1979 Detroit Lions season
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.
| 1979 Detroit Lions season | |
|---|---|
| Head coach | Monte Clark |
| Home field | Pontiac Silverdome |
| Results | |
| Record | 2–14 |
| Division place | 5th NFC Central |
| Playoff finish | Did not qualify |
| Pro Bowlers | TE David Hill DE Al Baker |
| AP All-Pros | none |
Offseason
NFL Draft
| Round | Pick | Player | Position | College |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | 10 | Keith Dorney | Tackle | Penn State |
| 2 | 37 | Ken Fantetti | Linebacker | Wyoming |
| 3 | 67 | Bo Robinson | Running Back | West Texas A&M |
| 4 | 88 | Ulysses Norris | Tight End | Georgia |
| 4 | 92 | Jon Brooks | Linebacker | Clemson |
| 5 | 131 | Walt Brown | Center | Pittsburgh |
| 8 | 213 | John Mohring | Linebacker | C.W. Post |
| 9 | 231 | Jeff Komlo | Quarterback | Delaware |
| 11 | 302 | Eddie Cole | Linebacker | Mississippi |
| 12 | 313 | Bob Forester | Center | Brown |
| 12 | 326 | Bryan Sweeney | Wide Receiver | Texas A&M-Kingsville |
Roster
Quarterbacks
Running backs
Wide receivers
Tight ends
|
Offensive linemen
Defensive linemen
|
Linebackers
Defensive backs
Special teams
|
Reserve lists
| ||||||
Regular season
Schedule
| Week | Date | Opponent | Result | Record | Attendance |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | September 1 | at Tampa Bay Buccaneers | L 31–16 | 0—1 | 68,225 |
| 2 | September 9 | Washington Redskins | L 27–24 | 0—2 | 54,991 |
| 3 | September 16 | at New York Jets | L 31–10 | 0—3 | 49,612 |
| 4 | September 23 | Atlanta Falcons | W 24–23 | 1—3 | 56,249 |
| 5 | September 30 | Minnesota Vikings | L 13–10 | 1—4 | 75,295 |
| 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 |
| 8 | October 21 | at New Orleans Saints | L 17–7 | 1—7 | 57,428 |
| 9 | October 28 | Buffalo Bills | L 20–17 | 1—8 | 61,911 |
| 10 | November 4 | at Chicago Bears | L 35–7 | 1—9 | 50,108 |
| 11 | November 11 | Tampa Bay Buccaneers | L 16–14 | 1—10 | 70,461 |
| 12 | November 18 | at Minnesota Vikings | L 14–7 | 1—11 | 43,650 |
| 13 | November 22 | Chicago Bears | W 20–0 | 2—11 | 66,219 |
| 14 | December 2 | at Philadelphia Eagles | L 44–7 | 2—12 | 66,128 |
| 15 | December 9 | Miami Dolphins | L 28–10 | 2—13 | 78,087 |
| 16 | December 15 | Green Bay Packers | L 18–13 | 2—14 | 57,376 |
Note: Intra-division opponents are in bold text.[4]
Standings
| NFC Central | |||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| W | L | T | PCT | DIV | CONF | PF | PA | STK | |
| Tampa Bay Buccaneers(2) | 10 | 6 | 0 | .625 | 6–2 | 8–6 | 273 | 237 | W1 |
| Chicago Bears(5) | 10 | 6 | 0 | .625 | 5–3 | 8–4 | 306 | 249 | W3 |
| Minnesota Vikings | 7 | 9 | 0 | .438 | 5–3 | 6–6 | 259 | 337 | L1 |
| Green Bay Packers | 5 | 11 | 0 | .313 | 3–5 | 4–8 | 246 | 316 | W1 |
| Detroit Lions | 2 | 14 | 0 | .125 | 1–7 | 2–10 | 219 | 365 | L3 |
Player stats
Passing
| Player | Games | Completions | Attempts | Yards | Touchdowns | Interceptions | Rating |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Jeff Komlo | 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 |
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 |
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 |
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
- "1987 NFL Draft Listing - Pro-Football-Reference.com". Pro-Football-Reference.com. Archived from the original on December 21, 2007.
- "1979 Detroit Lions".
- "1979 Detroit Lions Statistics & Players". Pro-Football-Reference.com.
- Detroit Lions on Pro Football Reference
- Detroit Lions on jt-sw.com
- Detroit Lions on The Football Database
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