1980 Miami Dolphins season

The 1980 Miami Dolphins season was the 15th year of existence for the Miami Dolphins franchise. Quarterback Bob Griese retired after the season, following a 14-year career with the Dolphins. However, in Griese's final season the Dolphins would only play mediocre football finishing in third place with an 8–8 record. This was also the first season since 1969 that the Dolphins lost to the Buffalo Bills. For the season, the Dolphins switched the color of the facemasks on their helmets from gray to teal.

1980 Miami Dolphins season
Head coach	Don Shula
Home stadium	Orange Bowl
Results
Record	8–8
Division place	3rd AFC East
Playoffs	Did not qualify
Pro Bowlers	None
← 1979 Dolphins seasons 1981 →

No Dolphins made it to the Pro Bowl for the second consecutive season. Griese was the highest-paid quarterback in the league at just over $400,000.^[1]

Offseason

NFL draft

Main article: 1980 NFL draft

1980 Miami Dolphins draft
Round	Pick	Player	Position	College	Notes
1	21	Don McNeal	Cornerback	Alabama
2	48	Dwight Stephenson * †	Center	Alabama
3	75	Bill Barnett	Defensive end	Nebraska
4	100	Elmer Bailey	Wide receiver	Minnesota
6	158	Eugene Byrd	Wide receiver	Michigan State
7	185	Joe Rose	Tight end	California
8	212	Jeff Allen	Defensive back	UC Davis
8	214	David Woodley	Quarterback	LSU
9	239	Mark Goodspeed	Offensive tackle	Nebraska
10	271	Doug Lantz	Center	Miami (OH)
10	272	Ben Long	Linebacker	South Dakota
11	279	Phil Driscoll	Defensive end	Mankato State
12	325	Chuck Stone	Guard	North Carolina State
Made roster    †   Pro Football Hall of Fame    *   Made at least one Pro Bowl during career

Source:^[2]

Personnel

Coaches / Staff

1980 Miami Dolphins staff

Front office Team Owner / President – Joe Robbie Executive Vice President/general manager – Mike Robbie Vice president – Don Shula Director of player personnel – Chuck Connor Head coaches Head coach – Don Shula Offensive coaches Quarterbacks/receivers – Dan Henning Offensive backs – Carl Taseff Offensive line/running game – John Sandusky

Defensive coaches Assistant head coach/defense – Bill Arnsparger Defensive line/run defense – Mike Scarry Defensive backs – Tom Keane Special teams coaches Special teams – Steve Crosby, Carl Taseff Punting – Tom Keane

Roster

1980 Miami Dolphins roster

Quarterbacks (QB) 10 Don Strock 16 David Woodley 17 Pete Woods Running backs (RB) 34 Woody Bennett 35 Nick Giaquinto 38 Steve Howell 31 Rick Moser 22 Tony Nathan 24 Delvin Williams Wide receivers (WR) 88 Elmer Bailey 81 Jimmy Cefalo 82 Duriel Harris 89 Nat Moore Tight ends (TE) 84 Bruce Hardy 86 Ronnie Lee 80 Joe Rose

Offensive linemen (OL) 63 Mark Dennard C 61 Thom Dornbrook G/C 79 Jon Giesler T 74 Cleveland Green T 67 Bob Kuechenberg G 68 Eric Laakso T 64 Ed Newman G 57 Dwight Stephenson C Defensive linemen (DL) 78 Carl Barisich NT 70 Bill Barnett DE 73 Bob Baumhower NT 75 Doug Betters DE 83 Vern Den Herder DE

Linebackers (LB) 58 Kim Bokamper OLB 51 Rusty Chambers ILB 77 A. J. Duhe ILB 50 Larry Gordon OLB 54 Ralph Ortega ILB 55 Earnie Rhone OLB 59 Steve Shull ILB Defensive backs (DB) 43 Jeff Allen CB 46 Don Bessillieu FS 47 Glenn Blackwood SS 33 Billy Cesare FS 25 Tim Foley SS 48 Gerald Small CB 45 Ed Taylor CB Special teams (ST)  4 George Roberts P  5 Uwe von Schamann K

Reserve 44 Doug Beaudoin S (IR) 72 Phil Driscoll DE (IR) 12 Bob Griese QB (IR) 37 Mike Kozlowski S (IR) 66 Larry Little G (IR) 28 Don McNeal CB (IR) 38 Terry Robiskie RB (IR) 62 Don Sewell G (IR) 60 Jeff Toews G (IR) 56 Steve Towle LB (IR) Rookies in italics 45 active, 10 reserve

Regular season

The 1980 NFL season would see the Dolphins drop to an 8–8 record, from their AFC East division winning 10–6 showing the previous year.

