The 1980 San Diego Chargers season was the franchise's 11th season in the National Football League (NFL), and its 21st overall. The team failed to improve on their 12–4 record in 1979 and finished 11–5, though they won the AFC West and gained the top seed in the AFC playoffs for the second consecutive season. Their season ended in the AFC Championship Game when they lost to their divisional rivals and the eventual Super Bowl champions, the Oakland Raiders.
San Diego's Air Coryell offense led the league and set new standards in the passing game. Quarterback Dan Fouts passed for 4,715 yards, surpassing his own NFL record. He also set new single-season records for attempts, completions and 300-yard games. Tight end Kellen Winslow and wide receivers John Jefferson and Charlie Joiner each had over 1,000 yards receiving, becoming the first trio of teammates to do so in the same season. The running game was less impactful, despite the mid-season acquisition of running back Chuck Muncie. On defense, the Chargers led the league with 60 sacks. The majority of these came from their starting defensive linemen, Fred Dean, Louie Kelcher, Leroy Jones and Gary "Big Hands" Johnson, known collectively as the “Bruise Brothers”.
In the divisional playoffs, San Diego trailed the Buffalo Bills 14–3 at halftime, but scored 17 unanswered points in the second half to win 20–14. Backup wide receiver Ron Smith scored the winning touchdown in the final minutes. The Chargers were then stopped a game short of the Super Bowl by the Raiders, who took a 28–7 lead in the 2nd quarter. The Chargers again ran off 17 unanswered points, but they couldn't complete the comeback and were defeated 34–27.
Offseason
Departures and arrivals San Diego traded a future 2nd-round draft pick to the Los Angeles Rams in exchange for fullback John Cappelletti. A 1974 1st-round pick, Cappelletti had rushed for 15 touchdowns and over 2,000 yards in his five years with the Rams; Coryell praised his strength and blocking ability. Cappelletti rushed for over 100 yards in his first game as a Charger, though he was used primarily as a blocker during his time in San Diego (1980–83). San Diego traded their own 1st-round pick from 1974, No. 2 overall selection Bo Matthews, some months later. Also a fullback, Matthews was unlikely to see much playing time after Cappalletti's signing, and walked out of training camp to try and force a trade, which the Chargers granted him. Matthews had averaged under 250 yards per season over his six years in San Diego. Others departures included Lydell Mitchell, a former Pro Bowl running back whose production had decreased as San Diego shifted to a pass-oriented offense, and tight end Bob Klein who was coming off the two most productive pass-catching seasons of his eleven-year career, but who retired after contract negotiations with Chargers owner Gene Klein broke down.
On defense, San Diego traded linebacker Don Goode to the Cleveland Browns for a future draft pick. Goode, another Chargers 1st-round pick from 1974, had started 62 games in six seasons, but only a single one in 1979. The Chargers also switched punters, releasing Jeff West, who had ranked 28th in the league in 1979. After trying six other candidates for the position, they signed Rick Partridge from the New Orleans Saints. His average in 1979 had been 40.9 yards per kick, compared to 36.5 for West.
San Diego also made a significant signing after the season had begun, when they traded their 2nd-round draft pick in 1981 for running back Chuck Muncie. Muncie, the third overall pick in the 1976 draft, was coming off his best season with the New Orleans Saints, rushing for 1,198 yards at 5.0 yards per carry and being voted to his first Pro Bowl. He had not started the season well for the Saints, who were 0–4 when the trade took place, with head coach Dick Nolan criticizing his work ethic and commitment to the team. Coryell was unconcerned by Muncie's troubles, describing him as "one of the finest running backs in the game", who would benefit from a fresh start. He contributed 659 rushing yards for the Chargers in 1980 and would make two Pro Bowls during his five seasons in San Diego.
NFL draft
San Diego had no picks in the first three rounds, due to previous trades for Willie Buchanon and Bob Klein, as well as for the right to sign head coach Don Coryell.
Despite having four quarterbacks on their roster already, San Diego added another in the 4th round when they selected Ed Luther from San Jose State. Coryell described Luther as the Chargers' 15th-most desirable player in the draft, given their pass-oriented offense. Luther would spend most of his career backing up Dan Fouts, attempting only 22 passes in his first two seasons before going 2–7 as a starter while Fouts missed time with injuries in 1983 and 1984. A second 4th-round pick, safety Bob Gregor, missed the 1980 season through injury before going on to start sixteen games in four seasons. Only two others from the Chargers' draft class played in the NFL; running back LaRue Harrington had four carries in his career, while Chuck Loewen played in 47 games on their offensive line over the next five years, though he only started 3 of them.
Personnel
Staff
Roster
Preseason San Diego began their preseason in the annual Pro Football Hall of Fame Game in Canton, Ohio. They faced the Green Bay Packers in an electrical storm, with wind, rain and lightning. Neither team were able to score before the game was called with 5:29 remaining in the fourth quarter for player safety, although the Chargers had been poised to attempt a field goal with the ball at the Green Bay 25. San Diego's starters played little in a 27–17 loss in Minnesota; Clarence Williams scored an early 50-yard touchdown run, and Luther led a late 91-yard touchdown drive, capped with a 20-yard pass to John Floyd.
Starting quarterback Fouts played the entire first half against the San Francisco 49ers, passing for 177 yards. Most of these went to John Jefferson, who had 8 catches for 122 yards and a touchdown. Luther threw for 124 yards and a touchdown in the second half, but his pass from the San Francisco 40 was intercepted in the end zone as time expired and the Chargers lost 17–14. The following week, the Chargers played most of their defensive starters into the second half, sacking Atlanta's quarterbacks eight times. Touchdowns from Cappelletti and Artie Owens gave them their only win of the preseason. San Diego concluded their preseason with a 34–17 loss to the Rams. Williams and Cappelletti scored the Charger touchdowns, while Rolf Benirschke kicked a 55-yard field goal.
