| Team: | Cleveland Browns |
| Year: | 1980 |
| Coach: | Sam Rutigliano |
| Owner: | Art Modell |
| Stadium: | Cleveland Municipal Stadium |
| Radio: | WHK |
| Record: | 11–5 |
| Division Place: | 1st AFC Central |
| Playoffs: | Lost Divisional Playoffs (vs. Raiders) 12–14 |
| Shortnavlink: | Browns seasons |
The 1980 Cleveland Browns season was the team's 35th overall, and 31st season in the National Football League. The Browns finished the regular season with eleven wins and five losses, and their first division title since 1971, winning a tiebreaker with the Houston Oilers.The 1980 Browns were known as the Kardiac Kids for having several games decided in the final moments. The 1980 season was the first time that Cleveland had qualified for the postseason since 1972. Also, for the second straight year, Browns head coach Sam Rutigliano was named NFL Coach of the Year, and quarterback Brian Sipe was named the league's Most Valuable Player.
Rallying from a 10–0 first-half deficit against Cincinnati, the Browns came back to beat the Bengals 27–24 and finally snare the Central championship when Don Cockroft kicked the game-winning 22-yard field goal with 1:25 left. The Bengals tried to come back and got as far as the Cleveland 14-yard line before time ran out.
The Browns played their first home playoff game in nine seasons against the Raiders, in what has become known as the Red Right 88 game. The Browns marched to the Oakland 13 in the waning seconds trailing by 14–12, but Brian Sipe's pass into the end zone for Hall of Fame tight end Ozzie Newsome was intercepted, ending Cleveland's season.
Five players had 50 or more receptions, led by running back Mike Pruitt. Pruitt also rushed for 1,034 yards and six touchdowns. Running back Calvin Hill, recorded six touchdowns among his 27 catches. Wide receiver Ricky Feacher grabbed just 10 passes, but four went for scores, including two within a matter of minutes in the division-clinching win over the Bengals.
See main article: article and 1980 NFL Draft. [1]
| Week | Date | Opponent | Result | Record | Venue | Attendance | Recap | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | September 7 | at New England Patriots | L 17–34 | 0–1 | Schaefer Stadium | 49,222 | Recap | |
| 2 | Houston Oilers | L 7–16 | 0–2 | Cleveland Municipal Stadium | 80,243 | Recap | ||
| 3 | September 21 | Kansas City Chiefs | W 20–13 | 1–2 | Cleveland Municipal Stadium | 63,614 | Recap | |
| 4 | September 28 | at Tampa Bay Buccaneers | W 34–27 | 2–2 | Tampa Stadium | 65,540 | Recap | |
| 5 | October 5 | Denver Broncos | L 16–19 | 2–3 | Cleveland Municipal Stadium | 81,065 | Recap | |
| 6 | October 12 | at Seattle Seahawks | W 27–3 | 3–3 | Kingdome | 61,366 | Recap | |
| 7 | October 19 | Green Bay Packers | W 26–21 | 4–3 | Cleveland Municipal Stadium | 75,548 | Recap | |
| 8 | October 26 | Pittsburgh Steelers | W 27–26 | 5–3 | Cleveland Municipal Stadium | 79,095 | Recap | |
| 9 | Chicago Bears | W 27–21 | 6–3 | Cleveland Municipal Stadium | 84,225 | Recap | ||
| 10 | November 9 | at Baltimore Colts | W 28–27 | 7–3 | Memorial Stadium | 45,369 | Recap | |
| 11 | November 16 | at Pittsburgh Steelers | L 13–16 | 7–4 | Three Rivers Stadium | 54,563 | Recap | |
| 12 | November 23 | Cincinnati Bengals | W 31–7 | 8–4 | Cleveland Municipal Stadium | 79,253 | Recap | |
| 13 | November 30 | at Houston Oilers | W 17–14 | 9–4 | Houston Astrodome | 51,514 | Recap | |
| 14 | December 7 | New York Jets | W 17–14 | 10–4 | Cleveland Municipal Stadium | 78,454 | Recap | |
| 15 | December 14 | at Minnesota Vikings | L 23–28 | 10–5 | Metropolitan Stadium | 42,202 | Recap | |
| 16 | December 21 | at Cincinnati Bengals | W 27–24 | 11–5 | Riverfront Stadium | 50,058 | Recap | |
| Note: Intra–division opponents are in bold text. | ||||||||
The 2007 Cleveland Browns had a season similar to the Kardiac Kids, with several games being decided in the final minutes or in overtime. One game in particular against the Baltimore Ravens, which the Browns won in overtime because of a reversed call on a field goal by kicker Phil Dawson, led the Cleveland Plain Dealer to publish an editorial calling the 2007 Browns "The 'Son of the Kardiac Kids'" http://www.cleveland.com/browns/index.ssf/2007/11/call_them_the_son_of_the_kardi.html. The similarities have been at least acknowledged by the organization, with offensive coordinator Rob Chudzinski being quoted in the article calling his team "The Kardiac Kids' little brother."
See also: 1980–81 NFL playoffs.
at Cleveland Stadium, Cleveland, Ohio
See main article: Red Right 88. AFC Divisional Playoff Game (Home) January 4, 1981 – Browns 12, Oakland Raiders 14
In sub–zero conditions on Cleveland's windy Lakefront, the Browns and Raiders battled into the waning moments of the contest. Down 14–12 and having mounted a 72-yard drive, the Browns were within striking distance at the Oakland 13-yard line with less than a minute remaining. Although it was only second down, Don Cockroft had already missed two field goal attempts in the swirling winds. Browns Coach Sam Rutigliano chose a more aggressive strategy, opting to go for the kill and pass the ball on second down instead of conservatively running the ball and then, perhaps, settling for a last second field goal. The play called was Red Right 88, which was intended for Dave Logan. However, Ozzie Newsome managed to get clear in the Raiders endzone and Sipe fired the ball to him — but the wind managed to interfere with the plan and heartbreak was the outcome for the frozen 77,655 Cleveland faithful: the ball was intercepted by Oakland cornerback Mike Davis. The 1980 season will be remembered fondly albeit bittersweet, but the game would go down in Browns history (along with The Drive and The Fumble) as one of the franchise’s sadder moments.