Quarterback Bob Griese, who struggled with leg problems during 1979, lost the starting job to longtime backup Don Strock, but he did poorly in two games, leading the Dolphins to return to Griese for week 3. In week 5, however, Griese suffered a career-ending shoulder injury against the Baltimore Colts and was succeeded by David Woodley, a rookie fresh from LSU.

Their week-1 loss to the Buffalo Bills was the Dolphins' first loss to that team since 1969, snapping a 20 game winning streak for Miami in the Bills-Dolphins rivalry. After the win, Bills fans rushed the field and tore down the goalposts. This was also Don Shula's first loss to Buffalo in 21 career games against them.

The final game of the season was played against the New York Jets on December 20. NBC tried a novel experiment by broadcasting the game with no commentators, and with none of the players or staff wearing microphones. The effect was to give television viewers the feel of actually being in the stadium. To date, this was the only NFL game ever aired on TV without commentaries. The Jets won by a score of 24–17, though both teams had already been eliminated from playoff contention.

It was during the ABC broadcast of the Monday Night Football game on December 8, 1980, against the Patriots that Howard Cosell announced that John Lennon had been shot and killed.

Schedule

Week	Date	Opponent	Result	Record	Venue	Attendance
1	September 7	at Buffalo Bills	L 7–17	0–1	Rich Stadium	79,598
2	September 14	Cincinnati Bengals	W 17–16	1–1	Miami Orange Bowl	38,322
3	September 21	at Atlanta Falcons	W 20–17	2–1	Atlanta–Fulton County Stadium	55,470
4	September 28	New Orleans Saints	W 21–16	3–1	Miami Orange Bowl	40,946
5	October 5	Baltimore Colts	L 17–30	3–2	Miami Orange Bowl	50,631
6	October 12	at New England Patriots	L 0–34	3–3	Schaefer Stadium	60,377
7	October 19	Buffalo Bills	W 17–14	4–3	Miami Orange Bowl	41,636
8	October 27	at New York Jets	L 14–17	4–4	Shea Stadium	53,046
9	November 2	at Oakland Raiders	L 10–16	4–5	Oakland–Alameda County Coliseum	46,378
10	November 9	at Los Angeles Rams	W 35–14	5–5	Anaheim Stadium	62,198
11	November 16	San Francisco 49ers	W 17–13	6–5	Miami Orange Bowl	45,135
12	November 20	San Diego Chargers	L 24–27 (OT)	6–6	Miami Orange Bowl	63,013
13	November 30	at Pittsburgh Steelers	L 10–23	6–7	Three Rivers Stadium	51,384
14	December 8	New England Patriots	W 16–13 (OT)	7–7	Miami Orange Bowl	63,292
15	December 14	at Baltimore Colts	W 24–14	8–7	Memorial Stadium	30,564
16	December 20	New York Jets	L 17–24	8–8	Miami Orange Bowl	41,854

Note: Intra-division opponents are in bold text.

