NFL team 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.
Offseason [ edit ] NFL Draft [ edit ] [3]
Undrafted free agents [ edit ] 1979 Undrafted Free Agents of note Player Position College Rade Savich Kicker Central Michigan
1979 Detroit Lions roster Quarterbacks Running backs
Wide receivers
Tight ends
Offensive linemen Defensive linemen
Linebackers Defensive backs
Special teams
Reserve lists Practice squad
Rookies in italics
Regular season [ edit ] Schedule [ edit ] Week Date Opponent Result Record Attendance 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 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 Green Bay Packers L 18–13 2—14 57,376
Note: Intra-division opponents are in bold text.[4]
Standings [ edit ] Player stats [ edit ] Passing [ edit ] 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 [ edit ] 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 [ edit ] 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 [ edit ]
Franchise Records Stadiums Culture Lore Rivalries Division championships (9) League championships (4) Media Current league affiliations