1980 Kansas City Chiefs season

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1980 Kansas City Chiefs season
OwnerLamar Hunt
General managerJim Schaaf
Head coachMarv Levy
Home fieldArrowhead Stadium
Results
Record8–8
Division place3rd AFC West
Playoff finishDid not qualify
Pro Bowlers
AP All-Pros
3
  • DE Art Still (2nd team)
  • S Gary Barbaro (2nd team)
  • KR J. T. Smith (1st team)

The 1980 Kansas City Chiefs season was the franchise's 11th season in the National Football League and 21st overall. They improved from 1979 from a 7–9 to an 8–8 record, the most wins for the franchise since an 8–6 season in 1972, but missed the playoffs for the ninth consecutive season.

The Chiefs selected guard Brad Budde, the son of Chiefs Hall of Fame guard Ed Budde, as the team's first-round draft choice, making the Buddes the first father-son combination to become first-round draftees of the same team in NFL history.[1] In a then-controversial move on August 26, the Chiefs released placekicker Jan Stenerud, who at the time was club's all-time leading scorer. He was replaced by journeyman Nick Lowery, who had been cut 11 times by eight different teams himself.[1]

After suffering an 0–4 start, the team rebounded to post a four-game winning streak.[1] After Steve Fuller was sidelined with a knee injury late in the season, former Miami 12th-round draft choice Bill Kenney became the team's starting quarterback. He was so anonymous that when he appeared in that contest, the name on the back of his jersey was inadvertently misspelled "Kenny."[1] Kenney went on to lead the club to a 31–14 victory against Denver on December 7 in his initial NFL start. The defense continued to evolve as defensive end Art Still and safety Gary Barbaro became the first Chiefs defensive players to be elected to the Pro Bowl in five seasons.[1]

NFL Draft

1980 Kansas City Chiefs draft
Round Pick Player Position College Notes
1 11 Brad Budde  Guard USC
3 66 James Hadnot  Running back Texas Tech
4 94 Dave Klug  Linebacker Concordia–Moorhead Played for Chiefs 1981–83
5 114 Carlos Carson *  Wide receiver LSU
5 115 Dan Pensick  Defensive tackle Nebraska
6 147 Bubba Garcia  Wide receiver UTEP
6 164 Larry Heater  Running back Arizona
8 203 Sam Stepney  Linebacker Boston University
9 230 Tom Donovan  Wide receiver Penn State
10 261 Rob Martinovich  Tackle Notre Dame
11 287 Dale Markham  Tackle North Dakota
12 314 Mike Brewington  Linebacker East Carolina
      Made roster    *   Made at least one Pro Bowl during career

[2]

Personnel

Staff

1980 Kansas City Chiefs staff

Front office

Head coaches

Offensive coaches

Defensive coaches
  • Defensive Coordinator/Linebackers – Rod Rust
  • Defensive Line – Walt Corey
  • Defensive Backs – Dick Roach

Special teams coaches

Strength and conditioning

  • Strength and Conditioning – Rick Abernethy

Roster

1980 Kansas City Chiefs roster
Quarterbacks

Running backs

Wide receivers

Tight ends

Offensive linemen

Defensive linemen

Linebackers

Defensive backs

Special teams

Reserve lists


Practice squad



Rookies in italics

Preseason

Week Date Opponent Result Record Venue Attendance Recap
1 August 9 Cleveland Browns W 42–0 1–0 Arrowhead Stadium 38,055 Recap
2 August 18 Minnesota Vikings W 24–10 2–0 Arrowhead Stadium 39,879 Recap
3 August 23 at St. Louis Cardinals W 20–10 3–0 Busch Memorial Stadium 41,687 Recap
4 August 30 vs. San Francisco 49ers L 21–31 3–1 Arizona Stadium (Tucson, Arizona) 27,000 Recap

