshaw | Quarterback | Utah State |
8  | 217  | Harold Bailey | Wide receiver | Oklahoma State  |
9  | 244  | Ed Harris | Running back | Bishop |
11  | 301  | Ed Preston | Wide receiver  | Western Kentucky |
12  | 328  | Wiley Pitts | Wide receiver  | Temple |
Made roster

[1]

## Personnel[edit]

### Staff[edit]

1980 Houston Oilers staff

Front office

* President – Bud Adams
* General manager – Bum Phillips
* Senior Vice President/Chief Administrative Officer – Ladd Herzeg
* Assistant General Manager – Pat Peppler
* Director of College Scouting – Joe Woolley

Head coaches

* Head coach – Bum Phillips

Offensive coaches

* Quarterbacks/Receivers – King Hill
* Offensive Backs – Andy Bourgeois
* Offensive Line – Joe Bugel

|  |  | Defensive coaches

* Defensive Coordinator – Ed Biles
* Defensive Line – Wade Phillips
* Linebackers – John Paul Young
* Defensive Secondary – Bob Gambold

Special teams coaches

* Special Teams – John Paul Young

### Roster[edit]

1980 Houston Oilers roster

| Quarterbacks

* 10 Craig Bradshaw
* 14 Gifford Nielsen
* 12 Ken Stabler

Running backs

* 39 Adger Armstrong
* 34 Earl Campbell
* 26 Rob Carpenter
* 42 Boobie Clark FB
* 47 Ronnie Coleman
* 45 Tim Wilson FB

Wide receivers

* 81 Jeff Groth
* 84 Billy Johnson
* 82 Mike Renfro
* 85 Carl Roaches
* 83 Tim Smith

Tight ends

* 86 Mike Barber
* 87 Dave Casper
* 88 Rich Caster

|  | Offensive linemen

* 58 David Carter C/G
* 66 Greg Davidson C
* 77 Angelo Fields T
* 60 Ed Fisher G
* 74 Leon Gray T
* 70 Conway Hayman G
* 55 Carl Mauck C
* 76 Morris Towns T

Defensive linemen

* 75 Jesse Baker DE
* 65 Elvin Bethea DE
* 78 Curley Culp NT
* 69 Andy Dorris DE
* 71 Ken Kennard NT
* 67 Mike Stensrud DE

|  | Linebackers

* 54 Gregg Bingham ILB
* 52 Robert Brazile OLB
* 57 John Corker OLB
* 41 Sammy Green
* 53 Thomas Henderson OLB
* 50 Daryl Hunt ILB
* 51 Ted Thompson ILB
* 59 Ted Washington OLB

Defensive backs

* 36 Carter Hartwig CB/FS
* 32 Vernon Perry SS
* 37 Mike Reinfeldt FS
* 27 Greg Stemrick CB
* 28 Jack Tatum FS
* 33 J. C. Wilson CB

Special teams

* 5 Chester Marcol K
* 16 Toni Fritsch K
* 18 Cliff Parsley P

|  | Reserve lists

* 11 Harold Bailey WR (IRTooltip Injured reserve)
* 21 Charles Jefferson CB (IRTooltip Injured reserve)
* 56 Art Stringer ILB (IRTooltip Injured reserve)

Practice squad

Rookies in italics

## Regular season[edit]

### Earl Campbell[edit]

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

Date  | Opponent  | Attempts  | Yards  | Touchdowns

|
|
|
|

Oct 19  | Tampa Bay Buccaneers | 33  | 203  | 0
Oct 26  | Cincinnati Bengals | 27  | 202  | 2
Nov 16  | Chicago Bears | 31  | 206  | 0
Dec 21  | Minnesota Vikings | 29  | 203  | 1

### Schedule[edit]

Week  | Date  | Opponent  | Result  | Record  | Venue  | Recap

|
|
|
|
|
|

1  | September 7  | at Pittsburgh Steelers | L 17–31  | 0–1  | Three Rivers Stadium | Recap
2  | September 15  | at Cleveland Browns | W 16–7  | 1–1  | Cleveland Municipal Stadium | Recap
3  | September 21  | Baltimore Colts | W 21–16  | 2–1  | Astrodome | Recap
4  | September 28  | at Cincinnati Bengals | W 13–10  | 3–1  | Riverfront Stadium | Recap
5  | October 5  | Seattle Seahawks | L 7–26  | 3–2  | Astrodome | Recap
6  | October 12  | at Kansas City Chiefs | L 20–21  | 3–3  | Arrowhead Stadium | Recap
7  | October 19  | Tampa Bay Buccaneers | W 20–14  | 4–3  | Astrodome | Recap
8  | October 26  | Cincinnati Bengals | W 23–3  | 5–3  | Astrodome | Recap
9  | November 2  | at Denver Broncos | W 20–16  | 6–3  | Mile High Stadium | Recap
10  | November 10  | New England Patriots | W 38–34  | 7–3  | Astrodome | Recap
11  | November 16  | at Chicago Bears | W 10–6  | 8–3  | Soldier Field | Recap
12  | November 23  | at New York Jets | L 28–31  | 8–4  | Shea Stadium | Recap
13  | November 30  | Cleveland Browns | L 14–17  | 8–5  | Astrodome | Recap
14  | December 4  | Pittsburgh Steelers | W 6– 0  | 9–5  | Astrodome | Recap
15  | December 14  | at Green Bay Packers | W 22–3  | 10–5  | Lambeau Field | Recap
16  | December 21  | Minnesota Vikings | W 20–16  | 11–5  | Astrodome | Recap

