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,Wallace, William N.; ‘NFL Preview: Happiness is 23 teams capable of making the playoffs’; The Globe and Mail, August 28, 1979, p. 31 but a season-ending injury to quarterback Gary Danielson in the preseason‘Bus Win Over Lions’; The Globe and Mail, September 3, 1979, p. S10 forced the Lions to ultimately turn to a rookie ninth-round pick, Jeff Komlo, behind center, with disastrous results. After the season, Nate Allen and Karl Chandler retired.
Offseason NFL draft
Undrafted free agents
+ 1979 undrafted free agents of notePlayerPositionCollegeJohn ArnoldWide receiverWyomingReggie ArnoldWide receiverPurdueRade SavichKickerCentral Michigan
Roster
Regular season
Schedule 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.
Standings
Player stats Passing 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 Player Games Attempts Yards Touchdowns Longest rushDexter 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
Receiving Note: Rec = Receptions; Yds = Yards; Avg = Average Yards per Reception; TD = Touchdowns Player Games Receptions Yards Average yardsper reception Touchdowns Longest 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 30Dexter Bussey 16 15 1026.8 0 22Gene 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
References
Detroit Lions on Pro Football Reference Detroit Lions on jt-sw.com Detroit Lions on The Football Database