The National Football League playoffs for the 1980 season began on December 28, 1980. The postseason tournament concluded with the Oakland Raiders defeating the Philadelphia Eagles in Super Bowl XV, 27–10, on January 25, 1981, at the Louisiana Superdome in New Orleans, Louisiana.
Participants
Bracket
Schedule
In the United States, CBS televised the NFC playoff games, while NBC broadcast the AFC games and Super Bowl XV.
{| class="wikitable" style="font-size:92%; text-align:center;"
! Away team !! Score !! Home team !! Date !! Kickoff<br />(ET / UTC–5) !! TV
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! colspan="6"|Wild Card playoffs
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| Los Angeles Rams || 13–34 || Dallas Cowboys || December 28, 1980 || 1:30 p.m. || CBS
|-
| Houston Oilers || 7–27 || Oakland Raiders || December 28, 1980 || 5:00 p.m. || NBC
|-
! colspan="6"|Divisional playoffs
|-
| Minnesota Vikings || 16–31 || Philadelphia Eagles || January 3, 1981 || 12:30 p.m. || CBS
|-
| Buffalo Bills || 14–20 || San Diego Chargers || January 3, 1981 || 4:00 p.m. || NBC
|-
| Oakland Raiders || 14–12 || Cleveland Browns || January 4, 1981 || 12:30 p.m. || NBC
|-
| Dallas Cowboys || 30–27 || Atlanta Falcons || January 4, 1981 || 4:00 p.m. || CBS
|-
! colspan="6"|Conference Championships
|-
| Dallas Cowboys || 7–20 || Philadelphia Eagles || January 11, 1981 || 1:00 p.m. || CBS
|-
| Oakland Raiders || 34–27 || San Diego Chargers || January 11, 1981 || 5:00 p.m. || NBC
|-
! colspan="6"|Super Bowl XV<br /><small>Louisiana Superdome, New Orleans, Louisiana</small>
|-
| Oakland Raiders || 27–10 || Philadelphia Eagles || January 25, 1981 || 6:00 p.m. || NBC
|}
Wild card playoffs
Sunday, December 28, 1980
NFC: Dallas Cowboys 34, Los Angeles Rams 13
The Cowboys avenged both a 38–14 loss to the Rams two weeks earlier (in a game they trailed 38–0), and their upset defeat in the previous year's NFC Divisional playoff as Dallas running back Tony Dorsett rushed for 160 yards, caught three passes for 28 yards, and scored two touchdowns to lead his team to victory.
A 14-yard punt return by Dallas running back James Jones set up kicker Rafael Septién's 28-yard field goal to give the Cowboys a 3-0 lead. The Rams responded by driving 73 yards to score on running back Jewerl Thomas' 1-yard run. However, the ensuing extra point was blocked and Septién later made a 29-yard field goal to tie the game at 6.
In the second quarter, Los Angeles drove 80 yards in six plays to score on Vince Ferragamo's 21-yard touchdown pass to receiver Preston Dennard, who finished the game with six receptions for 117 yards, but the Cowboys tied the game before halftime by moving the ball 71 yards on a drive that ended with Dorsett's 12-yard rushing touchdown.
After the game was tied at halftime, 13–13, Dallas coach Tom Landry went to a 5-man defensive front and they dropped various combinations into seven and eight man coverage to confuse the Rams potent passing game. The result was a combination of pressure on Ferragamo, who completed just five of 13 second half passes for 49 yards and was intercepted three times.
Danny White threw touchdown passes on Dallas' first three drives of the second half. His 37-yard completion to tight end Jay Saldi set up a score on a 10-yard pass to Dorsett, who caught the ball at the 7 and dragged Rams defenders Johnnie Johnson and Rod Perry all the way into the end zone. Then Cowboys corner Aaron Mitchell picked off a pass from Ferragamo and returned it 12 yards, setting off a 70-yard Dallas drive that ended with White's 35-yard touchdown completion to Butch Johnson. Now with a comfortable lead, Dallas put the game away early in the fourth quarter, driving 95 yards, including a 23-yard burst by Dorsett, to go up 34-13 on White's 11-yard touchdown pass to Drew Pearson.
Dallas then turned to a potent rushing attack to chew up time and keep the Rams offense off the field. By the end of the game, Dallas rushed 46 times for a franchise playoff record 338 yards, while also setting a franchise record for total yards with 528 and holding the Rams to 260. Jones finished the game with three kickoff returns for 72 yards, five punt returns for 81 yards, and another 38 yards on five carries.
This was the sixth postseason meeting between the Rams and Cowboys. Dallas previously won three of the five meetings.
