NFL team season
The 1979 Washington Redskins season was the franchise's 48th season in the National Football League . The team improved on their 8–8 record from 1978 and finishing 10–6. Although the Redskins were able to improve their record, they were eliminated from playoff contention on the final week of the season after facing the Dallas Cowboys with the NFC East title on the line. Cowboys quarterback Roger Staubach led a last-minute comeback to defeat Washington 35–34 to win the division, which combined with the Chicago Bears defeating the St. Louis Cardinals 42–6, resulted in the Redskins losing a points tiebreaker for the final wild-card slot.
[ 1]
Undrafted free agents [ edit ] 1979 Washington Redskins staff Front office
Head coaches
Head Coach – Jack Pardee Special Assistant to Head Coach – Bob Bowser Offensive coaches
Defensive coaches Special teams coaches
Special Teams – John Hilton
[ 2]
1979 Washington Redskins roster Quarterbacks Running backs
Wide receivers
Tight ends
Offensive linemen Defensive linemen
Linebackers Defensive backs
Special teams
Reserve lists Practice squad
Rookies in italics
[ 3]
Week Date Opponent Result Record Game site Attendance Recap 1 September 2 Houston Oilers L 27–29 0–1 RFK Stadium 54,582 Recap 2 September 9 at Detroit Lions W 27–24 1–1 Pontiac Silverdome 54,991 Recap 3 New York Giants W 27–0 2–1 RFK Stadium 54,672 Recap 4 September 23 at St. Louis Cardinals W 17–7 3–1 Busch Memorial Stadium 50,680 Recap 5 September 30 at Atlanta Falcons W 16–7 4–1 Atlanta-Fulton County Stadium 56,819 Recap 6 October 7 at Philadelphia Eagles L 17–28 4–2 Veterans Stadium 69,142 Recap 7 October 14 at Cleveland Browns W 13–9 5–2 Cleveland Stadium 63,323 Recap 8 October 21 Philadelphia Eagles W 17–7 6–2 RFK Stadium 54,442 Recap 9 October 28 New Orleans Saints L 10–14 6–3 RFK Stadium 52,133 Recap 10 November 4 at Pittsburgh Steelers L 7–38 6–4 Three Rivers Stadium 49,462 Recap 11 November 11 St. Louis Cardinals W 30–28 7–4 RFK Stadium 50,868 Recap 12 November 18 Dallas Cowboys W 34–20 8–4 RFK Stadium 55,031 Recap 13 November 25 at New York Giants L 6–14 8–5 Giants Stadium 72,641 Recap 14 December 2 Green Bay Packers W 38–21 9–5 RFK Stadium 51,682 Recap 15 December 9 Cincinnati Bengals W 28–14 10–5 RFK Stadium 52,882 Recap 16 December 16 at Dallas Cowboys L 34–35 10–6 Texas Stadium 62,867 Recap Note: Intra-division opponents are in bold text.
[ 4]
Week 1: vs. Houston Oilers [ edit ] Week 1: Houston Oilers at Washington Redskins
Quarter 1 2 3 4 Total Oilers 6 0 7 16 29 Redskins 0 17 7 3 27
at RFK Stadium • Washington, D.C.
Week 2: at Detroit Lions [ edit ] Week 3: vs. New York Giants [ edit ] Week 4: at St. Louis Cardinals [ edit ] Week 5: at Atlanta Falcons [ edit ] Week 6: at Philadelphia Eagles [ edit ] Week 7: at Cleveland Browns [ edit ] Week 8: vs. Philadelphia Eagles [ edit ] Week 8: Philadelphia Eagles at Washington Redskins
Quarter 1 2 3 4 Total Eagles 0 0 0 7 7 Redskins 0 7 7 3 17
at RFK Stadium • Washington, D.C.
Week 9: vs. New Orleans Saints [ edit ] Week 9: New Orleans Saints at Washington Redskins
Quarter 1 2 3 4 Total Saints 7 7 0 0 14 Redskins 3 7 0 0 10
at RFK Stadium • Washington, D.C.
