1980 New York Giants season

The 1980 New York Giants season was the franchise's 56th season in the National Football League.[1] The Giants finished in last place in the National Football Conference East Division with a 4–12 record.[2] One highlight was a Week 10 win over the Dallas Cowboys, which snapped an eight-game losing streak.[3]

1980 New York Giants season
Head coach	Ray Perkins
General manager	George Young
Owner	Timothy J. Mara Wellington Mara
Home field	Giants Stadium
Results
Record	4–12
Division place	5th NFC East
Playoff finish	Did not qualify
Pro Bowlers	LB Brad Van Pelt P Dave Jennings

Offseason

NFL Draft

See also: 1980 NFL Draft

1980 New York Giants draft
Round	Pick	Player	Position	College	Notes
1	8	Mark Haynes *	CB	Colorado
Made roster    †   Pro Football Hall of Fame    *   Made at least one Pro Bowl during career

Personnel

Staff

1980 New York Giants staff

	Front office President – Wellington Mara General Manager – George Young Director of Pro Personnel – Jim Trimble Head coaches Head Coach – Ray Perkins Offensive coaches Offensive Backfield – Bob Lord Receivers – Pat Hodgson Offensive Line – Bill Austin Offensive Assistant – Ernie Adams			Defensive coaches Defensive Coordinator – Ralph Hawkins Defensive Line – Lamar Leachman Defensive Backfield – Deek Pollard Special teams coaches Special Teams – Bill Belichick

Roster

1980 New York Giants roster

	Quarterbacks 12 Scott Brunner 15 Cliff Olander 11 Phil Simms Running backs 25 Alvin Garrett 44 Doug Kotar 33 Scott Laidlaw 41 Bo Matthews 30 Leon Perry 38 Billy Taylor Wide receivers 88 Mike Friede 83 Earnest Gray 84 Nate Johnson 86 Johnny Perkins 82 Danny Pittman Tight ends 81 Tom Mullady 87 Gary Shirk		Offensive linemen 60 Brad Benson T 56 Jim Clack C 77 Vernon Holland T 61 Ernie Hughes C 72 Gordon King G 79 Dale Markham T 69 Roy Simmons G 65 John Sinnott T 52 Steve Tobin C 68 J. T. Turner G Defensive linemen 70 Gary Jeter DE 71 Myron Lapka DT 74 Chris Linnin DE 75 George Martin DE 76 Curtis McGriff DT 78 George Small DT 80 Phil Tabor DE		Linebackers 62 Ben Apuna 61 Phil Cancik 53 Harry Carson 55 Brian Kelley 51 Frank Marion 57 John Skorupan 10 Brad Van Pelt 59 Whip Walton 58 Mike Whittington 99 Kervin Wyatt Defensive backs 23 Tony Blount 46 Mike Dennis 36 Mark Haynes CB 26 Bud Hebert FS 24 Terry Jackson CB 22 Doug Nettles CB 21 Don Patterson 28 Beasley Reece SS 20 Gary Woolford FS Special teams 18 Joe Danelo K 13 Dave Jennings P		Reserve lists Practice squad Rookies in italics

Schedule

Week	Date	Opponent	Result	Attendance
1	September 7, 1980	at St. Louis Cardinals	W 41–35	49,122
2	September 14, 1980	Washington Redskins	L 23–21	73,343
3	September 22, 1980	at Philadelphia Eagles	L 35–3	70,767
4	September 28, 1980	Los Angeles Rams	L 28–7	73,414
5	October 5, 1980	at Dallas Cowboys	L 24–3	59,126
6	October 12, 1980	Philadelphia Eagles	L 31–16	71,051
7	October 19, 1980	at San Diego Chargers	L 44–7	50,397
8	October 26, 1980	Denver Broncos	L 14–9	67,598
9	November 2, 1980	at Tampa Bay Buccaneers	L 30–13	68,256
10	November 9, 1980	Dallas Cowboys	W 38–35	68,343
11	November 16, 1980	Green Bay Packers	W 27–21	76,609
12	November 23, 1980	at San Francisco 49ers	L 12–0	38,574
13	November 30, 1980	St. Louis Cardinals	L 23–7	65,852
14	December 7, 1980	at Seattle Seahawks	W 27–21	51,617
15	December 13, 1980	at Washington Redskins	L 16–13	44,443
16	December 21, 1980	Oakland Raiders	L 33–17	61,287

Season summary

Week 1: at St. Louis Cardinals

1 2 3 4 Total • Giants 7 7 17 10 41 Cardinals 7 7 14 7 35 Date: September 7 Location: Civic Center Busch Memorial Stadium Game start: 1:00 p.m. EST Game weather: 80 °F (26.7 °C); wind 15 miles per hour (24 km/h; 13 kn) Source: Pro-Football-Reference.com

Scoring summary Q1 STL Morris 5 yard run (Little kick) STL 7–0 Q1 NYG Gray 10 yard pass from Simms (Danelo kick) Tie 7–7 Q2 NYG Gray 37 yard pass from Simms (Danelo kick) NYG 14–7 Q2 STL Morris 9 yard run (Little kick) Tie 14–14 Q3 NYG Danelo 28 yard field goal NYG 17–14 Q3 STL Anderson 24 yard run (Little kick) STL 21–17 Q3 NYG Perkins 58 yard pass from Simms (Danelo kick) NYG 24–21 Q3 NYG Gray 42 yard pass from Simms (Danelo kick) NYG 31–21 Q3 STL Marsh 7 yard pass from Hart (Little kick) NYG 31–28 Q4 NYG Gray 20 yard pass from Simms (Danelo kick) NYG 38–28 Q4 STL Tilley 42 yard pass from Hart (Little kick) NYG 38–35 Q4 NYG Danelo 33 yard field goal NYG 41–35

• Phil Simms 16/31, 280 Yds[4]
• Earnest Gray 9 Rec, 174 Yds[4]

Standings

NFC East
	W	L	T	PCT	DIV	CONF	PF	PA	STK
Philadelphia Eagles^(2)	12	4	0	.750	6–2	9–3	384	222	L1
Dallas Cowboys^(4)	12	4	0	.750	6–2	9–3	454	311	W1
Washington Redskins	6	10	0	.375	4–4	5–7	261	293	W3
St. Louis Cardinals	5	11	0	.313	2–6	4–10	299	350	L2
New York Giants	4	12	0	.250	2–6	3–9	249	425	L2

See also

• 1980 NFL season

References

1. "New York Giants Franchise Encyclopedia". Pro-Football-Reference.com. Retrieved February 8, 2020.
2. "1980 New York Giants". Pro-Football-Reference.com. Archived from the original on April 13, 2009. Retrieved May 10, 2009.
3. Whittingham, Richard (2005). Illustrated History of the New York Giants. Chicago: Triumph Books. p. 191. ISBN 1-57243-641-7.
4. "New York Giants at St. Louis Cardinals – September 7th, 1980". Pro-Football-Reference.com. Retrieved November 20, 2017.