1980 Cleveland Browns season
| 1980 Cleveland Browns season | |
|---|---|
| Head coach | Sam Rutigliano |
| Owner | Art Modell |
| Home field | Cleveland Municipal Stadium |
| Results | |
| Record | 11–5 |
| Division place | 1st AFC Central |
| Playoff finish | Lost AFC Divisional Playoffs (Raiders) 14–12 |
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| Scoring summary | ||||
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Q1 | KC | Lowery 38 yard field goal | KC 3–0 | |
| Q1 | KC | Lowery 22 yard field goal | KC 6–0 | |
| Q1 | CLE | White 2 yard run (Cockroft kick) | CLE 7–6 | |
| Q3 | CLE | Wright 12 yard pass from Sipe (kick failed) | CLE 13–6 | |
| Q3 | KC | Samuels 16 yard pass from Fuller (Lowery kick) | Tie 13–13 | |
| Q3 | CLE | White 31 yard pass from Sipe (Cockroft kick) | CLE 20–13 | |
The 1980 Cleveland Browns season was the team's 35th, and 31st season in the National Football League. The Browns finished the regular season with eleven wins and five losses, and their first division title in nine years, winning a tiebreaker with the Houston Oilers.
For the second straight year, Browns head coach Sam Rutigliano was named NFL Coach of the Year, and quarterback Brian Sipe was named the league's Most Valuable Player.
The 1980 Cleveland Browns were known as the Kardiac Kids for having several games decided in the final moments. The 1980 season was the first time that Cleveland had qualified for the postseason since 1972.
Rallying from a 10–0 first-half deficit against Cincinnati, the Browns came back to beat the Bengals 27–24 to finally snare the Central championship. Don Cockroft kicked the game-winning 22-yard field goal with 1:25 left, then the Bengals got as far as the Cleveland 14 before time ran out.
The Browns played their first home playoff game in nine seasons against the Raiders, in what has become known as the Red Right 88 game. The Browns marched to the Oakland 13 in the waning seconds trailing by 14–12, but Brian Sipe's pass into the end zone for Hall of Fame tight end Ozzie Newsome was intercepted, ending Cleveland's season
Sipe had a career year, throwing for 4,132 yards and 30 touchdowns, with just 14 interceptions.
Five Browns had 50 or more receptions, led by running back Mike Pruitt with 63. Pruitt also rushed for over 1,000 yards for the second straight year (1,034) and six touchdowns. Running back Calvin Hill, primarily a third-down pass receiver, recorded six touchdowns among his 27 catches. Wide receiver Ricky Feacher grabbed just 10 passes, but four went for scores, including two within a matter of minutes in the division-clinching win over the Bengals.
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