The 1980 Pittsburgh Steelers season was the franchise's 48th season 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 ...
.
The Steelers struggled for the first time in many years. The aging defense was not as effective as it had been in the
1978 and '
79 seasons, falling from 2nd to 15th in yards allowed. The Steelers also surrendered 313 points, ranked 15th in the league, compared to 262 points (5th in the league) the previous season. The Pittsburgh defense only garnered 18
quarterback sacks.
The offense was still plagued with 42 total turnovers, but ranking 6th in total offense, and scoring 352 points.
Despite the team's troubles, the Steelers could have again obtained home-field advantage throughout the playoffs had they not lost several close games, including games against
Cincinnati
Cincinnati ( ) is a city in the U.S. state of Ohio and the county seat of Hamilton County. Settled in 1788, the city is located at the northern side of the confluence of the Licking and Ohio rivers, the latter of which marks the state line wit ...
and
Cleveland
Cleveland ( ), officially the City of Cleveland, is a city in the U.S. state of Ohio and the county seat of Cuyahoga County. Located in the northeastern part of the state, it is situated along the southern shore of Lake Erie, across the U.S. ...
in which they lost despite having large leads in the fourth quarter. Pittsburgh remained in the playoff hunt until a 28–13 loss to
Buffalo in week 12 and then a 6–0 loss to
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 i ...
effectively eliminated Pittsburgh from the postseason.
To many, these two losses marked the end of the Steeler Dynasty. Several key players retired after the 1980 season and the team was never the same again. The 1980 season was the first in which the Steelers did not qualify for the playoffs since
1971.
Offseason
NFL draft
Personnel
Staff
Roster
Preseason
Schedule
Regular season
Schedule
Game summaries
Week 1: vs. Houston Oilers
Week 2: at Baltimore Colts
Week 3: at Cincinnati Bengals
Week 4: vs. Chicago Bears
Week 5: at Minnesota Vikings
Week 6: vs. Cincinnati Bengals
Week 7 : vs. Oakland Raiders
Week 8: at Cleveland Browns
Week 9: vs. Green Bay Packers
Week 10: at Tampa Bay Buccaneers
Week 11: vs. Cleveland Browns
Week 12: at Buffalo Bills
Week 13: vs. Miami Dolphins
Week 14 : at Houston Oilers
Week 15: vs. Kansas City Chiefs
Week 16: at San Diego Chargers
Standings
References
External links
1980 Pittsburgh Steelers season at ProFootballReference.com1980 Pittsburgh Steelers at jt-sw.com
{{1980 NFL season by team
Pittsburgh Steelers seasons
Pittsburgh Steelers
Pitts