Regular season

Schedule

Week Date Opponent Result Record Venue Attendance Recap
1 September 7 Oakland Raiders L 14–27 0–1 Arrowhead Stadium 54,269 Recap
2 September 14 Seattle Seahawks L 16–17 0–2 Arrowhead Stadium 42,403 Recap
3 September 21 at Cleveland Browns L 13–20 0–3 Cleveland Stadium 63,614 Recap
4 September 28 San Diego Chargers L 7–24 0–4 Arrowhead Stadium 45,161 Recap
5 October 5 at Oakland Raiders W 31–17 1–4 Oakland–Alameda County Coliseum 40,153 Recap
6 October 12 Houston Oilers W 21–20 2–4 Arrowhead Stadium 75,048 Recap
7 October 19 at Denver Broncos W 23–17 3–4 Mile High Stadium 74,459 Recap
8 October 26 Detroit Lions W 20–17 4–4 Arrowhead Stadium 59,391 Recap
9 November 2 Baltimore Colts L 24–31 4–5 Arrowhead Stadium 52,383 Recap
10 November 9 at Seattle Seahawks W 31–30 5–5 Kingdome 58,976 Recap
11 November 16 at San Diego Chargers L 7–20 5–6 San Diego Stadium 50,248 Recap
12 November 23 at St. Louis Cardinals W 21–13 6–6 Busch Memorial Stadium 42,871 Recap
13 November 30 Cincinnati Bengals L 6–20 6–7 Arrowhead Stadium 41,594 Recap
14 December 7 Denver Broncos W 31–14 7–7 Arrowhead Stadium 40,237 Recap
15 December 14 at Pittsburgh Steelers L 16–21 7–8 Three Rivers Stadium 50,013 Recap
16 December 21 at Baltimore Colts W 38–28 8–8 Memorial Stadium 16,941 Recap
Note: Intra-division opponents are in bold text.

Game summaries

Week 1: vs. Oakland Raiders

Week 1: Oakland Raiders at Kansas City Chiefs – Game summary
Period 1 2 34Total
Raiders 7 0 14627
Chiefs 7 0 0714

at Arrowhead Stadium, Kansas City, Missouri

Game information

Week 2: vs. Seattle Seahawks

Week 2: Seattle Seahawks at Kansas City Chiefs – Game summary
Period 1 2 34Total
Seahawks 7 10 0017
Chiefs 0 7 6316

at Arrowhead Stadium, Kansas City, Missouri

Game information

Week 3: at Cleveland Browns

Week 3: Kansas City Chiefs at Cleveland Browns – Game summary
Period 1 2 34Total
Chiefs 0 6 7013
Browns 0 7 13020

at Cleveland Municipal Stadium, Cleveland, Ohio

Game information

Week 4: vs. San Diego Chargers

Week 4: San Diego Chargers at Kansas City Chiefs – Game summary
Period 1 2 34Total
Chargers 7 14 3024
Chiefs 0 7 007

at Arrowhead Stadium, Kansas City, Missouri

  • Date: September 28
  • Game time: 3:00 p.m. CDT
  • Game weather: Overcast skies, 64 °F (18 °C)
  • Game attendance: 45,161
  • Referee: Gene Barth
  • TV announcers (NBC): Jay Randolph and Gene Washington
  • Box score
Game information

Week 5: at Oakland Raiders

Week 5: Kansas City Chiefs at Oakland Raiders – Game summary
Period 1 2 34Total
Chiefs 14 17 0031
Raiders 0 3 01417

at Oakland–Alameda County Coliseum, Oakland, California

  • Date: October 5
  • Game time: 1:00 p.m. PDT
  • Game weather: Clear, 66 °F (19 °C)
  • Game attendance: 40,153
  • Referee: Red Cashion
  • TV announcers (NBC): Jay Randolph and Gene Washington
  • Box score
Game information

Week 6: vs. Houston Oilers

Week 6: Houston Oilers at Kansas City Chiefs – Game summary
Period 1 2 34Total
Oilers 3 7 3720
Chiefs 0 0 14721

at Arrowhead Stadium, Kansas City, Missouri

  • Date: October 12
  • Game time: 3:00 p.m. CDT
  • Game weather: Clear, 64 °F (18 °C)
  • Game attendance: 75,048
  • Referee: Bob McElwee
  • TV announcers (NBC): Merle Harmon and Mike Haffner
  • Box score
Game information

Week 7: at Denver Broncos

Week 7: Kansas City Chiefs at Denver Broncos – Game summary
Period 1 2 34Total
Chiefs 3 10 7323
Broncos 7 7 3017

at Mile High Stadium, Denver, Colorado

  • Date: October 19
  • Game time: 12:00 p.m. MDT
  • Game weather: Sunny, 63 °F (17 °C)
  • Game attendance: 74,459
  • Referee: Chuck Heberling
  • TV announcers (KCMO-Kansas City): Don Fortune and Paul Maguire
  • Box score
Game information

Week 8: vs. Detroit Lions

Week 8: Detroit Lions at Kansas City Chiefs – Game summary
Period 1 2 34Total
Lions 0 3 7717
Chiefs 0 10 01020

at Arrowhead Stadium, Kansas City, Missouri

Game information

Week 9: vs. Baltimore Colts

Week 9: Baltimore Colts at Kansas City Chiefs – Game summary
Period 1 2 34Total
Colts 7 7 14331
Chiefs 3 14 7024

at Arrowhead Stadium, Kansas City, Missouri

  • Date: November 2
  • Game time: 12:00 p.m. CST
  • Game weather: Clear, 65 °F (18 °C)
  • Game attendance: 52,383
  • Referee: Bob Frederic
  • TV announcers (NBC): Bob Costas and Gene Washington
  • Box score
Game information