{| class="wikitable collapsible collapsed"
|+
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!Dallas leads 3–2 in all-time playoff games
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|
|}
AFC: Oakland Raiders 27, Houston Oilers 7
Even though the Oilers recorded more yards, more first downs, and more time of possession, the Raiders scored on big plays to win 27–7. This game was notable in that the Oilers starting quarterback was Ken Stabler, who had spent 10 years as Oakland's quarterback before he was traded to Houston prior to this season. Houston's offense also featured future hall of fame tight end Dave Casper, who had played for Oakland since 1974 until he was traded to the Oilers in week 6.
Houston running back Earl Campbell lost a fumble on the first play of the game, which was recovered by Oakland safety Mike Davis, setting up Oakland kicker Chris Bahr's 47-yard field goal. After several more possessions, Stabler's 22-yard pass to Ronnie Coleman and a 15-yard run by Campbell got the Oilers moving on a 55-yard, 9-play drive that ended with Campbell's 1-yard touchdown run. In the second quarter, Raiders quarterback Jim Plunkett completed a 37-yard pass to running back Kenny King before finishing the 59-yard drive with a 1-yard touchdown pass to Todd Christensen, giving the Raiders a 10-7 lead which they took into halftime.
Houston mounted a scoring threat in the third quarter, but Raiders cornerback Lester Hayes intercepted Stabler in the end zone. Neither team would score again until the fourth quarter, when Oakland moved the ball 80 yards in four plays, with Plunkett completing a 33-yard pass to Cliff Branch before finding Arthur Whittington in the end zone for a 44-yard score. Later on, his 21-yard completion to running back Mark van Eeghen sparked a 55-yard drive that set up Bahr's 37-yard field goal. With about six minutes left in the game, Hayes returned an interception 20 yards to the end zone to clinch the Raiders' victory. This would the last playoff game Oakland would host until 2000.
Stabler threw for 243 yards, but was intercepted twice and sacked seven times. Campbell rushed for 91 yards and a score. Hayes had two interceptions, three pass deflections, and two sacks.
After the game, Oilers linebacker Thomas Henderson was so upset he threw several pieces of his equipment into the stands, including his shoes. "If I wouldn't have been arrested for indecent exposure, I would have thrown them my jock strap", he said later.
However, San Diego took the second half kickoff and quickly racked up yardage with an 18-yard run by Chuck Muncie and a 45-yard completion from Fouts to Joiner. Fouts eventually finished the 70-yard drive with a 9-yard touchdown pass to Joiner, making the score 14-10. Then late in the third quarter, the Chargers forced the Bills to punt from their own 8-yard line and got the ball with great field position on the Buffalo 49. Fouts then led the team to the 1, but a penalty pushed them back and they ended up settling for Rolf Benirschke's 22-yard field goal to make it 14–13.
Buffalo had a great chance to put the game away when Lou Piccone blocked a Chargers punt that was recovered by linebacker Ervin Parker on the San Diego 38. But safety Glen Edwards intercepted a pass from Ferguson on the San Diego 9-yard line to keep the Bills from scoring. With 6:17 left in regulation, Buffalo got another chance to get a decisive score when they recovered a fumbled punt return from Mike Fuller. But two plays later, defensive tackle Fred Dean dropped Joe Cribbs for a 1-yard loss on third and 1, and then Nick Mike-Mayer missed a 49-yard field goal attempt, giving the ball back to San Diego with 3:59 left.
After driving to midfield, the Chargers faced third and 10 with 2:08 remaining. Buffalo sent safety Steve Freeman on a blitz for the next play, leaving Smith, San Diego's No. 3 receiver, one on one with Simpson. Earlier in the game, Simpson had knocked the ball out of Smith's hands during a catch attempt and then picked it off in mid air. But this time, Smith managed to get one step ahead of Simpson, make the catch, and evade his desperate diving tackle attempt, leaving Simpson face down on the turf as he raced 50 yards for a touchdown. Edwards sealed the victory for the Chargers after the ensuing kickoff by recording his second interception from Ferguson with 1:16 left in the game.
After the game, it was revealed that Ferguson had been playing with a fractured ankle, suffered three weeks earlier in a game against the New England Patriots. He finished the day with 180 yards and a touchdown, but was intercepted three times. Fouts threw for 314 yards and two touchdowns, with one interception. His top target was receiver John Jefferson, who caught seven passes for 102 yards. Prior to this game, Ron Smith had caught only 7 passes during the season, and his 50-yard game winning score was his only catch of the game.
This was the third postseason meeting between the Bills and Chargers. Buffalo won both prior meetings when both teams resided in the AFL.
