1980 New Orleans Saints season

14th season in franchise history, became the first team in NFL history to go 1–15

The 1980 New Orleans Saints season was the team's 14th season in the National Football League.

1980 New Orleans Saints season
Head coachDick Nolan
Dick Stanfel
Home fieldLouisiana Superdome
Results
Record1–15
Division place4th NFC West
Playoff finishdid not qualify

History

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They were the first NFL team to finish a season with 1 win and 15 losses.

Their only win was against the New York Jets in week 15. They had trailed 7-13, but Archie Manning threw a touchdown to Tony Galbreath to lead 14-13 and would throw another one to win 21-20. Fans called their team the "Ain'ts" because of how they began with no wins and 12 losses by losing to the Rams 7-27.

One of the Saints' notable losses was in week 14 in San Francisco, California. The Saints were actually leading 35-7. However, the San Francisco 49ers ended up beating them in overtime, 38-35 on a game-winning field goal. The comeback is one of the best comebacks in NFL history. [1]

8 other teams have finished a season with 1 win and 15 losses after the 1980 Saints. These teams include the 1989 Cowboys, the 1990 Patriots, the 1991 Colts, the 1996 Jets, the 2000 Chargers, the 2001 Panthers, the 2007 Dolphins, the 2009 Rams, the 2016 Browns, and the 2020 Jaguars. The Detroit Lions in 2008 and the Cleveland Browns in 2017 would exceed it by losing all 16 games.

Schedule

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Week Date Opponent Result Attendance
1 September 7, 1980 San Francisco 49ers L 23–26
58,621
2 September 14, 1980 at Chicago Bears L 3–22
62,523
3 September 21, 1980 Buffalo Bills L 26–35
51,154
4 September 28, 1980 at Miami Dolphins L 16–21
40,946
5 October 5, 1980 St. Louis Cardinals L 7–40
45,388
6 October 12, 1980 at Detroit Lions L 13–24
78,147
7 October 19, 1980 Atlanta Falcons L 14–41
62,651
8 October 26, 1980 at Washington Redskins L 14–22
51,375
9 November 2, 1980 at Los Angeles Rams L 31–45
59,909
10 November 9, 1980 Philadelphia Eagles L 21–34
44,340
11 November 16, 1980 at Atlanta Falcons L 13–31
53,871
12 November 24, 1980 Los Angeles Rams L 7–27
53,448
13 November 30, 1980 Minnesota Vikings L 20–23
30,936
14 December 7, 1980 at San Francisco 49ers L 35–38
37,949
15 December 14, 1980 at New York Jets W 21–20
38,077
16 December 21, 1980 New England Patriots L 27–38
38,277

References

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  1. "Top 10 greatest comebacks in NFL history". NFL.com.