Week 10: at Seattle Seahawks

Week 10: Kansas City Chiefs at Seattle Seahawks – Game summary
Period 1 2 34Total
Chiefs 3 0 72131
Seahawks 0 17 6730

at Kingdome, Seattle, Washington

  • Date: November 9
  • Game time: 1:00 p.m. PST
  • Game weather: None (indoor stadium)
  • Game attendance: 58,976
  • Referee: Jim Tunney
  • TV announcers (NBC): Mike Adamle and Mike Haffner
  • Box score
Game information

Week 11: at San Diego Chargers

Week 11: Kansas City Chiefs at San Diego Chargers – Game summary
Period 1 2 34Total
Chiefs 7 0 007
Chargers 0 6 7720

at Jack Murphy Stadium, San Diego, California

  • Date: November 16
  • Game time: 1:00 p.m. PST
  • Game weather: Hazy, 68 °F (20 °C)
  • Game attendance: 50,248
  • Referee: Pat Haggerty
  • TV announcers (NBC): Sam Nover and Bob Trumpy
  • Box score
Game information

Week 12: at St. Louis Cardinals

Week 12: Kansas City Chiefs at St. Louis Cardinals – Game summary
Period 1 2 34Total
Chiefs 0 0 71421
Cardinals 10 0 3013

at Busch Memorial Stadium, St. Louis, Missouri

  • Date: November 23
  • Game time: 1:00 p.m. CST
  • Game weather: Overcast, 44 °F (7 °C)
  • Game attendance: 42,871
  • Referee: Ben Dreith
  • TV announcers (NBC): Bob Costas and Carl Eller
  • Box score
Game information

Week 13: vs. Cincinnati Bengals

Week 13: Cincinnati Bengals at Kansas City Chiefs – Game summary
Period 1 2 34Total
Bengals 7 0 01320
Chiefs 0 3 036

at Arrowhead Stadium, Kansas City, Missouri

  • Date: November 30
  • Game time: 1:00 p.m. CST
  • Game weather: Clear, 62 °F (17 °C)
  • Game attendance: 41,594
  • Referee: Dick Jorgensen
  • TV announcers (NBC): Jay Randolph and Mike Haffner
  • Box score
Game information

Week 14: vs. Denver Broncos

Week 14: Denver Broncos at Kansas City Chiefs – Game summary
Period 1 2 34Total
Broncos 0 0 7714
Chiefs 0 28 0331

at Arrowhead Stadium, Kansas City, Missouri

  • Date: December 7
  • Game time: 3:00 p.m. CST
  • Game weather: Overcast, showers, 41 °F (5 °C)
  • Game attendance: 40,237
  • Referee: Fred Wyant
  • TV announcers (NBC): Jay Randolph and Mike Haffner
  • Box score
Game information

Week 15: at Pittsburgh Steelers

Week 15: Kansas City Chiefs at Pittsburgh Steelers – Game summary
Period 1 2 34Total
Chiefs 0 3 13016
Steelers 7 0 01421

at Three Rivers Stadium, Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania

  • Date: December 14
  • Game time: 1:00 p.m. EST
  • Game weather: Partly cloudy, 31 °F (−1 °C)
  • Game attendance: 50,013
  • Referee: Fred Silva
  • TV announcers (NBC): Marv Albert and Mike Haffner
  • Box score
Game information

Week 16: at Baltimore Colts

Week 16: Kansas City Chiefs at Baltimore Colts – Game summary
Period 1 2 34Total
Chiefs 21 0 71038
Colts 0 28 0028

at Memorial Stadium, Baltimore, Maryland

  • Date: December 21
  • Game time: 2:00 p.m. EST
  • Game weather: Sunny and cold, 24 °F (−4 °C)
  • Game attendance: 16,941
  • Referee: Cal Lepore
  • TV announcers (NBC): Mike Adamle and Dave Rowe
  • Box score
Game information

Standings

AFC West
W L T PCT DIV CONF PF PA STK
San Diego Chargers(1) 11 5 0 .688 6–2 9–3 418 327 W2
Oakland Raiders(4) 11 5 0 .688 6–2 9–3 364 306 W2
Kansas City Chiefs 8 8 0 .500 4–4 6–8 319 336 W1
Denver Broncos 8 8 0 .500 3–5 5–7 310 323 W1
Seattle Seahawks 4 12 0 .250 1–7 3–9 291 408 L9

References

  1. ^ a b c d e "Kansas City Chiefs History 1980s". Archived from the original on August 6, 2007. Retrieved July 31, 2007.
  2. ^ "1980 Kansas City Chiefs Draftees". Pro Football Reference. Retrieved January 22, 2022.

External links