Week 10: at Pittsburgh Steelers [ edit ] Week 11: vs. St. Louis Cardinals [ edit ] Week 11: St. Louis Cardinals at Washington Redskins
Quarter 1 2 3 4 Total Cardinals 7 0 0 21 28 Redskins 7 10 3 10 30
at RFK Stadium • Washington, D.C.
Week 12: vs. Dallas Cowboys [ edit ] Week 12: Dallas Cowboys at Washington Redskins
Quarter 1 2 3 4 Total Cowboys 0 3 3 14 20 Redskins 7 7 10 10 34
at RFK Stadium • Washington, D.C.
Week 13: at New York Giants [ edit ] Week 14: vs. Green Bay Packers [ edit ] Week 14: Green Bay Packers at Washington Redskins
Quarter 1 2 3 4 Total Packers 0 21 0 0 21 Redskins 7 0 7 24 38
at RFK Stadium • Washington, D.C.
This would prove the last time the Green Bay Packers would ever play at RFK Stadium before its closure in 1997: in fact, the Packers would not play an away game against the Redskins again until 2004 .[ 5] This occurred because between 1978 and the admission of the Texans in 2002 , non-division conference matchups had no rotation but were entirely based upon previous season’s standings.
Week 15: vs. Cincinnati Bengals [ edit ] Week 15: Cincinnati Bengals at Washington Redskins
Quarter 1 2 3 4 Total Bengals 14 0 0 0 14 Redskins 7 14 0 7 28
at RFK Stadium • Washington, D.C.
Week 16: at Dallas Cowboys [ edit ] The loss knocked the Redskins out of the playoffs.
Team Category Player Statistics Redskins Passing Joe Theismann 12/23, 200 Yds, TD Rushing John Riggins 22 Rush, 151 Yds, 2 TD Receiving Benny Malone 1 Rec, 55 Yds, TD Cowboys Passing Roger Staubach 24/42, 326 Yds, 3 TD, INT Rushing Ron Springs 20 Rush, 79 Yds, TD Receiving Tony Hill 8 Rec, 113 Yds, TD
Scoring summary Quarter Time Drive Team Scoring information Score Plays Yards TOP WAS DAL 1 Redskins 24-yard field goal by Mark Moseley 3 0 1 Redskins Joe Theismann 1-yard touchdown run, Mark Moseley kick good 10 0 2 Redskins Benny Malone 55-yard touchdown reception from Joe Theismann, Mark Moseley kick good 17 0 2 Cowboys Ron Springs 1-yard touchdown run, Rafael Septien kick good 17 7 2 Cowboys Preston Pearson 26-yard touchdown reception from Roger Staubach , Rafael Septien kick good 17 14 3 Cowboys Robert Newhouse 2-yard touchdown run, Rafael Septien kick good 17 21 4 Redskins 24-yard field goal by Mark Moseley 20 21 4 Redskins John Riggins 1-yard touchdown run, Mark Moseley kick good 27 21 4 6:54 Redskins John Riggins 66-yard touchdown run, Mark Moseley kick good 34 21 4 Cowboys Ron Springs 26-yard touchdown reception from Roger Staubach, Rafael Septien kick good 34 28 4 0:39 Cowboys Tony Hill 8-yard touchdown reception from Roger Staubach, Rafael Septien kick good 34 35 "TOP" = time of possession . For other American football terms, see Glossary of American football . 34 35
Formerly the Boston Braves (1932), Boston Redskins (1933–1936), Washington Redskins (1937–2019), and Washington Football Team (2020–2021) Based in Landover, Maryland Headquartered in Ashburn, Virginia Franchise Stadiums Key personnel Culture and lore Rivalries Division championships (15) Conference championships (5) League championships (2) Super Bowl championships (3) Hall of Famers Affiliations
Formerly the Boston Braves (1932), Boston Redskins (1933–1936), Washington Redskins (1937–2019), and Washington Football Team (2020–2021)