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

The 1979 Minnesota Vikings season was the franchise's 19th season in 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).

The loss of Fran Tarketon to retirement meant third year quarterback Tommy Kramer to starter.

Offseason

1979 Draft

=Pro Bowler

1979 Minnesota Vikings Draft
Draft order			Player name	Position	College
Round	Choice	Overall
1	16	16	Ted Brown	Running back	North Carolina State
2	15	43	Dave Huffman	Center	Notre Dame
3	16	72	Pick forfeited due to illegal tryout^[a]
4	15	97	Steve Dils	Quarterback	Stanford
5	19	129	Jerry Meter	Linebacker	Michigan
6	15	152	Joe Senser	Tight end	West Chester (PA)
7	16	181	Bob Winkel	Defensive tackle	Kentucky
8	15	207	Traded to the Baltimore Colts^[b]
9	16	236	Billy Diggs	Wide receiver	Winston-Salem State
10	15	263	Traded to the New York Jets^[c]
11	16	291	Brian Nelson	Wide receiver	Texas Tech
12	14	317	David Stephens	Linebacker	Kentucky

^{^[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 9 Tommy Kramer Running Backs 44 Chuck Foreman Wide Receivers 80 Terry LeCount 28 Ahmad Rashad Tight Ends 83 Stu Voigt 38 Bob Tucker	Offensive Linemen 68 Charles Goodrum G 73 Ron Yary T Defensive Linemen 77 Mark Mullaney DE 69 Doug Sutherland DT	Linebackers 59 Matt Blair 55 Scott Studwell Defensive Backs 20 Bobby Bryant CB 25 Kurt Knoff FS Special Teams 7 Rick Danmeier K	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