1980 Miami Dolphins season
| 1980 Miami Dolphins season | |
|---|---|
| Head coach | Don Shula |
| Home field | Orange Bowl |
| Results | |
| Record | 8–8 |
| Division place | 3rd AFC East |
| Playoff finish | did not qualify |
|
|||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
|
|||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| 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 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.
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.
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.
...
Wikipedia