1979 Detroit Lions season
| 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 |
The 1979 Detroit Lions season was the 50th season in franchise history. In the midst of what was a major rebuilding project, the woeful Lions finished the season with the worst record in the NFL and would have the first pick overall in the 1980 NFL Draft. Detroit entered the year as a favorite in the NFC Central, but a season-ending injury to quarterback Gary Danielson in the preseason forced the Lions to ultimately turn to a rookie ninth-round pick, Jeff Komlo, behind center, with disastrous results.
Contents
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 |
Regular season
Schedule
| Week | Date | Opponent | Result | Attendance |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | September 1, 1979 | at Tampa Bay Buccaneers | L 31–16 |
|
| 2 | September 9, 1979 | Washington Redskins | L 27–24 |
|
| 3 | September 16, 1979 | at New York Jets | L 31–10 |
|
| 4 | September 23, 1979 | Atlanta Falcons | W 24–23 |
|
| 5 | September 30, 1979 | Minnesota Vikings | L 13–10 |
|
| 6 | October 7, 1979 | at New England Patriots | L 24–17 |
|
| 7 | October 14, 1979 | at Green Bay Packers | L 24–16 |
|
| 8 | October 21, 1979 | at New Orleans Saints | L 17–7 |
|
| 9 | October 28, 1979 | Buffalo Bills | L 20–17 |
|
| 10 | November 4, 1979 | at Chicago Bears | L 35–7 |
|
| 11 | November 11, 1979 | Tampa Bay Buccaneers | L 16–14 |
|
| 12 | November 18, 1979 | at Minnesota Vikings | L 14–7 |
|
| 13 | November 22, 1979 | Chicago Bears | W 20–0 |
|
| 14 | December 2, 1979 | at Philadelphia Eagles | L 44–7 |
|
| 15 | December 9, 1979 | Miami Dolphins | L 28–10 |
|
| 16 | December 15, 1979 | Green Bay Packers | L 18–13 |
|
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 |
Roster
|
Detroit Lions roster
|
||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Quarterbacks
Running Backs Wide Receivers Tight Ends |
Offensive Linemen
Defensive Linemen |
Linebackers
Defensive Backs Special Teams |
Reserve Lists
Rookies in italics |
|||
Player stats
Passing
Note: Comp = Completions; ATT = Attempts; TD = Touchdowns; INT = Interceptions
| Player | Games | Comp | Att | Yards | TD | INT | 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
Note: Att = Attempts; Yds = Yards; TD = Touchdowns
| Player | Games | Att | Yds | TD | Long |
| 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 | Rec | Yds | Avg | TD | Long |
| 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 |
Awards and records
Lua error in package.lua at line 80: module 'strict' not found.
