1979 Minnesota Vikings season

1979 Minnesota Vikings season
Head coach Bud Grant
General manager Mike Lynn
Home field Metropolitan Stadium
Results
Record 7–9
Division place 3rd NFC Central
Playoff finish did not qualify

1979 was the 19th year of season play for the Minnesota Vikings and the 60th regular season of the National Football League. The Vikings finished with a record of seven wins and nine losses; their first losing season since 1967.

The season also marked the end of an era; as longtime defensive end Jim Marshall; the last remaining original Viking, retired after 19 seasons and having set then-league records for most games played (282) and starts (270).

Offseason

1979 Draft

Main article: 1979 NFL draft
=Pro Bowler
1979 Minnesota Vikings Draft
Draft order Player name Position College
Round Choice Overall
11616Ted BrownRunning BackNorth Carolina State
21543Dave HuffmanCenterNotre Dame
31672Pick forfeited due to illegal tryout[a]
41597Steve DilsQuarterbackStanford
519129Jerry MeterLinebackerMichigan
615152 Joe SenserTight EndWest Chester (PA)
716181Bob WinkelDefensive TackleKentucky
815207Traded to the Baltimore Colts[b]
916236Billy DiggsWide ReceiverWinston-Salem State
1015263Traded to the New York Jets[c]
1116291Brian NelsonWide ReceiverTexas Tech
1214317David StephensLinebackerKentucky
^[a] The details of this forfeited pick are unknown.
^[b] Minnesota traded their 8th round selection (207th overall) to Baltimore for OT Frank Myers.
^[c] Minnesota traded their 10th round selection (263rd overall) and 1978 8th round selection (213th overall) to the New York Jets for S Phil Wise.

Regular season

Schedule

Week Date Opponent Result Venue Attendance
1 September 2, 1979 San Francisco 49ers W 28–22 Met Stadium
46,539
2 September 9, 1979 at Chicago Bears L 26–7 Soldier Field
53,231
3 September 16, 1979 Miami Dolphins L 27–12 Met Stadium
46,187
4 September 23, 1979 Green Bay Packers W 27–21 (OT) Met Stadium
46,524
5 September 30, 1979 at Detroit Lions W 13–10 Silverdome
75,295
6 October 7, 1979 Dallas Cowboys L 36–20 Met Stadium
47,572
7 October 15, 1979 at New York Jets L 14–7 Shea Stadium
54,479
8 October 21, 1979 Chicago Bears W 30–27 Met Stadium
41,164
9 October 28, 1979 Tampa Bay Buccaneers L 12–10 Met Stadium
46,906
10 November 4, 1979 at St. Louis Cardinals L 37–7 Busch Stadium
47,213
11 November 11, 1979 at Green Bay Packers L 19–7 Milwaukee County Stadium
52,706
12 November 18, 1979 Detroit Lions W 14–7 Met Stadium
43,650
13 November 25, 1979 at Tampa Bay Buccaneers W 23–22 Tampa Stadium
70,039
14 December 2, 1979 at Los Angeles Rams L 27–21 (OT) Los Angeles Memorial Coliseum
56,700
15 December 9, 1979 Buffalo Bills W 10–3 Met Stadium
42,239
16 December 16, 1979 at New England Patriots L 27–23 Schaefer Stadium
54,719

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

Minnesota Vikings roster
Quarterbacks

Running Backs

Wide Receivers

Tight Ends

Offensive Linemen

Defensive Linemen DE

Linebackers

Defensive Backs CB

Special Teams

Reserve Lists

Practice Squad

Rookies in italics

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 Rashād 1,156
Receiving Touchdowns Ahmad Rashād 9
Points Rick Danmeier 67
Kickoff Return Yards Jimmy Edwards 1,103
Punt Return Yards Jimmy Edwards 186
Interceptions Tom Hannon
Nate Wright
4

League rankings

Category Total yards Yards per game NFL rank
(out of 28)
Passing Offense 3,139 Yards 196.2 YPG 12th
Rushing Offense 1,764 Yards 110.3 YPG 23rd
Total Offense 4,903 Yards 306.4 YPG 19th
Passing Defense 2,697 Yards 168.6 YPG 11th
Rushing Defense 2,526 Yards 157.9 YPG 26th
Total Defense 5,223 Yards 326.4 YPG 18th

References


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