[2]

### Standings[edit]

AFC Central

* view
* talk
* edit

| 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

## Postseason[edit]

### AFC Wild Card[edit]

Oakland Raiders 27, Houston Oilers 7

Period | 1 | 2 | 3| 4| Total

|
|
|
|
|

Oilers | 7 | 0 | 0| 0| 7
Raiders | 3 | 7 | 0| 17| 27

at Oakland Coliseum, Oakland, California

* Game time: 5:00 p.m. EST
* Game weather: 58 °F (14 °C), sunny
* Game attendance: 52,762
* Referee: Chuck Heberling
* TV announcers (NBC): Charlie Jones and Len Dawson

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[edit]

* Earl Campbell, NFL Rushing Leader, (1,934)
* Earl Campbell, All-Pro selection 1980
* Earl Campbell, Pro Bowl selection 1980
* Earl Campbell, NEA NFL MVP (1980)
* Earl Campbell, NFL Offensive Player of the Year (1980)

### Milestones[edit]

* 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[edit]

1. ^ "1980 Houston Oilers draftees". Pro-Football-Reference.com. Retrieved October 22, 2014.
2. ^ "1980 Houston Oilers Statistics & Players". Pro-Football-Reference.com.

## External links[edit]

* 1980 Houston Oilers at Pro-Football-Reference.com

* v
* t
* e

Tennessee Titans

* Founded in 1960
* Formerly the Houston Oilers (1960–1996) and the Tennessee Oilers (1997–1998)
* Based and headquartered in Nashville, Tennessee

Franchise|

* History
* in Houston
* Coaches
* Seasons
* Players
* First-round draft picks
* Starting quarterbacks

Stadiums|

* Jeppesen Stadium
* Rice Stadium
* Houston Astrodome
* Liberty Bowl Memorial Stadium
* Vanderbilt Stadium
* Nissan Stadium

Culture|

* Bud Adams
* Luv Ya Blue
* T-Rac
* Cheerleaders

Lore|

* The Comeback
* Music City Miracle
* One Yard Short

Rivalries|

* Baltimore Ravens
* Buffalo Bills
* Dallas Cowboys
* Houston Texans
* Jacksonville Jaguars
* Pittsburgh Steelers

Division championships (11)|

* 1960
* 1961
* 1962
* 1967
* 1991
* 1993
* 2000
* 2002
* 2008
* 2020
* 2021

Conference championships (1)|

* 1999

League championships (2)|

* 1960
* 1961

Retired numbers|

* 1
* 9
* 27
* 34
* 43
* 63
* 65
* 74

Media|

* Broadcasters
* Titans All Access
* Titans Preseason Football
* Titans Radio Network
* WKRN-TV
* WTVF
* WZTV
* WGFX-FM
* WSMV-TV

Current league affiliations|

* League: National Football League (1970–present)
* Conference: American Football Conference
* Division: South Division

Former league affiliation|

* League: American Football League (1960–1969)

Key personnel|

* Bud Adams
* Amy Adams Strunk

* v
* t
* e

Tennessee Titans seasons

Formerly the Houston Oilers (1960–1996) and the Tennessee Oilers (1997–1998)

* 1960
* 1961
* 1962
* 1963
* 1964
* 1965
* 1966
* 1967
* 1968
* 1969
* 1970
* 1971
* 1972
* 1973
* 1974
* 1975
* 1976
* 1977
* 1978
* 1979
* 1980
* 1981
* 1982
* 1983
* 1984
* 1985
* 1986
* 1987
* 1988
* 1989
* 1990
* 1991
* 1992
* 1993
* 1994
* 1995
* 1996
* 1997
* 1998
* 1999
* 2000
* 2001
* 2002
* 2003
* 2004
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* 2006
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* 2009
* 2010
* 2011
* 2012
* 2013
* 2014
* 2015
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* 2017
* 2018
* 2019
* 2020
* 2021
* 2022
* 2023

Bold indicates AFL Championship (1960–69) or Super Bowl (1966–present) victory
Italics indicates Super Bowl (1966–present) appearance

* v
* t
* e

1980 NFL season

| AFC| East | Central| West| East| Central| West | NFC

|
|
|
|
|
|
|

Baltimore | Cincinnati| Denver| Dallas| Chicago| Atlanta
Buffalo | Cleveland| Kansas City| NY Giants| Detroit| Los Angeles
Miami | Houston| Oakland| Philadelphia| Green Bay| New Orleans
New England | Pittsburgh| San Diego| St. Louis| Minnesota| San Francisco
NY Jets | | Seattle| Washington| Tampa Bay|

* 1980 NFL Draft
* NFL playoffs
* Pro Bowl
* Super Bowl XV

This article relating to an American football season is a stub. You can help Wikipedia by expanding it.

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* v
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*[IR]: Injured reserve
*[W]: Wins
*[L]: Losses
*[T]: Ties
*[PCT]: Winning percentage
*[DIV]: Win–Loss record within their division
*[CONF]: Win–Loss record within their conference
*[PF]: Points For (Total points scored)
*[PA]: Points Against (Total points allowed)
*[STK]: Current Winning or Losing Streak
*[v]: View this template
*[t]: Discuss this template
*[e]: Edit this template