1979 Detroit Lions season explained
Team: | Detroit Lions |
Year: | 1979 |
Record: | 2–14 |
Division Place: | 5th NFC Central |
Coach: | Monte Clark |
Stadium: | Pontiac Silverdome |
Playoffs: | Did not qualify |
Pro Bowlers: | TE David Hill DE Al Baker |
Ap All-Pros: | none |
Shortnavlink: | Lions seasons |
The 1979 Detroit Lions season was the 50th season in franchise history. In the midst of a major rebuilding project, the woeful Lions finished the season with a 2–14 record, equal-worst record in the NFL and a tiebreaker with the 49ers gave the Lions the first pick overall in the 1980 NFL Draft. Detroit entered the year as a favorite in the NFC Central,[1] but a season-ending injury to quarterback Gary Danielson in the preseason[2] forced the Lions to ultimately turn to a rookie ninth-round pick, Jeff Komlo, behind center, with disastrous results.
Offseason
NFL Draft
[3] Undrafted free agents
1979 Undrafted Free Agents of note!Player!Position!CollegeRade Savich | Kicker | Central Michigan | |
Regular season
Schedule
Week | Date | Opponent | Result | Record | Attendance |
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1 | | at Tampa Bay Buccaneers | L 31–16 | 0—1 | 68,225 |
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2 | September 9 | Washington Redskins | L 27–24 | 0—2 | 54,991 |
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3 | September 16 | at New York Jets | L 31–10 | 0—3 | 49,612 |
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4 | September 23 | Atlanta Falcons | W 24–23 | 1—3 | 56,249 |
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5 | September 30 | Minnesota Vikings | L 13–10 | 1—4 | 75,295 |
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6 | October 7 | at New England Patriots | L 24–17 | 1—5 | 60,629 |
---|
7 | October 14 | at Green Bay Packers | L 24–16 | 1—6 | 53,930 |
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8 | October 21 | at New Orleans Saints | L 17–7 | 1—7 | 57,428 |
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9 | October 28 | Buffalo Bills | L 20–17 | 1—8 | 61,911 |
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10 | November 4 | at Chicago Bears | L 35–7 | 1—9 | 50,108 |
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11 | November 11 | Tampa Bay Buccaneers | L 16–14 | 1—10 | 70,461 |
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12 | November 18 | at Minnesota Vikings | L 14–7 | 1—11 | 43,650 |
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13 | | Chicago Bears | W 20–0 | 2—11 | 66,219 |
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14 | December 2 | | L 44–7 | 2—12 | 66,128 |
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15 | December 9 | Miami Dolphins | L 28–10 | 2—13 | 78,087 |
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16 | | Green Bay Packers | L 18–13 | 2—14 | 57,376 | |
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Note: Intra-division opponents are in
bold text.
[4] Standings
Player stats
Passing
Player | Games | Completions | Attempts | Yards | Touchdowns | Interceptions | Rating |
---|
| 16 | 183 | 368 | 2238 | 11 | 23 | 52.8 |
Scott Hunter | 13 | 18 | 41 | 321 | 1 | 1 | 69.3 |
Joe Reed | 2 | 14 | 32 | 164 | 2 | 1 | 67.7 |
Jerry Golsteyn | 1 | 2 | 9 | 16 | 0 | 2 | 0.0 |
Tom Skladany | 2 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 28.6 |
Larry Swider | 14 | 1 | 1 | 36 | 0 | 0 | 118.7 |
|
[5] Rushing
Player | Games | Attempts | Yards | Touchdowns | Longest rush |
---|
Dexter Bussey | 16 | 144 | 625 | 1 | 38 |
Rick Kane | 16 | 94 | 332 | 4 | 26 |
Bo Robinson | 14 | 87 | 302 | 2 | 29 |
Horace King | 16 | 39 | 160 | 1 | 23 |
Jeff Komlo | 16 | 30 | 107 | 2 | 16 |
Lawrence Gaines | 16 | 23 | 55 | 0 | 6 |
Freddie Scott | 14 | 6 | 21 | 0 | 18 |
Leonard Thompson | 15 | 5 | 24 | 0 | 16 |
Ken Callicut | 16 | 3 | 6 | 0 | 10 |
Scott Hunter | 13 | 2 | 3 | 1 | 2 |
Joe Reed | 2 | 2 | 11 | 0 | 11 |
David Hill | 16 | 1 | 15 | 0 | 15 |
Gene A. Washington | 16 | 1 | 24 | 0 | 24 |
Luther Blue | 9 | 1 | −8 | 0 | −8 |
Jerry Golsteyn | 1 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
Ed O'Neil | 16 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
Larry Swider | 14 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
|
[5] Receiving
Note: Rec = Receptions; Yds = Yards; Avg = Average Yards per Reception; TD = Touchdowns
Player | Games | Receptions | Yards | Average yards per reception | Touchdowns | Longest |
---|
Freddie Scott | 14 | 62 | 929 | 15.0 | 5 | 50 |
David Hill | 16 | 47 | 569 | 12.1 | 3 | 40 |
Leonard Thompson | 15 | 24 | 451 | 18.8 | 2 | 82 |
Horace King | 16 | 18 | 150 | 8.3 | 0 | 30 |
Dexter Bussey | 16 | 15 | 102 | 6.8 | 0 | 22 |
Gene A. Washington | 16 | 14 | 192 | 13.7 | 1 | 29 |
Bo Robinson | 14 | 14 | 118 | 8.4 | 0 | 14 |
Rick Kane | 16 | 9 | 104 | 11.6 | 1 | 36 |
Luther Blue | 9 | 8 | 102 | 12.8 | 1 | 26 |
Ulysses Norris | 16 | 4 | 43 | 10.8 | 1 | 34 |
Ken Callicutt | 16 | 2 | 16 | 8.0 | 0 | 11 |
Russ Bolinger | 16 | 1 | −1 | −1.0 | 0 | −1 |
|
[5] References
Notes and References
- Wallace, William N.; ‘NFL Preview: Happiness is 23 teams capable of making the playoffs’; The Globe and Mail, August 28, 1979, p. 31
- ‘Bus Win Over Lions’; The Globe and Mail, September 3, 1979, p. S10
- Web site: 1987 NFL Draft Listing - Pro-Football-Reference.com. dead. https://web.archive.org/web/20071221193418/http://www.pro-football-reference.com/draft/1987.htm. 2007-12-21. Pro-Football-Reference.com.
- Web site: 1979 Detroit Lions.
- Web site: 1979 Detroit Lions Statistics & Players. Pro-Football-Reference.com.