1980 New Orleans Saints season
| 1980 New Orleans Saints season | |
|---|---|
| Head coach |
Dick Nolan Dick Stanfel |
| Home field | Louisiana Superdome |
| Results | |
| Record | 1–15 |
| Division place | 4th NFC West |
| Playoff finish | did not qualify |
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| Scoring summary | ||||
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | NO | Jack Holmes 14 yard pass from Archie Manning (Benny Ricardo kick) | Saints 7–0 | |
| 2 | NYJ | Kevin Long 1 yard run (Pat Leahy kick) | Tie 7–7 | |
| 2 | NYJ | Pat Leahy 27 yard field goal | Jets 10–7 | |
| 2 | NYJ | Pat Leahy 47 yard field goal | Jets 13–7 | |
| 4 | NO | Tony Galbreath 1 yard run (Benny Ricardo kick) | Saints 14–13 | |
| 4 | NYJ | Richard Todd 31 yard run (Pat Leahy kick) | Jets 20–14 | |
| 4 | NO | Tony Galbreath 1 yard run (Benny Ricardo kick) | Saints 21–20 | |
The 1980 New Orleans Saints season was the team's 14th as a member of the National Football League. It was unable to improve on the previous season's output of 8–8, winning only one game. The team failed to qualify for the playoffs for the fourteenth consecutive season and had the dubious distinction not only of winning only a single game, but winning it by a single point against the equally disappointing Jets, who like the Saints had widely been predicted before the season to advance to their first playoff appearance for over a decade.
Disgruntled fans called their team “the Aints”, going so far as to show up to games wearing brown paper bags over their heads after their team was 0–12 and playing the Los Angeles Rams, to whom they lost 27–7. In embarrassment they called themselves the Unknown Fan (a spinoff from The Unknown Comic) in a practice that would become the trademark of disgruntled fans across various sports in the United States. Coach Dick Nolan was fired after this game, replaced by Dick Stanfel, and then a most notable loss occurred in Week 14. Playing the San Francisco 49ers in Candlestick Park, the Saints charged out to a 35–7 lead at halftime, led by three touchdown passes from Archie Manning and a pair of one-yard touchdown runs from Jack Holmes. However, the 49ers would rally behind quarterback Joe Montana, who would rush for a touchdown and pass for two more. The 49ers would tie the game 35–35 on a fourth-quarter touchdown run by Lenvil Elliott and go on to win in overtime, 38–35, on a Ray Wersching field goal. The 28-point comeback by the 49ers was, at the time, the greatest comeback in NFL history, and currently remains the greatest comeback in NFL regular season history (the 1992 AFC Wildcard game between the Buffalo Bills and Houston Oilers is currently #1, with the Bills overcoming a 32-point deficit to win).
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