1980 New England Patriots season
Week Opponent Result Stadium Record Attendance
1 Cleveland Browns W 34-17 Schaefer Stadium 1-0 49,222
2 Atlanta Falcons L 21-37 Schaefer Stadium 1-1 48,321
3 at Seattle Seahawks W 37-31 Kingdome 2-1 61,035
4 Denver Broncos W 23-14 Schaefer Stadium 3-1 59,602
5 at New York Jets W 21-11 Shea Stadium 4-1 53,603
6 Miami Dolphins W 34-0 Schaefer Stadium 5-1 60,377
7 at Baltimore Colts W 37-21 Memorial Stadium 6-1 53,924
8 at Buffalo Bills L 13-31 Rich Stadium 6-2 75,092
9 New York Jets W 34-21 Schaefer Stadium 7-2 60,834
10 at Houston Oilers L 34-38 Astrodome 7-3 51,524
11 Los Angeles Rams L 14-17 Schaefer Stadium 7-4 60,609
12 Baltimore Colts W 47-21 Schaefer Stadium 8-4 60,994
13 at San Francisco 49ers L 17-21 Candlestick Park 8-5 45,254
14 at Miami Dolphins * L 13-16 ( OT ) Miami Orange Bowl 8-6 63,292
15 Buffalo Bills W 24-2 Schaefer Stadium 9-6 58,324
16 at New Orleans Saints W 38-27 Superdome 10-6 38,277
Regular season -- Schedule
The 1980 New England Patriots season was the franchise's 11th season in the National Football League and 21st overall. They completed the season with a record of ten wins and six losses and finished second in the AFC East Division. Running Back Sam Cunningham held out all season, so the Patriots turned to rookie Vagas Ferguson to carry the bulk of the rushing game. Ferguson responded by breaking the team's rookie rushing record. The Patriots would sit at 6-1 near the midway point and were about to make the playoffs. However, the Pats collapsed and won just two of their next seven and finished with a 10-6 record that saw them fall just short of a wild-card berth. Bill Parcells, then the linebackers coach with the team, has stated that the players on this Patriots team gave him his famous Tuna nickname when he asked, What do you think I am, Charlie the Tuna?