Game summaries

Week 1 at Bills

Week One: Miami Dolphins (0–0) at Buffalo Bills (0–0)

Quarter	1	2	3	4	Total
Dolphins	0	0	7	0	7
Bills	0	3	0	14	17

at Rich Stadium, Orchard Park, New York

• Date: September 7
• Game time: 1:00 p.m. EDT
• Game weather: 64 °F (18 °C)
• Game attendance: 79,598
• Referee: Gordon McCarter
• TV announcers (NBC): Bob Costas and Mike Haffner
• Box Score

Game information

First quarter No scoring Second quarter BUF – Nick Mike-Mayer 40-yard field goal. Bills 3–0. Third quarter MIA – Tony Nathan 4-yard pass from Bob Griese (Uwe von Schamann kick). Dolphins 7–3. Fourth quarter BUF – Roosevelt Leaks 4-yard pass from Joe Ferguson (Nick Mike-Mayer kick). Bills 10–7. BUF – Joe Cribbs 2-yard run (Nick Mike-Mayer kick). Bills 17–7. Top passers MIA – Bob Griese – 11/18, 101 yards, TD, 2 INT BUF – Joe Ferguson – 20/32, 198 yards, TD, 5 INT Top rushers MIA – Steve Howell – 6 rushes, 43 yards BUF – Joe Cribbs – 18 rushes, 60 yards, TD Top receivers MIA – Duriel Harris – 3 receptions, 42 yards BUF – Joe Cribbs – 9 receptions, 71 yards

Week 7 vs Bills

Week Seven: Buffalo Bills (5–1) at Miami Dolphins (3–3)

Quarter	1	2	3	4	Total
Bills	0	0	7	7	14
Dolphins	7	7	3	0	17

at Orange Bowl, Miami, Florida

• Date: October 19
• Game time: 1:00 p.m. EDT
• Game weather: 80 °F (27 °C)
• Game attendance: 41,636
• Referee: Red Cashion
• TV announcers (NBC): Dick Enberg and Merlin Olsen
• Box Score

Game information

First quarter MIA – Don Bessillieu 44-yard fumble return (Uwe von Schamann kick). Dolphins 7–0. Second quarter MIA – Nat Moore 3-yard pass from David Woodley (Uwe von Schamann kick). Dolphins 14–0. Third quarter BUF – Joe Cribbs 2-yard run (Nick Mike-Mayer kick). Dolphins 14–7. MIA – Uwe von Schamann 23-yard field goal. Dolphins 17–7. Fourth quarter BUF – Jerry Butler 7-yard pass from Joe Ferguson (Nick Mike-Mayer kick). Dolphins 17–14. Top passers BUF – Joe Ferguson – 24/42, 221 yards, TD MIA – David Woodley – 11/17, 93 yards, TD, INT Top rushers BUF – Joe Cribbs – 14 rushes, 38 yards, TD MIA – Terry Robiskie – 18 rushes, 84 yards Top receivers BUF – Frank Lewis – 4 receptions, 71 yards MIA – Nat Moore – 4 receptions, 39 yards, TD

Week 14: vs. New England Patriots

New England Patriots at Miami Dolphins

Team	1	2	3	4	OT	Total
Patriots	0	6	0	7	0	13
• Dolphins	0	0	6	7	3	16

• Date: December 8
• Location: Orange Bowl, Miami, Florida
• Game start: 9:00 p.m. EST
• Referee: Jerry Seeman
• Television network: ABC

• Source: Pro-Football-Reference.com

Scoring summary

2		Patriots	John Smith 23-yard field goal	Patriots 3–0
2		Patriots	John Smith 33-yard field goal	Patriots 6–0
3		Dolphins	Uwe von Schamann 27-yard field goal	Patriots 6–3
3		Dolphins	Uwe von Schamann 24-yard field goal	Tie 6–6
4		Patriots	Russ Francis 38-yard pass from Matt Cavanaugh (John Smith kick)	Patriots 13–6
4		Dolphins	Nat Moore 8-yard pass from David Woodley (Uwe von Schamann kick)	Tie 13–13
OT		Dolphins	Uwe von Schamann 23-yard field goal	Dolphins 16–13

The Dolphins got revenge from their 34-0 shellacking in Foxborough back in October. The Patriots clawed to a 13–6 lead in the fourth quarter, then the Dolphins forced overtime with a David Woodley throw to Nat Moore in the fourth. John Smith attempted to kick the game-winning field goal, but had the kick blocked, then Uwe von Schamann of the Dolphins won it with a 23-yard field goal in the extra quarter. The game, though, became overshadowed by Howard Cosell's announcement that John Lennon had been shot and killed.^[3]

Standings

AFC East
view talk edit	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