1980 Cincinnati Bengals season

The 1980 Cincinnati Bengals season was the franchise's 10th season in the National Football League, and the 13th overall. The Bengals went 6–10 and managed only 244 points, lowest in the AFC. They did upset defending Super Bowl champion Pittsburgh twice. First-round draft choice Anthony Muñoz began his Hall of Fame career. This was the final season the Bengals wore the Cleveland Browns style uniforms.

1980 Cincinnati Bengals season
General manager	Paul Brown
Head coach	Forrest Gregg
Home field	Riverfront Stadium
Results
Record	6–10
Division place	4th AFC Central
Playoff finish	Did not qualify

Offseason

NFL draft

Main article: 1980 NFL draft

1980 Cincinnati Bengals draft
Round	Pick	Player	Position	College	Notes
1	3	Anthony Muñoz * †	Offensive tackle	USC
2	31	Kirby Criswell	Linebacker	Kansas
3	59	Rod Horn	Defensive tackle	Nebraska
4	86	William Glass	Guard	Baylor
5	113	Bryan Hicks	Defensive back	McNeese State
6	141	Jo Jo Heath	Defensive back	Pittsburgh
6	159	Andrew Melontree	Linebacker	Baylor
7	167	Ron Simpkins	Linebacker	Michigan
7	168	Gary Don Johnson	Defensive tackle	Baylor
8	196	Mark Lyles	Running back	Florida State
9	224	Greg Bright	Defensive back	Morehead State
10	252	Sandro Vitiello	Placekicker	Massachusetts
11	281	Alton Alexis	Wide receiver	Tulane
12	308	Mike Wright	Quarterback	Vanderbilt
Made roster    †   Pro Football Hall of Fame    *   Made at least one Pro Bowl during career

Personnel

Staff

1980 Cincinnati Bengals staff

Front office President – John Sawyer General manager – Paul Brown Director of player personnel – Pete Brown Head coaches Head coach – Forrest Gregg Offensive coaches Quarterbacks/Receivers – Lindy Infante Offensive Backfield – George Sefcik Tight Ends – Frank Gansz Offensive Line – Jim McNally

Defensive coaches Defensive Coordinator/Linebackers – Hank Bullough Defensive Line – Dick Modzelewski Defensive Backfield – Dick LeBeau Special teams coaches Special Teams – Frank Gansz Strength and conditioning Strength – Kim Wood

Roster

1980 Cincinnati Bengals roster

Quarterbacks (QB) 14 Ken Anderson 15 Turk Schonert 12 Jack Thompson Running backs (RB) 40 Charles Alexander FB 45 Archie Griffin 46 Pete Johnson FB 35 Nathan Poole FB 22 Deacon Turner Wide receivers (WR) 82 Alton Alexis 84 Don Bass 85 Isaac Curtis 86 Steve Kreider Tight ends (TE) 81 Jim Corbett 83 M. L. Harris 89 Dan Ross

Offensive linemen (OL) 74 Glenn Bujnoch G 58 Blair Bush C 64 William Glass G 62 Dave Lapham G/T 65 Max Montoya G 60 Blake Moore C 78 Anthony Muñoz T 77 Mike Wilson T Defensive linemen (DL) 79 Ross Browner DE 73 Eddie Edwards DE 71 Rod Horn NT 72 Mike St. Clair DE 63 Mike White DE 75 Wilson Whitley NT

Linebackers (LB) 50 Glenn Cameron ILB 52 Tom Dinkel OLB 53 Bo Harris OLB 55 Jim LeClair ILB 59 Andrew Melontree OLB 56 Ron Simpkins ILB 57 Reggie Williams OLB Defensive backs (DB) 34 Louis Breeden CB 47 Greg Bright SS 21 Jim Browner S 44 Ray Griffin CB 36 Jo Jo Heath CB 27 Bryan Hicks S 13 Ken Riley CB 23 Shafer Suggs S Special teams 10 Jim Breech K 87 Pat McInally P 28 Cleo Montgomery

