1979 Minnesota Vikings season
The 1979 season was the Minnesota Vikings' 19th in the National Football League. The Vikings finished with a 7–9 record, their first losing season since 1967, and missed the playoffs for the first time since 1972.
| 1979 Minnesota Vikings season | |
|---|---|
| General manager | Mike Lynn |
| Head coach | Bud Grant |
| Home field | Metropolitan Stadium |
| Results | |
| Record | 7–9 |
| Division place | 3rd NFC Central |
| Playoff finish | Did not qualify |
The loss of Fran Tarkenton to retirement in the off-season meant third-year quarterback Tommy Kramer became the starter. The season also marked the end of an era as the last remaining original Viking, longtime defensive end Jim Marshall, retired after 19 seasons with the Vikings and 20 in the NFL, having set league records for most consecutive games played (282) and consecutive starts (270). Counting playoff games, he had started in every one of the 289 games in Vikings history. Safety Paul Krause also retired after the season ended; he holds the league record with 81 career interceptions.
Offseason
1979 Draft
| Pro Bowler |
| 1979 Minnesota Vikings Draft | |||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Draft order | Player name | Position | College | Notes | |
| Round | Selection | ||||
| 1 | 16 | Ted Brown | Running back | North Carolina State | |
| 2 | 43 | Dave Huffman | Center | Notre Dame | |
| 3 | 72 | Pick forfeited due to illegal tryout[a] | |||
| 4 | 97 | Steve Dils | Quarterback | Stanford | |
| 5 | 129 | Jerry Meter | Linebacker | Michigan | |
| 6 | 152 | Joe Senser | Tight end | West Chester (PA) | |
| 7 | 181 | Bob Winkel | Defensive tackle | Kentucky | |
| 8 | 207 | Traded to the Baltimore Colts[b] | |||
| 9 | 236 | Billy Diggs | Wide receiver | Winston-Salem State | |
| 10 | 263 | Traded to the New York Jets[c] | |||
| 11 | 291 | Brian Nelson | Wide receiver | Texas Tech | |
| 12 | 317 | David Stephens | Linebacker | Kentucky | |
- ^[a] The details of this forfeited pick are unknown.
- ^[b] The Vikings traded their eighth-round selection (207th overall) to the Baltimore Colts in exchange for OT Frank Myers.
- ^[c] The Vikings traded their 10th-round selection (263rd overall) and 1978 eighth-round selection (213th overall) to the New York Jets in exchange for S Phil Wise.
Roster
Preseason
| Week | Date | Opponent | Result | Record | Venue | Attendance[1] |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | August 2 | at Seattle Seahawks | L 9–12 | 0–1 | Kingdome | 60,881 |
| 2 | August 11 | at San Diego Chargers | L 0–19 | 0–2 | San Diego Stadium | 49,037 |
| 3 | August 18 | Miami Dolphins | L 10–21 | 0–3 | Metropolitan Stadium | 45,790 |
| 4 | August 23 | Kansas City Chiefs | L 0–25 | 0–4 | Metropolitan Stadium | 39,578 |
Regular season
Schedule
| Week | Date | Opponent | Result | Record | Venue | Attendance |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | September 2 | San Francisco 49ers | W 28–22 | 1–0 | Metropolitan Stadium | 46,539 |
| 2 | September 9 | at Chicago Bears | L 7–26 | 1–1 | Soldier Field | 53,231 |
| 3 | September 16 | Miami Dolphins | L 12–27 | 1–2 | Metropolitan Stadium | 46,187 |
| 4 | September 23 | Green Bay Packers | W 27–21 (OT) | 2–2 | Metropolitan Stadium | 46,524 |
| 5 | September 30 | at Detroit Lions | W 13–10 | 3–2 | Silverdome | 75,295 |
| 6 | October 7 | Dallas Cowboys | L 20–36 | 3–3 | Metropolitan Stadium | 47,572 |
| 7 | October 15 | at New York Jets | L 7–14 | 3–4 | Shea Stadium | 54,479 |
| 8 | October 21 | Chicago Bears | W 30–27 | 4–4 | Metropolitan Stadium | 41,164 |
| 9 | October 28 | Tampa Bay Buccaneers | L 10–12 | 4–5 | Metropolitan Stadium | 46,906 |
| 10 | November 4 | at St. Louis Cardinals | L 7–37 | 4–6 | Busch Memorial Stadium | 47,213 |
| 11 | November 11 | at Green Bay Packers | L 7–19 | 4–7 | Milwaukee County Stadium | 52,706 |
| 12 | November 18 | Detroit Lions | W 14–7 | 5–7 | Metropolitan Stadium | 43,650 |
| 13 | November 25 | at Tampa Bay Buccaneers | W 23–22 | 6–7 | Tampa Stadium | 70,039 |
| 14 | December 2 | at Los Angeles Rams | L 21–27 (OT) | 6–8 | Los Angeles Memorial Coliseum | 56,700 |
| 15 | December 9 | Buffalo Bills | W 10–3 | 7–8 | Metropolitan Stadium | 42,239 |
| 16 | December 16 | at New England Patriots | L 23–27 | 7–9 | Schaefer Stadium | 54,719 |
Note: Intra-division opponents are in bold text.
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 |
Awards and records
- On September 2, WR Ahmad Rashad caught four touchdown passes, which remains a Vikings single-game record.
- On November 25, the team blocked four kicks – two extra point attempts, a field goal attempt and a punt by Tom Blanchard – against the Tampa Bay Buccaneers. This remains a franchise record.
- On December 16, RB Rickey Young caught 15 passes, a single-game franchise record.
Statistics
Team leaders
| Category | Player(s) | Value |
|---|---|---|
| Passing yards | Tommy Kramer | 3,397 |
| Passing touchdowns | Tommy Kramer | 23 |
| Rushing yards | Rickey Young | 708 |
| Rushing touchdowns | Rickey Young | 3 |
| Receiving yards | Ahmad Rashad | 1,156 |
| Receiving touchdowns | Ahmad Rashad | 9 |
| Points | Rick Danmeier | 67 |
| Kickoff return yards | Jimmy Edwards | 1,103 |
| Punt return yards | Jimmy Edwards | 186 |
| Interceptions | Tommy Hannon Nate Wright | 4 |
League rankings
| Category | Total yards | Yards per game | NFL rank (out of 28) |
|---|---|---|---|
| Passing offense | 3,139 | 196.2 | 12th |
| Rushing offense | 1,764 | 110.3 | 23rd |
| Total offense | 4,903 | 306.4 | 19th |
| Passing defense | 2,697 | 168.6 | 11th |
| Rushing defense | 2,526 | 157.9 | 26th |
| Total defense | 5,223 | 326.4 | 18th |
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