1980 New York Giants season

The 1980 New York Giants season was the franchise's 56th season in the National Football League. The Giants finished in last place in the National Football Conference East Division with a 4–12 record.

In the 1980 NFL draft, the Giants selected defensive back Mark Haynes with their first-round pick, which was eighth overall. New York won its opening game of the season against the St. Louis Cardinals, 41–35, behind a five-touchdown performance by quarterback Phil Simms. Four of those touchdown passes were to Earnest Gray, who set a single-game franchise record for touchdown receptions. The Giants lost the following game to Washington by two points, the start of an eight-game losing streak. A Week 10 win over the Dallas Cowboys snapped the streak; a subsequent win over the Green Bay Packers was followed by a pair of defeats. A shoulder injury caused Simms to miss the last three games of the season. Scott Brunner took over as the starting quarterback for those games, during which the Giants went 1–2.Whittingham, pp. 191–192.

Simms threw for 2,321 yards in his 13 appearances, and had 15 touchdown passes and 19 interceptions. Brunner threw for four touchdowns and had six interceptions. New York's leading rusher was Billy Taylor, who ran for 580 yards and four touchdowns. Gray had a team-leading 10 touchdown receptions during the season, and caught 52 passes for 777 yards. On defense, Mike Dennis led the Giants with five interceptions. Two Giants players, Dave Jennings and Brad Van Pelt, were selected for the 1981 Pro Bowl.

Offseason NFL draft

Personnel

Staff

Roster

Schedule Week Date Opponent Result Record Venue Attendance 1 September 7 at St. Louis Cardinals W 41–35 1–0 Busch Memorial Stadium 49,122 2 September 14 Washington Redskins L 21–23 1–1 Giants Stadium 73,343 3 at Philadelphia Eagles L 3–35 1–2 Veterans Stadium 70,767 4 September 28 Los Angeles Rams L 7–28 1–3 Giants Stadium 73,414 5 October 5 at Dallas Cowboys L 3–24 1–4 Texas Stadium 59,126 6 October 12 Philadelphia Eagles L 16–31 1–5 Giants Stadium 71,051 7 October 19 at San Diego Chargers L 7–44 1–6 San Diego Stadium 50,397 8 October 26 Denver Broncos L 9–14 1–7 Giants Stadium 67,598 9 November 2 at Tampa Bay Buccaneers L 13–30 1–8 Tampa Stadium 68,256 10 November 9 Dallas Cowboys W 38–35 2–8 Giants Stadium 68,343 11 November 16 Green Bay Packers W 27–21 3–8 Giants Stadium 76,609 12 November 23 at San Francisco 49ers L 0–12 3–9 Candlestick Park 38,574 13 November 30 St. Louis Cardinals L 7–23 3–10 Giants Stadium 65,852 14 December 7 at Seattle Seahawks W 27–21 4–10 Kingdome 51,617 15 at Washington Redskins L 13–16 4–11 RFK Stadium 44,443 16 December 21 Oakland Raiders L 17–33 4–12 Giants Stadium 61,287 Note: Intra-division opponents are in bold text.

Season summary

Week 1: at St. Louis Cardinals

Source: Pro-Football-Reference.com

Phil Simms 16/31, 280 Yds Earnest Gray 9 Rec, 174 Yds

Week 10 vs Cowboys

Giants' first win against Dallas since 1974

Standings

1980 New York Giants season

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