Reserve 67 Gary Burley DE (IR) 30 Dick Jauron FS (IR) 59 Howard Kurnick OLB (NF-Ill.) 88 Mike Levenseller WR (IR) 51 Rick Razzano ILB (IR) Rookies in italics

Regular season

Schedule

Week	Date	Opponent	Result	Record	Venue	Attendance
1	September 7	Tampa Bay Buccaneers	L 12–17	0–1	Riverfront Stadium	43,211
2	September 14	at Miami Dolphins	L 16–17	0–2	Miami Orange Bowl	38,322
3	September 21	Pittsburgh Steelers	W 30–28	1–2	Riverfront Stadium	52,490
4	September 28	Houston Oilers	L 10–13	1–3	Riverfront Stadium	50,413
5	October 5	at Green Bay Packers	L 9–14	1–4	Lambeau Field	55,006
6	October 12	at Pittsburgh Steelers	W 17–16	2–4	Three Rivers Stadium	53,668
7	October 19	Minnesota Vikings	W 14–0	3–4	Riverfront Stadium	44,487
8	October 26	at Houston Oilers	L 3–23	3–5	Astrodome	49,189
9	November 2	San Diego Chargers	L 14–31	3–6	Riverfront Stadium	46,406
10	November 9	at Oakland Raiders	L 17–28	3–7	Oakland-Alameda County Coliseum	44,132
11	November 16	Buffalo Bills	L 0–14	3–8	Riverfront Stadium	40,836
12	November 23	at Cleveland Browns	L 7–31	3–9	Cleveland Municipal Stadium	79,253
13	November 30	at Kansas City Chiefs	W 20–6	4–9	Arrowhead Stadium	41,594
14	December 7	Baltimore Colts	W 34–33	5–9	Riverfront Stadium	35,651
15	December 14	at Chicago Bears	W 17–14	6–9	Soldier Field	48,808
16	December 21	Cleveland Browns	L 24–27	6–10	Riverfront Stadium	50,058
Note: Intra-division opponents are in bold text.

Week 1

1 2 3 4 Total • Buccaneers 0 10 0 7 17 Bengals 3 0 2 7 12 Date: September 7 Location: Riverfront Stadium Referee: Fred Wyant TV announcers (CBS): Curt Gowdy and Hank Stram

Week 2

1 2 3 4 Total Bengals 0 7 7 2 16 • Dolphins 0 0 0 17 17 Date: September 14 Location: Orange Bowl

Week 3

1 2 3 4 Total Steelers 0 14 7 7 28 • Bengals 10 3 0 17 30 Date: September 21 Location: Riverfront Stadium TV announcers (NBC): Don Criqui and John Brodie

Scoring summary Q1 CIN R. Griffin 28 yard interception return (Sunter kick) CIN 7–0 Q1 CIN Sunter 27 yard field goal CIN 10–0 Q2 PIT Smith 45 yard pass from Bradshaw (Bahr kick) CIN 10–7 Q2 PIT Swann 14 yard pass from Bradshaw (Bahr kick) PIT 14–10

Week 16

1 2 3 4 Total • Browns 0 10 14 3 27 Bengals 3 7 14 0 24 Date: December 21 Location: Riverfront Stadium Referee: Jerry Markbreit TV announcers (NBC): Dick Enberg and Merlin Olsen

Standings

AFC Central
	W	L	T	PCT	DIV	CONF	PF	PA	STK
Cleveland Browns(2)	11	5	0	.688	4–2	8–4	357	310	W1
Houston Oilers(5)	11	5	0	.688	4–2	7–5	295	251	W3
Pittsburgh Steelers	9	7	0	.563	2–4	5–7	352	313	L1
Cincinnati Bengals	6	10	0	.375	2–4	4–8	244	312	L1

External links

• 1980 Cincinnati Bengals at Pro-Football-Reference.com