| Team: | Seattle Seahawks |
| Year: | 1980 |
| Record: | 4–12 |
| Division Place: | 5th AFC West |
| Coach: | Jack Patera |
| General Manager: | John Thompson |
| Owner: | The Nordstrom family |
| Stadium: | Kingdome |
| Playoffs: | Did not qualify |
| Pro Bowlers: | None |
| Ap All-Pros: | None |
| Shortnavlink: | Seahawks seasons |
The 1980 Seattle Seahawks season was the team's fifth season in the National Football League (NFL). The 1980 season was a strange season for the Seattle Seahawks. The team started off 4–3, then lost the remaining nine games of the season. They accumulated four road wins, but lost all eight regular season home games. The offense struggled, especially after losing Sherman Smith to a knee injury for the season. With the running game struggling, the team gave up 52 sacks, up from 23 in 1979. The offense went from 7th to 21st. Even though the defense improved from 27th to 13th, the Seahawks still gave up 405 points. Memorable moments included a 26–7 road win against the Houston Oilers, intercepting Kenny Stabler five times; a 17–16 road win against the Kansas City Chiefs (their last at Arrowhead Stadium until 1990); and a 14–0 road win against the Washington Redskins, with the offense rushing for over 220 yards. All 4 of Seattle's wins were away games; the Seahawks failed to win a home game for the first (and so far only) time in franchise history.
More indicative of the season were the home losses: a week 1 34–13 rout at home inflicted by the San Diego Chargers, a 37–31 loss to the New England Patriots, featuring several lead changes, as the Seattle defense could not hold on; losing to the Kansas City Chiefs 31–30, after going into the 4th quarter with a 23–10 lead, and the Chiefs intercepting Jim Zorn a season-high five times, leading to 17 Kansas City points. The low point of the season was a 27–21 loss to a struggling New York Giants team, one which finished 4–12 (although one was over the Cowboys). On Thanksgiving Day, November 27, the Dallas Cowboys defeated the Seahawks 51–7, in Dallas, but many people believe the Giants loss was worse.
The successes of the 1978 and 1979 seasons were long forgotten by the season's end.
See main article: 1980 NFL draft.
| Kevin Anderson | Guard | Oregon | |
| Gary Carr | Running back | Fresno State | |
| Steve Davis | Punter | Tennessee Tech | |
| Mike Doerfler | Fullback | Montana State | |
| Greg Feasel | Tackle | Abilene Christian | |
| Mike Garrett | Punter | Georgia | |
| Ron Gipson | Fullback | Washington | |
| David Greenhalgh | Quarterback | Southwestern Oklahoma State | |
| Eric Hill | Running back | Weber State | |
| Dave Krieg | Quarterback | Milton College | |
| Matt Kupec | Quarterback | North Carolina | |
| Jack Lafferty | Center | Eastern Illinois | |
| Mark McGrath | Wide receiver | Montana State | |
| Arnie Pinkston | Defensive back | Yale | |
| Brad Reid | Wide receiver | Iowa | |
| Terry Rennaker | Linebacker | Stanford | |
| Kirk Springs | Safety | Miami (OH) |
| Week | Date | Opponent | Result | Record | Game site | Recap | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Atlanta Falcons | W 14–10 | 1–0 | Kingdome | Recap | ||
| 2 | Miami Dolphins | L 7–24 | 1–1 | Kingdome | Recap | ||
| 3 | at San Francisco 49ers | W 10–7 | 2–1 | Candlestick Park | Recap | ||
| 4 | at New England Patriots | W 30–23 | 3–1 | Schaefer Stadium | Recap |
Source: Seahawks Media Guides[3] [4]
Divisional matchups have the AFC West playing the NFC East.
| Week | Date | Opponent | Result | Record | Game site | Recap | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | September 7 | San Diego Chargers | L 13–34 | 0–1 | Kingdome | Recap | |
| 2 | September 14 | at Kansas City Chiefs | W 17–16 | 1–1 | Arrowhead Stadium | Recap | |
| 3 | September 21 | New England Patriots | L 31–37 | 1–2 | Kingdome | Recap | |
| 4 | September 28 | at Washington Redskins | W 14–0 | 2–2 | RFK Stadium | Recap | |
| 5 | October 5 | at Houston Oilers | W 26–7 | 3–2 | Houston Astrodome | Recap | |
| 6 | October 12 | Cleveland Browns | L 3–27 | 3–3 | Kingdome | Recap | |
| 7 | October 19 | at New York Jets | W 27–17 | 4–3 | Shea Stadium | Recap | |
| 8 | October 26 | at Oakland Raiders | L 14–33 | 4–4 | Oakland–Alameda County Coliseum | Recap | |
| 9 | November 2 | Philadelphia Eagles | L 20–27 | 4–5 | Kingdome | Recap | |
| 10 | November 9 | Kansas City Chiefs | L 30–31 | 4–6 | Kingdome | Recap | |
| 11 | Oakland Raiders | L 17–19 | 4–7 | Kingdome | Recap | ||
| 12 | November 23 | at Denver Broncos | L 20–36 | 4–8 | Mile High Stadium | Recap | |
| 13 | November 27 | at Dallas Cowboys | L 7–51 | 4–9 | Texas Stadium | Recap | |
| 14 | December 7 | New York Giants | L 21–27 | 4–10 | Kingdome | Recap | |
| 15 | at San Diego Chargers | L 14–21 | 4–11 | Jack Murphy Stadium | Recap | ||
| 16 | December 21 | Denver Broncos | L 17–25 | 4–12 | Kingdome | Recap |
Bold indicates division opponents.
Source: 1980 NFL season results[5]