WeekDateOpponentResultRecordVenueAttendance HOF August 2 vs. Green Bay Packers T 0–0 0–0–1 Fawcett Stadium (Canton, Ohio) 19,972 1 August 9 at Minnesota Vikings L 17–27 0–1–1 Metropolitan Stadium 45,179 2 August 16 San Francisco 49ers L 14–17 0–2–1 San Diego Stadium 48,846 3 August 23 Atlanta Falcons W 17–9 1–2–1 San Diego Stadium 47,184 4 August 30 at Los Angeles Rams L 17–34 1–3–1 Anaheim Stadium 61,550
Regular season
Overview
San Diego repeated as AFC West champions. They started out 4–0, with wins over each of their divisional opponents, three of those on the road. They then lost four games out of six, but rebounded to win five of their final six and finish 11–5, beating the Oakland Raiders for the divisional title on tiebreakers.
The Chargers finished at the top in the league in total offensive yardage and total passing yardage, while coming fourth in scoring. Fouts broke his own record with 4,715 yards passing, and threw 30 touchdowns. His average of 294.7 yards per game also broke Joe Namath's record, and he threw for 583 more yards than his nearest rival, Cleveland's Brian Sipe. His marks for attempts (589), completions (348) and 300-yard games (8) were also NFL records. Second-year tight end Kellen Winslow had a breakout year; he, together with established wide receivers Jefferson and Charlie Joiner, dominated the NFL's receiving stats. Jefferson had 1,340 yards, Winslow 1,290 and Joiner 1,132 – they ranked 1st, 2nd and 4th in the league, and were the first trio of teammates to post 1,000 receiving yards in the same season. Winslow was the league leader in receptions (89); Jefferson was top in receiving touchdowns (13). The running game was less successful, ranking 16th out of 28 teams for yardage, but was bolstered when Muncie was acquired in a trade after four games. He averaged 4.9 yards per carry, and led the team with 659 yards. Six different players contributed to San Diego's total of 18 rushing touchdowns (joint-eighth in the NFL); Cappelletti's total of 5 led the team. The Charger offense struggled with turnovers; they threw 26 interceptions, lost 22 fumbles and led the league with 48 total giveaways, including 7 in three separate games.
While San Diego ranked only 18th in the NFL for points conceded, the defensive unit finished sixth in total yards and led the league with 60 sacks. Leading the team was Gary "Big Hands" Johnson with , an unofficial club record , and the joint-most in the league. Johnson and fellow lineman Louie Kelcher and Fred Dean were all named starters in that season's Pro Bowl, a rarity for three defensive lineman from the same team. The Chargers' defensive line, which also featured Leroy Jones (second on the team with 12 sacks), was nicknamed the “Bruise Brothers”, coined from a popular act at the time, The Blues Brothers. Glen Edwards led the team with 5 of their 20 interceptions. Kicker Benirschke returned from his illness of the previous season but had the lowest field goal conversion percentage of his career to that point, making 24 of 36 and finishing joint-11th in the NFL with 67%. The newly signed Partridge ranked only 23rd among punters with 39.1 yards per kick.
Schedule Week Date Opponent Result Record Venue Attendance Recap 1 September 7 at Seattle Seahawks W 34–13 1–0 Kingdome 62,042 Recap 2 September 14 Oakland Raiders W 30–24 (OT) 2–0 San Diego Stadium 51,943 Recap 3 September 21 at Denver Broncos W 30–13 3–0 Mile High Stadium 74,970 Recap 4 September 28 at Kansas City Chiefs W 24–7 4–0 Arrowhead Stadium 45,161 Recap 5 October 5 Buffalo Bills L 24–26 4–1 San Diego Stadium 51,982 Recap 6 October 12 at Oakland Raiders L 24–38 4–2 Oakland–Alameda County Coliseum 44,826 Recap 7 October 19 New York Giants W 44–7 5–2 San Diego Stadium 50,397 Recap 8 October 26 at Dallas Cowboys L 31–42 5–3 Texas Stadium 60,639 Recap 9 November 2 at Cincinnati Bengals W 31–14 6–3 Riverfront Stadium 46,406 Recap 10 November 9 Denver Broncos L 13–20 6–4 San Diego Stadium 51,435 Recap 11 November 16 Kansas City Chiefs W 20–7 7–4 San Diego Stadium 50,248 Recap 12 at Miami Dolphins W 27–24 (OT) 8–4 Miami Orange Bowl 63,013 Recap 13 November 30 Philadelphia Eagles W 22–21 9–4 San Diego Stadium 51,567 Recap 14 December 7 at Washington Redskins L 17–40 9–5 RFK Stadium 48,556 Recap 15 Seattle Seahawks W 21–14 10–5 San Diego Stadium 49,980 Recap 16 Pittsburgh Steelers W 26–17 11–5 San Diego Stadium 51,785 Recap Note: Intra-division opponents are in bold text.
Game summaries All game reports except Weeks 7, 9 and 14 use the Pro Football Researchers' gamebook archive as a source.
Week 1: at Seattle Seahawks
Chargers debutant Cappelletti set up his team's first field goal with a 46-yard run. The score was 3–3 early in the 2nd quarter when Seattle tried to punt from their own 28-yard line; Lowe blocked the kick, enabling his offense to start at the Seattle 5. Fouts found McCrary for the opening touchdown on 3rd and goal. On their next possession, Winslow had a 35-yard catch on 3rd and 5 and Joiner a 16-yarder on 3rd and 4; Joiner's touchdown followed on the next play. They soon made it three touchdowns in three possessions, with Jefferson's first touchdown coming on a 3rd-down play; the lead was 24–3 at halftime.