Early in the final quarter, the Raiders took a 14–12 lead at the end of an 80-yard drive highlighted by Chester's 27-yard catch. On the last play, van Eeghen scored his second 1-yard touchdown run of the day. Later on, the Raiders had a chance to put the game away when they recovered a fumble from Sipe on the Browns 24-yard line with 4:19 left in the game. But after moving to a third and 1 situation on the 15, van Eeghen was stuffed for no gain on two consecutive plays. On the second play after the turnover, Sipe completed a 29-yard pass to tight end Ozzie Newsome and later a 23-yarder to Greg Pruitt. Then Mike Pruitt ran the ball 14 yards to the Raiders 14-yard line. Pruitt gained another yard on the next play, and the team called a timeout from the 13 with 49 seconds left.
Browns coach Sam Rutigliano called for a pass play, Red Right 88, instructing Sipe that if no one was open "throw it to the blond in the first row". His intention was to give the team one last chance to score a touchdown before running the ball on third down to set up a Cockroft field goal. But on the pass play, Sipe was picked off by Davis while trying to connect with Newsome in the back of the end zone, allowing the Raiders to escape with a win.
The quarterbacks of both teams were completely dominated throughout the game. Sipe completed just 13 of 40 passes for 183 yards and intercepted three times, while Plunkett completed only 14 of 30 passes for 149 yards, with two interceptions. Hayes and Bolton each had two interceptions.
This was the first postseason meeting between the Raiders and Browns. The Chargers seemed primed to respond, as Dan Fouts completed a 55-yard pass to Ron Smith on their first play of the next drive, but Lester Hayes, who recorded 13 interceptions in the regular season and four in the previous two playoff games, picked off a pass from Fouts and returned it 16 yards to the Raiders 25-yard line. However, the Chargers defense forced a punt and Fouts made up for his mistake on the next possession, hooking up with Charlie Joiner for a 48-yard touchdown to tie the game at 7.
Oakland stormed back with 21 unanswered points. First, Plunkett's 48-yard completion to receiver Cliff Branch on third down and 20 set off a 7-play, 76-yard drive that ended with his 5-yard touchdown run. Then the Raiders defense forced a punt, and Ira Matthews returned Rick Partridge's 41-yard kick 14 yards to the Chargers 49-yard line. Four plays later, Plunkett's 21-yard touchdown pass to King made the score 21–7 with 1:35 left in the first quarter. San Diego took the ball back and drove to the Raiders 21-yard line, featuring a 28-yard completion from tight end Kellen Winslow to John Jefferson on a trick play, but safety Burgess Owens ended the drive with an interception. Following a punt, San Diego running back Mike Thomas lost a fumble that was recovered by linebacker Ted Hendricks on the Chargers 29-yard line, and the Raiders capitalized with Plunkett's 23-yard completion to Branch leading to another touchdown, this one on a 3-yard run by Mark van Eeghen, to build a 28–7 lead. Following Hank Bauer's 27-yard kickoff return to the 36-yard line, San Diego drove 64 yards in 13 plays, including a 24-yard reception by Thomas, to score on Fouts' 8-yard touchdown completion to Joiner, cutting their deficit to 28–14 with 1:05 left in the half.
The Chargers continued to cut away at the Raiders lead in the second half, driving 68 yards in 12 plays on their opening drive. Two dropped passes by Jefferson in the end zone spoiled their chances for a touchdown, but Rolf Benirschke kicked a 26-yard field goal, making the score 28-17. Their defense then forced a punt, which Mike Fuller returned 28 yards to the Raiders 41-yard line. From there, San Diego took the ball all the way to the end zone, scoring on a 7-play drive that ended on Chuck Muncie's 6-yard touchdown run, cutting the deficit to 28–24. Oakland responded with a 68-yard drive, including a 22-yard completion from Plunkett to King, leading to Chris Bahr's 27-yard field goal to retake their 7-point lead. Then after a three and out, Matthews returned Partridge's next punt six yards to the Oakland 49, where the Raiders added a 33-yard field goal from Bahr to increase their lead to 34–24 with 9:46 left in the game.
The Chargers then countered with a 72-yard drive ending with Benirschke's 27-yard field goal. The Raiders defense was exhausted and they implored their offense by saying "don't let them have the damn ball back"! The Raiders then held onto the ball for the last 6:52 of the game on a 15-play drive (12 runs, one pass, two quarterback kneels), with Plunkett scrambling twice on third down to pick up key first downs, to clinch the victory.
Plunkett finished the game completing 14 of 18 passes for 261 yards and two touchdowns. Chester caught five passes for a career postseason high 102 yards and a touchdown. Fouts threw for 336 yards and two scores, but was intercepted twice. Joiner caught six passes for 130 yards and two touchdowns.
This was the first postseason meeting between the Raiders and Chargers.