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.
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AFC Central standings, 1980
Team
W
L
T
Pct
GB
L10
Streak
Cleveland Browns (CLE)b
11
5
0
.688
-
8-2
W1
Houston Oilers (HOU)x
11
5
0
.688
-
8-2
W3
Pittsburgh Steelers (PIT)
9
7
0
.563
2
5-5
L1
Cincinnati Bengals (CIN)
6
10
0
.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 twice.
The Cleveland Browns trailed by as many as 2 games in Week 2.
The Cleveland Browns and Houston Oilers each won 5 games in a row, 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 6 to Week 13, turning a deficit of 2 games into a lead of 1 game.
Three teams held or shared first place.
The Cleveland Browns spent 9 of the season's 16 charted weeks in first place.