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1980 San Francisco 49ers season

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1980 San Francisco 49ers season
OwnerEdward J. DeBartolo Jr.
General managerBill Walsh
Head coachBill Walsh
Defensive coordinatorChuck Studley
Home fieldCandlestick Park
Results
Record6–10
Division place3rd NFC West
Playoff finishDid not qualify
Pro Bowlersnone

The 1980 San Francisco 49ers season was the franchise's 31st season in the National Football League and their 35th overall. This was the second year with the team for both head coach Bill Walsh and quarterback Joe Montana, who became the starter in week seven,[1] replacing Steve DeBerg.[2]

The 49ers looked to improve on their previous output of 2–14 (both of the two previous seasons); despite succeeding in improving their record, having posted a 6-10 record, they failed to make the playoffs for the eighth consecutive season.[3]

On December 7, 1980, the 49ers rallied from down 35–7, scoring 31 unanswered points to defeat the winless New Orleans Saints in overtime.[4][5][6] This was the last full season until 1999 that the 49ers finished with fewer than ten wins.

Offseason

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Draft

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1980 San Francisco 49ers draft
Round Pick Player Position College Notes
1 13 Earl Cooper  Fullback Rice from N. Y. Jets
1 20 Jim Stuckey  Defensive tackle Clemson from Denver
2 39 Keena Turner *  Linebacker Purdue from Minnesota
3 65 Jim Miller  Punter Ole Miss from Minnesota
3 77 Craig Puki  Linebacker Tennessee
4 84 Ricky Churchman  Safety Texas
4 98 David Hodge  Linebacker Houston
5 112 Kenneth Times  Defensive Tackle Southern
6 139 Herb Williams  Safety Southern
8 210 Bobby Leopold  Linebacker Notre Dame
9 237 Dan Hartwig  Quarterback Cal Lutheran
      Made roster    *   Made at least one Pro Bowl during career

Personnel

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Staff / Coaches

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1980 San Francisco 49ers staff

Front office

Head coaches

  • Head coach – Bill Walsh

Offensive coaches

Defensive coaches

Special teams coaches

  • Special teams – Milt Jackson

Strength and conditioning

  • Strength and Conditioning – Al Vermeil


Roster

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1980 San Francisco 49ers roster
Quarterbacks (QB)

Running backs (RB)

Wide receivers (WR)

Tight ends (TE)

Offensive linemen (OL)

Defensive linemen (DL)

Linebackers (LB)

Defensive backs (DB)

  • 29 Gerald Williams CB

Special teams

Reserve


Rookies in italics

Preseason

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Week Date Opponent Result Record Venue Attendance
1 August 9 Oakland Raiders W 33–14 1–0 Candlestick Park 55,585
2 August 16 at San Diego Chargers W 17–14 2–0 San Diego Stadium 48,836
3 August 23 Seattle Seahawks L 7–10 2–1 Candlestick Park 41,841
4 August 30 vs. Kansas City Chiefs W 31–21 3–1 Arizona Stadium 27,000

[7]

Schedule

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Week Date Opponent Result Record Venue Attendance
1 September 7 at New Orleans Saints W 26–23 1–0 Louisiana Superdome 58,621
2 September 14 St. Louis Cardinals W 24–21 2–0 Candlestick Park 49,999
3 September 21 at New York Jets W 37–27 3–0 Shea Stadium 50,608
4 September 28 Atlanta Falcons L 17–20 3–1 Candlestick Park 56,518
5 October 5 at Los Angeles Rams L 26–48 3–2 Anaheim Stadium 62,188
6 October 12 at Dallas Cowboys L 14–59 3–3 Texas Stadium 63,399
7 October 19 Los Angeles Rams L 17–31 3–4 Candlestick Park 55,360
8 October 26 Tampa Bay Buccaneers L 23–24 3–5 Candlestick Park 51,925
9 November 2 at Detroit Lions L 13–17 3–6 Pontiac Silverdome 78,845
10 November 9 at Green Bay Packers L 16–23 3–7 Milwaukee County Stadium 54,475
11 November 16 at Miami Dolphins L 13–17 3–8 Miami Orange Bowl 45,135
12 November 23 New York Giants W 12–0 4–8 Candlestick Park 38,574
13 November 30 New England Patriots W 21–17 5–8 Candlestick Park 45,254
14 December 7 New Orleans Saints W 38–35 6–8 Candlestick Park 37,949
15 December 14 at Atlanta Falcons L 10–35 6–9 Atlanta Fulton County Stadium 55,767
16 December 21 Buffalo Bills L 13–18 6–10 Candlestick Park 37,476
Note: Intra-division opponents are in bold text.

Game summaries

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Week 14: vs. New Orleans Saints

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Week 14: New Orleans Saints at San Francisco 49ers – Game summary
Quarter 1 2 34OTTotal
Saints 14 21 00035
49ers 0 7 1414338

at Candlestick Park, San Francisco, California

Game information

The 49ers fought back from a 28-point deficit in the second half to win in overtime 38–35. The game was named as #8 on NFL Top 10 on Top Ten Comebacks.[8]

Week 16: vs. Buffalo Bills

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1 234Total
• Bills 6 750 18
49ers 6 070 13

[9]

Standings

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NFC West
W L T PCT DIV CONF PF PA STK
Atlanta Falcons(1) 12 4 0 .750 5–1 10–2 405 272 L1
Los Angeles Rams(5) 11 5 0 .688 5–1 9–3 424 289 W2
San Francisco 49ers 6 10 0 .375 2–4 4–8 320 415 L2
New Orleans Saints 1 15 0 .063 0–6 0–12 291 487 L1

References

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  1. ^ "Rams, 31-17". Eugene Register-Guard. (Oregon). wire service reports. October 20, 1980. p. 4B.
  2. ^ "Cowboys, 59-14". Eugene Register-Guard. (Oregon). wire service reports. October 13, 1980. p. 4B.
  3. ^ 1980 San Francisco 49ers
  4. ^ "49ers come from 28 behind to win". Eugene Register-Guard. (Oregon). Associated Press. December 8, 1980. p. 3B.
  5. ^ NFL 2001 Record and Fact Book, Workman Publishing Co, New York, ISBN 0-7611-2480-2, p. 260
  6. ^ New Orleans Saints 35 at San Francisco 49ers 38
  7. ^ "1980 San Francisco 49ers (NFL)". Pro Football Archives. Retrieved November 2, 2023.
  8. ^ "Top 10 greatest comebacks in NFL history". National Football League. January 7, 2009. Retrieved January 3, 2013.
  9. ^ Pro-Football-Reference.com