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.

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

[1]

Regular season

Schedule

Week Date Opponent Result Attendance
1 September 1, 1979 at Tampa Bay Buccaneers L 31–16
68,225
2 September 9, 1979 Washington Redskins L 27–24
54,991
3 September 16, 1979 at New York Jets L 31–10
49,612
4 September 23, 1979 Atlanta Falcons W 24–23
56,249
5 September 30, 1979 Minnesota Vikings L 13–10
75,295
6 October 7, 1979 at New England Patriots L 24–17
60,629
7 October 14, 1979 at Green Bay Packers L 24–16
53,930
8 October 21, 1979 at New Orleans Saints L 17–7
57,428
9 October 28, 1979 Buffalo Bills L 20–17
61,911
10 November 4, 1979 at Chicago Bears L 35–7
50,108
11 November 11, 1979 Tampa Bay Buccaneers L 16–14
70,461
12 November 18, 1979 at Minnesota Vikings L 14–7
43,650
13 November 22, 1979 Chicago Bears W 20–0
66,219
14 December 2, 1979 at Philadelphia Eagles L 44–7
66,128
15 December 9, 1979 Miami Dolphins L 28–10
78,087
16 December 15, 1979 Green Bay Packers L 18–13
57,376

[2]

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
  • Currently vacant

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

[3]

Rushing

Note: Att = Attempts; Yds = Yards; TD = Touchdowns

Player Games Att Yds TD Long
Dexter Bussey 16 144 625 138
Rick Kane16 94 3324 26
Bo Robinson 14 87 302 2 29
Horace King 16 39 160 123
Jeff Komlo 16 30 107 2 16
Lawrence Gaines 16 23 550 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

[3]

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 15.0 550
David Hill 1647 569 12.1 3 40
Leonard Thompson 15 24 451 18.8 2 82
Horace King 16 18150 8.30 30
Dexter Bussey 16 15 1026.8 0 22
Gene A. Washington 16 14 19213.7129
Bo Robinson 14 14 118 8.4014
Rick Kane 16 9 104 11.61 36
Luther Blue 9 8 102 12.81 26
Ulysses Norris 16 4 43 10.8134
Ken Callicutt 16 2 16 8.0011
Russ Bolinger 16 1 −1 −1.00−1

[3]

References

  1. ↑ http://www.pro-football-reference.com/draft/1987.htm
  2. ↑ http://www.jt-sw.com/football/pro/results.nsf/Teams/1979-det
  3. 1 2 3 http://www.pro-football-reference.com/teams/det/1979.htm
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