1980

1980 NFL season

The 1980 NFL season was the 61st regular season of the National Football League.After the league declined to approve the proposed move by the Raiders from Oakland, California to Los Angeles, the team along with the Los Angeles Coliseum sued the NFL for violating antitrust laws...

 was the 20th year of season play for the Minnesota Vikings

Minnesota Vikings

The Minnesota Vikings are a professional American football team based in Minneapolis, Minnesota. The Vikings joined the National Football League as an expansion team in 1960...

 and the 61st regular season of the National Football League

National Football League

The National Football League is the highest level of professional American football in the United States, and is considered the top professional American football league in the world. It was formed by eleven teams in 1920 as the American Professional Football Association, with the league changing...

. The Vikings finished with a record of nine wins and seven losses.

Hail Mary

In week 15 of the regular season, the Vikings hosted the Cleveland Browns

Cleveland Browns

The Cleveland Browns are a professional football team based in Cleveland, Ohio. They are currently members of the North Division of the American Football Conference in the National Football League...

. Trailing 23-9 entering the fourth quarter the Vikings came back and won on a desperation Hail Mary pass

Hail Mary pass

A Hail Mary pass or Hail Mary route in American football refers to any very long forward pass made in desperation with only a small chance of success, especially at or near the end of a half....

 from quarterback Tommy Kramer

Tommy Kramer

Thomas Francis Kramer is an American former professional football player who was a quarterback in the NFL from 1977 to 1990...

 to wide receiver Ahmad Rashad

Ahmad Rashad

Ahmad Rashād is an American sportscaster and former professional football player. An All-American running back and wide receiver from Oregon known as Bobby Moore, Rashad was the fourth overall pick in the 1972 NFL Draft, drafted by the St. Louis Cardinals...

 to clinch the NFC Central Division title.

NFL Draft

Round	Pick	Player	Position	School/Club Team

Schedule

Week	Date	Opponent	Result	Attendance
1	September 7, 1980	Atlanta Falcons Atlanta Falcons The Atlanta Falcons are a professional American football team based in Atlanta, Georgia. They are a member of the South Division of the National Football Conference in the National Football League...	W 24-23	44,773
2	September 14, 1980	Philadelphia Eagles Philadelphia Eagles The Philadelphia Eagles are a professional American football team based in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania. They are members of the East Division of the National Football Conference in the National Football League...	L 42-7	46,460
3	September 21, 1980	at Chicago Bears Chicago Bears The Chicago Bears are a professional American football team based in Chicago, Illinois. They are members of the North Division of the National Football Conference in the National Football League...	W 34-14	59,983
4	September 28, 1980	at Detroit Lions Detroit Lions The Detroit Lions are a professional American football team based in Detroit, Michigan. They are members of the North Division of the National Football Conference in the National Football League , and play their home games at Ford Field in Downtown Detroit.Originally based in Portsmouth, Ohio and...	L 27-7	80,291
5	October 5, 1980	Pittsburgh Steelers Pittsburgh Steelers The Pittsburgh Steelers are a professional football team based in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania. The team currently belongs to the North Division of the American Football Conference in the National Football League . Founded in , the Steelers are the oldest franchise in the AFC...	L 23-17	47,583
6	October 12, 1980	Chicago Bears Chicago Bears The Chicago Bears are a professional American football team based in Chicago, Illinois. They are members of the North Division of the National Football Conference in the National Football League...	W 13-7	46,751
7	October 19, 1980	at Cincinnati Bengals Cincinnati Bengals The Cincinnati Bengals are a professional football team based in Cincinnati, Ohio. They are members of the AFC's North Division in the National Football League . The Bengals began play in 1968 as an expansion team in the American Football League , and joined the NFL in 1970 in the AFL-NFL...	L 14-0	44,487
8	October 26, 1980	at Green Bay Packers Green Bay Packers The Green Bay Packers are an American football team based in Green Bay, Wisconsin. They are members of the North Division of the National Football Conference in the National Football League . The Packers are the current NFL champions...	L 16-3	56,191
9	November 2, 1980	at Washington Redskins Washington Redskins The Washington Redskins are a professional American football team and members of the East Division of the National Football Conference in the National Football League . The team plays at FedExField in Landover, Maryland, while its headquarters and training facility are at Redskin Park in Ashburn,...	W 39-14	52,060
10	November 9, 1980	Detroit Lions Detroit Lions The Detroit Lions are a professional American football team based in Detroit, Michigan. They are members of the North Division of the National Football Conference in the National Football League , and play their home games at Ford Field in Downtown Detroit.Originally based in Portsmouth, Ohio and...	W 34-0	46,264
11	November 16, 1980	Tampa Bay Buccaneers Tampa Bay Buccaneers The Tampa Bay Buccaneers are a professional American football franchise based in Tampa, Florida, U.S. They are currently members of the Southern Division of the National Football Conference in the National Football League – they are the only team in the division not to come from the old NFC West...	W 38-30	46,032
12	November 23, 1980	Green Bay Packers Green Bay Packers The Green Bay Packers are an American football team based in Green Bay, Wisconsin. They are members of the North Division of the National Football Conference in the National Football League . The Packers are the current NFL champions...	L 25-13	47,234
13	November 30, 1980	at New Orleans Saints New Orleans Saints The New Orleans Saints are a professional American football team based in New Orleans, Louisiana. They are members of the South Division of the National Football Conference of the National Football League ....	W 23-20	30,936
14	December 7, 1980	at Tampa Bay Buccaneers Tampa Bay Buccaneers The Tampa Bay Buccaneers are a professional American football franchise based in Tampa, Florida, U.S. They are currently members of the Southern Division of the National Football Conference in the National Football League – they are the only team in the division not to come from the old NFC West...	W 21-10	65,649
15	December 14, 1980	Cleveland Browns Cleveland Browns The Cleveland Browns are a professional football team based in Cleveland, Ohio. They are currently members of the North Division of the American Football Conference in the National Football League...	W 28-23	42,202
16	December 21, 1980	at Houston Oilers Tennessee Titans The Tennessee Titans are a professional American football team based in Nashville, Tennessee, United States. They are members of the South Division of the American Football Conference in the National Football League . Previously known as the Houston Oilers, the team began play in 1960 as a charter...	L 20-16	51,064

Playoffs

Week	Date	Opponent	Result	Attendance
Divisional	January 3, 1981	at Philadelphia Eagles Philadelphia Eagles The Philadelphia Eagles are a professional American football team based in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania. They are members of the East Division of the National Football Conference in the National Football League...	L 31-16	68,434