1980 NFL season standings

Every 1980 NFL race charted week by week: AFC Central, AFC East, AFC West, AFC Wild Card, NFC Central, NFC East, NFC West and NFC Wild Card. Final standings, from a season that ran September 7 to December 22, 1980.

CLEHOUPITCIN

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AFC Central standings, 1980

Team	W	L	Pct	GB	L10	Streak
Cleveland Browns (CLE) b	11	5	.688	-	8-2	W1
Houston Oilers (HOU) x	11	5	.688	-	8-2	W3
Pittsburgh Steelers (PIT)	9	7	.563	2	5-5	L1
Cincinnati Bengals (CIN)	6	10	.375	5	4-6	L1

Final standings.

Clinch key

x: clinched a playoff place
b: clinched a first-round bye

Turning points

The lead changed hands 3 times.
The Cleveland Browns trailed by as many as 2 games in Week 2.
The Cleveland Browns won 5 games in a row from Week 6 to Week 10, the longest run of the race.
The Pittsburgh Steelers led by 1 game as late as Week 6.
The Cleveland Browns went 7-1 from Week 5 to Week 13, turning a deficit of 2 games into a lead of 1 game.
Three teams held first place.
The Cleveland Browns spent 9 of the season's 16 charted weeks in first place.

1980 NFL races

AFC Central The Cleveland Browns and Houston Oilers finished tied atop the 1980 NFL AFC Central division race, both at 11-5. The Cleveland Browns won the division on an NFL tiebreaker these standings do not carry.
AFC East The Buffalo Bills won the 1980 NFL AFC East division race at 11-5, 1 game ahead of the New England Patriots.
AFC West The San Diego Chargers and Oakland Raiders finished tied atop the 1980 NFL AFC West division race, both at 11-5. The San Diego Chargers won the division on an NFL tiebreaker these standings do not carry.
AFC Wild Card The Houston Oilers and Oakland Raiders took the 2 wild card spots in the 1980 NFL AFC wild card race, finishing 1 game ahead of the New England Patriots.
NFC Central The Minnesota Vikings and Detroit Lions finished tied atop the 1980 NFL NFC Central division race, both at 9-7. The Minnesota Vikings won the division on an NFL tiebreaker these standings do not carry.
NFC East The Philadelphia Eagles and Dallas Cowboys finished tied atop the 1980 NFL NFC East division race, both at 12-4. The Philadelphia Eagles won the division on an NFL tiebreaker these standings do not carry.
NFC West The Atlanta Falcons won the 1980 NFL NFC West division race at 12-4, 1 game ahead of the Los Angeles Rams.
NFC Wild Card The Dallas Cowboys and Los Angeles Rams took the 2 wild card spots in the 1980 NFL NFC wild card race, finishing 2 games ahead of the Detroit Lions.
Playoffs Every playoff game, charted.

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